Resistance is not futile

Wake up! You will lose your country. 

 —Gavin Newsom

Before I get into this, I want to say that I do not support any particular party. I support humane, and intelligent sane politicians with common sense. Unfortunately, the one in office lost all his marbles long ago. 

In general, I find the democrats passive, and the republicans, aggressive. Too bad that they cannot meet halfway. But things seem to be changing in the U.S. Democrats are learning to grow some balls. I guess the level of corruption is too high of a price to pay. (image by: ArtByPam)

Americans have started to speak out fearlessly. They're pulling together in their neighborhoods to fight back ICE. There are massive protests across the nation to fight corruption. Activists, and ordinary people are joining force by getting on the streets to fight a Genocide unseen since the time of Hitler. Perhaps the  democrats such as Gavin Newsom, and Bernie Sanders, for the the first time in a longtime, are starting to act like leaders, asking people to rise, and save their country.

If you give them an inch, they take a mile. Never give them an inch. 

Long ago, I got into an argument with my brother about abortion. It was on the ballad that teenagers would need a parental consent to get an abortion. I voted against this. He voted for it because he had kids, and believed that it was the right thing to do. I asked him what if the teen got pregnant because of incest or rape, and the parents forced her to continue with her unwanted pregnancy. I said this is how they win. They chip away gradually until Roe Vs. Wade is shredded into tiny pieces. 

He now agrees with me because he has seen what has happened to abortion laws, and other laws that have come into play when no one speaks out. They just think, oh, it's something small. I'm not going to worry about it. You see, if you sit back, and think like that, all your rights will be taken away as you have seen in recent times.

I was at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday. They always start with the National Anthem. Except that I couldn't help thinking about the Irony of it all. You know that last verse of "The land of the free, and the home of the brave." All I could think of was ICE in L.A grabbing people off the streets, and sticking them into concentration camps. So, where was this land of the free, and the home of the brave that I was standing up for?

It's important to resist whether it is through the system as a politician, judge, or lawyer, an activist protesting on the street, a journalist reporting the truth, a filmmaker showing the public the hidden agendas of the controlling few, an actor like Al Pacino fighting a corrupt justice system in the movie titled And Justice for All, an artist like Bansky making a political statement by painting murals, a writer spreading the truth no matter how small the audience, or through meditation to tilt the dark energy to light. 

History has taught us that freedom is never free. We must stand up for it. Not just for us, but for the society as a whole. We should be like the Borg Drone named Hugh in Star Trek who learned that "resistance is not futile."

Government cracks down

Two weeks ago I was proud of the Iranian government for giving certain freedoms to their citizens. And now I have nothing to say to them. I search for words but I feel empty. How can I say anything good when there is nothing good to be said? Everywhere I turn I see policemen beating those who are frail. Everywhere I look, I see pools of blood. Every noise I hear is a scream of a peaceful protester being dragged out of his or her home, beaten and then thrown in jail.

CNN today reported 400 parents showed up in Iran at court asking after the health of their children and they were told to come back a month later. I watched an Iranian woman get shot today. Her eyes slowly drifted away and in seconds her body gave up. Where is the mercy? How can they kill so many innocent people? It takes special people to kill – the kind with no hearts.

They are peaceful protesters with no weapons. Guards in plain clothes go after them as if they are hunting for their next meal. They beat them with heavy sticks and drag their bodies against the grave. The helicopters flying above the crowds spray acid on the protesters. Their bodies burn with pain and yet they continue with their march toward freedom. I will never forget the events of the past 8 days and the days to come. The images of the dead and tortured will be branded in my memory for as long as I am alive and as each day passes, I find it harder and harder to smile.

Iran

The Arab governments which include countries such as Saudi Arabia are watching Iran, scared of a revolution coming their way. Many of their activists are looking closely as well, wondering about the outcome of millions of people gathering in Tehran, Isfahan, Ahwaz, Shiraz, Gorgan, Tabriz, Rasht, Babol, Mashhad, Zahedan, Qazvin, Sari, Karaj, Shahsavar, Orumieh, Bandar Abbas, Arak, and Birjend.

In order for anything to change, there must be risk. People like me who are afraid of taking certain risks will live under oppression for the rest of their lives. It is the braves of the world who pave the way for the rest of us cowards. They risk getting tortured and killed so that the generations ahead of them can live a better life. As Martin Luther King Junior put it - Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

In Iran, many students have been shot to death. The numbers have not yet come out because the foreign media has been barred from reporting on the Iranian revolution. And since they cannot verify the numbers, they are unable to report it. I watched a video showing a man who got shot. Blood was gushing out of his wound and someone else was trying to get the bullet out of him with his fingers. Iranian hospitals are full. Even the military hospitals where the ambulances are supposed to take the injured protesters to be healed and punished later are full. Obviously, the death toll is well over the 7 people that were previously reported.

Iranian authorities have broken into activists’ homes and work, confiscated their properties and broken their computers and other belongings. They have arrested foreign ambassadors and reformists and have threatened websites that report the news on Iran. I guess what I don’t understand is why is the Iranian government holding everyone else responsible but not themselves. And why are they angry at the rest of the world for reporting the news? Reporters are simply doing their job – covering the news. They have done nothing wrong. The news is coming out and people are curious to read and watch it.

This revolution is not about foreign governments interfering with the Iranian government but rather it is about the will of people against the will of a government that refuses to annul the previous election and start fresh.

Iranian Protest

I'm not surprised that Ahmadinejad won. It was to be expected just as it was expected when George W. Bush won when he ran against Al Gore. Except that good old Al should have fought harder but he didn't. Americans should have protested but they didn't. And so, we all lived under the Bush dictatorship for 8 years. Americans going about their day. Foreigners, scared to speak up in fear of getting kidnapped in the middle of the night and being shipped off to some secret prison and tortured by the likes of Rove, Chainey, and Rumsfeld. What can I say? Life is unfair and I am politically incorrect. But writing is my only escape from this chaotic world.

I'm not sure what will be the outcome of the Iranian Protesets. I read a report by the Associated Press that one person has been killed and three injured. The Iranians are brave for getting on the street and fighting for justice. They are are tired and want their freedom and hopefully they will get it someday very soon.

As for me, I am not sure who I am anymore. Iranian? American? Does it matter? After all, we are all the same - human beings who love our families and want to live peaceful lives free of oppression and  Tyranny.