Stagnant Nation

As thousands of protestors clash with riot police across Iran, angered by the outcome of the recent election that kept President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in office, President Obama stands in his stance that America will not “meddle” in the events in Iran. Ahmadinejad won the election against opponent Mir Hossein Mousavi by a reported 63% of votes to 34%. Mousavi claimed that the election had been rigged for months prior to the June 12th election, and so the protests continue. With a rising death toll and daily protests by angered citizens chanting “death to the dictator” it seems that the bloodshed will continue. And as these thousands of young Iranians, seeking freedom from the tyrant ruling them, fight for their freedoms, our president sits by and passively says we will not meddle. Since when did America become “land of the free, and home of the ‘timid’”? We should not start an unprovoked conflict with Iran merely on the grounds of a supposed rigged election, but we should show that we stand with and support the embattled masses seeking democracy! The upholding of freedom and the pursuit of justice is what America stands for, and yet we remain passive in the face of a generation of Iranians held captive by the chains of an all controlling dictatorship. The fight for their freedom is their fight, but when all others stand on the sidelines, we should stand up and say “If only in our prayers and in our hearts, we support you in your struggle for freedom, and condemn the leadership of your country that has denied you life, liberty, and your pursuit of happiness.” But no, instead we sit, refusing to “meddle” least we seem to actually take sides with the patriots of that country. I do not say we physically intervene, but the power of our words alone may be impact enough. What has happened to the America that when we saw an injustice in the world, and when we saw Israelis battling day in and day out for the defense of their home, we stood and in the face of the world said “You do not struggle alone”? But now we care? We care what a dictator thinks of us? Are we to afraid to actually choose a side? We instead say “we won’t meddle”, and back away closing our eyes like nothing is happening. We have a president more concerned that we not “meddle”, then concerned with the fact that on the other side of the world, there are those seeking their freedom, and we say nothing. The one country on this planet that should be willing to support those fighting for the very things that we stand for, but we can’t be seen to “meddle”. How many more Iraqi citizens would be dead at the hand of Saddam if we said “we won’t meddle”? Is there no backbone! Is there no one left to say “we support freedom for all mankind”! Apparently not, because we sit by and watch each day as our own freedoms are slowly whittled away at. By a government who now thinks they can control private companies. By a government that says they should limit individuals’ income. By a government that says they can look after our health better then we can ourselves. Maybe we should first start upholding freedom in our own country. I admire the Iranian rioters, they show that they are fighting for a cause and are even willing to die for it. Would we do the same? Will we stand in the face of our government when they become the overreaching? “The tree of liberty needs to be watered from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”- Thomas Jefferson. The very freedoms that our countrymen have shed their blood for generations for is being put to the guillotine, can we sit and watch much longer?