Over the last few days I have been reading reports about the protests in Iran over the landslide “victory” of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in their recent presidential election. His opponent was Mir Hossein Moussavi, a reformist candidate, who has accused the government of widespread fraud. There were many serious irregularities in the voting patterns, but it will be difficult to prove whether or not the election was rigged. What can be proven is that the entire system is rigged… because at the end of the day, it is Ayatollah Khamenei who controls Iran’s fate.

The government that exists beneath the totalitarian regime run by Iran’s clerics is simply an exercise in democracy, not the real thing. In theory, this “democracy” can serve as a useful distraction to the masses giving the clerics the ability to seem above-it-all and not directly responsible for Iran’s problems. In practice, it creates a civil society that will yearn for real results from their real participation in this fake democracy. These protests are a direct result of that miscalculation. The reaction of the ruling religious clique has been identical to the reactions of their atheist communist colleagues: shutting down media, violent suppression of protests, and incarceration of political opponents.
The question is: will the rulers of Iran continue this sham of government or will they simply make it clear that there is no real freedom in that country? I applaud the courage of the protesters and those that believe in a government of, by, and for the people… it shows us, a world away, that the human spirit for freedom is universal. Hopefully, the protests will bring about real change in Iran, but unfortunately history has shown us that those with power seldom give it up easily.
-AG
I added Rock the Kasbah by The Clash in honor of the protests… enjoy
