I promise the next post will not be about Iran

I’m not entirely sure why I seem to care about this Iranian situation so much, but I cannot get it off my mind. I cannot think of a person I personally know who is Iranian. I’ve never been there, or anywhere remotely near there. I’m a white boy from a small town in a state regarded as the most liberal in a nation that has historically had incredibly poor relations with Iran since before I was born. I shouldn’t care so much.

I keep asking myself, “would I be like those people if given the situation?” And I honestly don’t know what to answer. What would I have done if, back when I was in college, my university was over-run with armed forces black-bagging or killing the people I went to school with? If my vote had been suppressed, would I have taken to the streets and risked my life, or more so my family’s lives, to fight something against which there is such a small chance as to overcome? Would I have the restraint to peacefully protest when those against me were violent? Would I fight back, and not concede to their control over me? I like to imagine I would know how to respond to these questions without having lived them. But I honestly don’t know.

What is being fought for in Iran right now? Even that I’m not entirely sure about, but I know it has to be more than Ahmadinejad or Khamenei or Moussavi. It’s more than votes now. It’s more than just governmental legitimacy or religious authority. Freedom? As broad and infinitely mysteriously as that is, I like to think is a part of it. It’s not the freedom we think about today – our Americanized, wave the flag, get out the vote freedom. This is deeper than that. It’s about making choices that allow you to succeed and fail without being condemned to a given path by something foreign to yourself. It’s about having faith that your government is there for you, or is at least trying for the betterment of your life and that of your family and friends, even if you don’t necessarily agree with it.

There has been talk about how the United States and Obama should respond to what is happening, and I can see both sides. The U.S. does need to remain removed, from a governmental standpoint, for at least two reasons: 1) because U.S. and Western involvement will help Ahmadinejad to secure his position in the radical Muslim world, and 2) because this is “their” battle and not “ours.” I’ve read at least two dozen times that “it isn’t about us; it is about them.” And they’re right – the U.S. has fought this fight before for ourselves. It is their turn now. One can only hope that much less blood will be spilled than when we, or the French, or countless other nations have fought for it.

But I’m having a hard time wanting to stay out of it. I increasingly find myself thinking, wishing that I could help these people. There has been little I’ve come across scouring the web these past few days to help cure whatever this is that is ailing me. Andrew Sullivan turned The Daily Dish green to show solidarity with the Green Resistance in Iran (to the chagrin of some) and promotes changing one’s Facebook and other networking accounts to a green profile picture for a similar effect. I’ve seen a way published to allow Iranians a way to gain Internet access via your IP address (I think, I’m not tech savvy enough to know the what or how about it), something incredibly important to helping them coordinate their efforts. Recommendations to write to your federal government officials encouraging them to reject the Iranian election as legitimate and promote the humanitarian efforts needed to protect the people of Iran from the wrath of those with power in the state. Twitter’s from Iran and the people of the Green Resistance ask for support by wearing green to show solidarity, and ask that we force the MSM to pay attention to and give due justice to what is happening there.

Many of these acts seem small and narcissistic efforts in the big picture, but what else is there to do to help these people? I’ve been at a loss except to write about it and try to raise awareness. They may be on the other side of the world, but there is something about this that grabs me and won’t let me let go. I may be entirely wrong, but right now this is what I think it must be:

There is something instinctual and natural about the Iranian Green Resistance, and it’s hard turn your gaze away from, at least for me (and as easy as it is for me to say, living half a world away). Birth. Death. Love. Laughter. Crying. Smiling. They kind of hit me the same way as this, this rebellion against oppression, this living, organic Leviathan that has arisen to the surprise of many to push back against the shackles that have bonded it since before my birth, as well as that of the many Iranians who know of no different circumstances than that in which they’ve lived their entire lives. Yet are the living blood and sweat of their movement. This is human nature exercising itself in one of its most basic forms. It is a rare glimpse at the beauty of the human condition, and to ignore it is a crime against one’s own humanity.

So do what you can. If you know Iranians or Iranian-Americans, ask them about their family that are caught in the middle of this and see if there is anything you can do to help them. If you believe in God, or Allah, or the Spaghetti Monster, pray to him/her/it that people stay safe through the rough ride that seems to occur when democracy is in action. Educate yourself, follow, and talk about what is happening in Iran to your friends and family. They are not letting this go quietly there, so do not let their story go untold here.