Putting Iran in Perspective

In the recent election in Iran there were some who were really upset with the result. Those people took to the streets to protest and have sited irregularities as proof of a rigged election.

Sounds like just another modern democratic election to me. Same thing happened here in the United States in 2000 and 2004. People took to the streets to protest. They took legal actions. They investigated and found irregularities far more rampant than those currently in Iran.

There is a difference. In Iran the protests have been forcibly restrained by police. The United States was at least more civil about it. I would guess it has something to do with the US population having more to lose if they die. As screwed up as things may seem, citizens of this great nation have still got it pretty sweet compared to the vast majority of this planet. That makes people very reluctant to erupt into the kind of violence that can lead to revolutions.

Polls by independent sources leading up to the Iran election showed the incumbent with nearly a 2 to 1 lead over the challenger whose supporters have taken to the streets in protest. Like it or not, Analbeadingjob* seems to have majority support.

In 2000 and 2004 the US polls showed much closer races and greater irregularities. It seems hard for someone like myself to believe the former and unfathomable that people would accept the latter. That has passed like so much history written in the blood of duped Americans.

In Iran, the theocratic nature of politics operates openly. In the highly civilized United States, we can feign religious tolerance while secretly acting as a Christian nation. Members of Bush's cabinet certainly saw our efforts in the Middle East as a holy war. Atheists can not get elected President here. Many who voted for Bush, and plenty of people actually did vote for him, saw him as a deeply religious individual of Christian morals. We hide our theocracy in plain sight.

As for the news stories, consider that they might just be propaganda. Maybe. Possibly. For instance, the CIA is strictly prohibited from interfering in domestic affairs. Not their jurisdiction. They have, however, deliberately placed false news stories in foreign newspapers to sway international opinion. There have been incidents where Congressmen and Senators have then quoted from these planted articles, presumably not knowing that they were planted, to rally support domestically.

Iranians get repressed like goats in a feed lot. Americans get repressed like emo kids in suburbia. Those repressing are doing God's will. Those telling us about the repression are viewing it through the eyes of their favorite oppressor.

I'm just glad to live in a country where I and others like me are free to express ourselves because our highly civilized government has accepted that it is easier to beat people down with a propaganda campaign than with the butt of a rifle. Praise be to Allah God bless America!

* Muslims are going to call for my assassination now, aren't they?