You say you want a revolution

I am old enough to remember the Iranian Revolution in 1979. I remember the seizing of Americans and how tired Carter looked during the election. I always found it funny that once Regan was elected, the hostages came home. Iran went from the close friends column to deadly enemy in a blink in US world relations.

I watched all the news coming out of Poland and wore my Solidarność t-shirt with pride. I watched as the people managed to get the government back to themselves.

I watched the incident at Tianamen Square where it looked like the Chinese might be the next group to realize democracy. I also watched their dreams be crushed under the wheels of tanks and water canons.

I watched as the Berlin wall fell. It was November of 1989 and 10 years after I watched the Iranian students parade their hostages in front of the world. I remember watching people take sledge hammers to the wall and the roar of the crowd. I also remember people trying to sell pieces of the wall to collectors which just didn’t sit well with me.

I remember Communism which was the boogie man that was paraded out for years as the enemy of the US. Of course we were the boogie men for the communist governments. Now it is more history than reality to today’s youth. I remember watching as the Soviet Union unraveled back into much smaller countries.

Now in 2009, thirty years after the Iranian Revolution, Iran is in turmoil again. The students are upset with the government and want to have real representation within the government not rule by the Imams and Ayatollahs. They want freedom and are willing to go into the streets and die for it. I don’t know who is going to come out on top of this one. We could have a Poland or we could have a China result in the end. Whatever happens, they are not going back to the status quo there.

I am grateful that I have witnessed these events.

You say you want a revolution

I am old enough to remember the Iranian Revolution in 1979. I remember the seizing of Americans and how tired Carter looked during the election. I always found it funny that once Regan was elected, the hostages came home. Iran went from the close friends column to deadly enemy in a blink in US world relations.

I watched all the news coming out of Poland and wore my Solidarność t-shirt with pride. I watched as the people managed to get the government back to themselves.

I watched the incident at Tianamen Square where it looked like the Chinese might be the next group to realize democracy. I also watched their dreams be crushed under the wheels of tanks and water canons.

I watched as the Berlin wall fell. It was November of 1989 and 10 years after I watched the Iranian students parade their hostages in front of the world. I remember watching people take sledge hammers to the wall and the roar of the crowd. I also remember people trying to sell pieces of the wall to collectors which just didn’t sit well with me.

I remember Communism which was the boogie man that was paraded out for years as the enemy of the US. Of course we were the boogie men for the communist governments. Now it is more history than reality to today’s youth. I remember watching as the Soviet Union unraveled back into much smaller countries.

Now in 2009, thirty years after the Iranian Revolution, Iran is in turmoil again. The students are upset with the government and want to have real representation within the government not rule by the Imams and Ayatollahs. They want freedom and are willing to go into the streets and die for it. I don’t know who is going to come out on top of this one. We could have a Poland or we could have a China result in the end. Whatever happens, they are not going back to the status quo there.

I am grateful that I have witnessed these events.