My Ideals Tis of Thee

We have all seen the reports coming about the protests currently happening in Iran. The country is in a state of upheaval after the recent elections which saw them incumbent, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, re-elected to office. Many claim the election was rigged and the results falsified. If this sounds familiar then you may remember the infamous Florida ballots in the 2000 Presidential election.

"But that was totally different" I hear you cry.

And you would be right in certain respects. When the Florida scandal happened everyone was well aware of what was going on. Information flowed freely through the press and over the internet. In contrast to this we have been seeing a media blackout and almost a total shutdown of internet infrastructure in Iran. Why the shutdown? Because the ruling classes of that country know that change is coming and that they are losing their grip on power.

You have to remember that the internet of today is not the same as the internet of 2000. This is the era of the social network, FaceBook, MySpace. It has never been so easy to organize large groups of people so fast as it is today. Twitter allows us to instantly post information online wherever we are at anytime of the day. This was one of the first services to be blocked by the Iranian authorities. In a desperate attempt to maintain control hey started blocking any and ll social networking sites.

Now we have a saying in the crazy world of IT: "The internet will always route around damage"

This basically means that any attempt at censorship is futile. Someone, somewhere will find a way around it (and normally in less time than it took to implement in the first place). And so is the story here. Over the past week we have seen thousands of hand built proxy servers go up to help those fighting for their freedom get there message out. They have kept the free flow of information coming to the not just their own country but to the entire world. This has lead to rallies outside of Iran. Indeed there have been several held here in the US.



These rallies were intended to raise awareness of the fight for freedom in democracy in Iran. However, after reading through the comments on the KSL5 message boards, I have found an awareness of something different coming to light. This sudden epiphany is disturbing and seemingly contradictory to what we have seen over the last seven days. If you have read through the comments you will see people who will happily proclaim that "This is america so protest somewhere else." "We don't take kindly to your type in these parts".

The irony in this is sadly lost on so many. They have totally missed the point of what these rallies were about. This about being American or iranian. This is about a group of people who want freedom from an oppressive regime rising up and making themselves heard. This, I would hope, should also sound familiar. The US has been slammed for it's invasion of Iraq. The invasion done in the name of spreading liberty and democracy to those that did not have it. Well here we have the same people who fully supported such a move criticizing those who are trying to spread the same thing.

But there is something more to this than the rantings of a few armchair patriots. Something that runs deeper and is a lot more troubling. Earlier I mentioned the 2000 Florida ballots. Where were the angry crowds? Where were the screaming masses demanding answers?

So often I hear the words "god given right". People seem to forget that those rights were not always so given. Instead they had to be fought for. When the final battle was won and the dust finally settled, a group of men created a document. This document became to foundation of the society we now have. If not for a these men, who were willing to lay down their lives for the ideals we hold so dear then the US as we know it today would exist. They had the courage to stand up and say "No More!". Are the men and women we see protesting in that country oh so far away any different?

This leads to the question: Is the US simply a collection of states in the middle of the North American land mass? Or is it something greater; A set of ideals.

When I see a global effort to help those who want freedom being led not by diplomats or politicians, but by ordinary people like you and me, I see those same ideals coming to the surface. The concepts of liberty and democracy cannot be forced upon a people. Instead it requires a natural evolution of a society. We must never forget that the struggle for them will not be easy, just as it was not easy for our forefathers.

So instead of simply being a patriot to America, let's try to be patriotic to the ideas that created this great country. Next time you salute that flag, try to remember what it truly stands for.

Time for a different type of change

"A problem cannot be solved at the same level it was created" - Albert Einstein

Change.

It would seem that word will forever be etched into the world of political spin. The country has problems, we need change. The current administration is the cause of it all, we need change. Everything will be better with me because I understand that WE NEED CHANGE

And I agree, we do need change. But is that what we will get with either of the main presidential candidates. Both of these men, and indeed their respective running mates, are all product of the current system. Each of them, behind all the spin and baby kissing, has been a part of the problem. As Einstein once said, problems cannot be solved at the level that created them. So how can we expect change to come from these two candidates?

The kind of change that is need is not one that will come from a single election. Or one that will come fast and easy. There has been suggestions that we need to totally rethink the place of government in our everyday lives. Indeed some have suggested that we go with an EU style. This would seem to make sense on many levels as things already work very much in this way. Instead of having a cluster of countries, each with it's own system of government, we have a cluster of states. There is no one ruler. EU member states take turns at the leadership role. Because each member only has a short period of time in this role they are more likely to act with more thought.

Compare this to the current system we have in the US. You have one person at the top with the power to change everyones lives. An how many of those decisions made are done so by their own prejudice and to meet their own ends? How many are truly made by listening to the people?

Change must come and change will come. But it will only arrive through the blood sweat and tears of the American people and not from the shiny silver words of those who preach it's virtues.

Hope for the future

Every know and then, while reading through the public forums of the local newspapers a letter will stand out. There can be many reasons for this. Quite often it is the utter mindless ignorance being spewed forth. But sometimes a letter will stand out for something different. It will stand out for being insightful. In this case it was a letter from a 12 year old. It was short and to the point but it said more than any other letter on the page.

The 12 year old pointed out something that it seems many people have missed or are simply ignoring. The endless logical fallacies we have had to endure during this presidential election. It is refreshing to see someone actually come out and say it, refreshing and yet slightly worrying. Why can a 12 year old see this when so many mature and registered voters can't?

It comes down to the constant assault we receive. We are so bombarded with the mudslinging from both sides of the camp that we lose perspective, lose our objectivity. As a culture we have stopped thinking critically and end up going where we are lead. The presidential debates have been nothing of the sort. Instead of having relevant discussions we get two people talking and yet saying nothing.

So is there hope for the older generation? The increase in voter registration would like to make me think so. Is there hope for the future? As long as we are raising our children to be able to think critically and see through the smoke and mirrors then the answer is a most definite yes.

From this one letter the future is looking just a little brighter today.