You say you want a revolution

[puppetmaker]

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.

Comments

[xdaemon.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure this time will do it over there. But it has been building for a while and will continue to unless some real changes are made. So if this election doesn't cause change (from inside or via revolution) maybe the next one will, or the next. I think Mousavi is more a figurehead for it rather than a real leader of it, and with a real leader in front of the movement it would be crushing.

On the other hand, I'd love the opportunity to take the Grand Ayatollah aside for a moment and ask him: "Where were you in 1979? Have you looked out the window? You have the power to keep that from happening again..."

[trillsie.livejournal.com]

I remember them all too and as I read this, chills went up and down my spine. We're watching history. No matter what happens there, it is history. I am having a hard time pulling myself away from the twitter feeds. It's just really nice to watch.

[amber-n-teal.livejournal.com]

I'm thankful too.
Remembering the feeling of Tianamen Square and the Berlin Wall... it's a weird weird feeling to have seen life changing things like that. And you know, my 15 year old was completely ignorant about them.

[lunalovegoddess.livejournal.com]

*prays for a positive outcome*
As far as I know, before censorship kicked in, five students were dragged out of bed and killed, and it is just plain wrong. I'm not saying that protesters have not gotten out of hand, or will not, but I am glad to live in a country where I do not have to worry about the safety of my family should I disagree with the current political regime.

[amarafox.livejournal.com]

Holy cow, I was thinking the Iranian revolution was 30 years ago, I didn't realize I was bang on.

I was too young to remember it (I was 4)

[norda.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to give my semi-daughter context for all this, and failing utterly. For her, the US has always been uneasy with the Middle East.

Michael & I showed her the John Hurt / Richard Burton film 1984 last week and tried to tell her our Cold War fears as children.

Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia. Oceania has always been at war with East Asia.

A feat of doublethink I was unable to make her grasp.

I do not know whether Iran will be a Poland or a China. I watch and I wait.

[nightwolfwriter.livejournal.com]

What worries me is how little history people are being taught these days. One of the guys I work with, a very intelligent man who's a wizard with computers, didn't understand what I was talking about when another person and I were discussing watching the Berlin Wall fall. He thought it was a metaphoical term, sort of like the border between the US and Canada.

When I told him about the actual wall, the barbed wire, the land mines, the woman who was shot by the East German guards as the American guards tried to haul her to the top and to freedom, his eyes just glazed over. It didn't fit in with the view of the world he'd been taught. Germany always was one country, The Czech Republic and Slovakia were two countries and the USSR never existed.

It's frightening sometimes.

[stephen-dedman.livejournal.com]

I always found it funny that once Regan was elected, the hostages came home.

It's plausible that this was done because the Iranian government thought Reagan would nuke (or at least invade) their country if they didn't release the hostages. OTOH, while I'm usually suspicious of conspiracy theories, I don't find it at all difficult to believe that George Bush Snr's cronies in the CIA made sure they weren't released before the election, as part of the arms-for-hostages deal, so that Carter couldn't take any of the credit.

As to whether Iran will become more like Poland or more like China... I suspect this comes down to whether the military supports the rebels or the government. And as far as I can tell, they're supporting the government. Not that things invariably turn out well when they support the rebels, either...