Iran So Far Away...

Posted by Sam Gillmer on 06.24.2009

What we can take from Iran's situation...

No B.S. None of that "B.S." stuff. We won't be having any of that B.S. for dinner. Thank you, but no thank you B.S. That, ladies and gents, sums up what the world told itself was going to happen with the Iranian Presidential Elections. Clearly, that was not the case.

Now that we have that first paragraph done, what I am trying to accomplish with this blog is two-fold. First, I'm going to get into a bit of detail on what I have taken from the Iranian Election, and second, I will lay down the law on what I have taken from the Neda Soltani slaying.

So, Iran had a presidential election, and the incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad beat out Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Seems pretty simple, but it isn't. You see, Ahmadinejad obtained roughly 62.23% of the votes, which is for all intents and purposes a land slide in the world of politics. The only problem is there have been disputes about whether the election was tainted, as Mousavi couldn't even garner the majority in his home area.

These are facts...sort of. I'm going to assume that my readers know the general jist of the outcome, or at least do know with that scintillating summary that was just exposed upon you. Now for my opinion. What the hell.

Okay, I understand that the results seem iffy. Mousavi was supposed to have at least made it a close race, and was soundly beaten in many of "his" districts. The problem that I have with the whole thing is, is Mahmoud really dumb enough to do it in the fashion that he did? Don't you think that if he gave Mousavi, oh say, 46% of the vote, that people may have just believed he lost fair and square? Throw him his own district for crying out loud. It seems fishy that Mahmoud got the areas that he did, but it also seems fishy that if it was rigged, that he didn't make it less obvious. Although, it's not like he has to answer to anybody with his homies the higher-ups. Or maybe he just wanted to squash any hope that the people of Iran had. It seems to me that many presidents here have gone on to lead very successful and powerful lives after politics by being well liked and respected by the general population. Mahmoud could have easily gone the route of public speaking and writing books, because quite frankly, people around the world would love to hear first-hand what it is like to rule Iran in this tumultuous time. Sadly, he did not go this route. The point is, this election seems as though no matter how you slice it, something is up, but for Iran to truly have a chance at ever standing on it's own feet, the rest of the world may need to steer clear of this one.

Now onto topic numero dos. Neda Soltani. Her death is a horrible event, but it does show us one very important thing, and that is that we are ever becoming a world culture. In the past, events like these could fairly easily be shut down by an oppressive government, but not now. In a world where we literally have websites where people say what they are doing at the moment, with gems such as "sharpening my pencil, OMG", these events can not be concealed. I for one think it's a testament that shows the general population sometimes needs to see real events to be woken up and to recognize how bad things can be, instead of sugar-coated news stories. Images can be much, much louder than words. Unless it's Gary Busey, than it's just plain funny either way.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, the world isn't always how we like to think it is. While some governments may try to maintain control and run countries how they want, regardless of rules, people now have the technology and means to send out a cry for help that will be heard around the world. Heard to the tune of that catchy, T-mobile jingle. Dun Dun Du Du Dun