World Update: Iran

Over the past few days, I've seen the headlines on CNN.com that talk about all of the crazy stuff going on in Iran. To be brutally honest, I've sort of ignored it. But today they posted a story called "Who Was Neda"  which was accompanied by a picture of a pretty girl about my age. Apparently she was out observing an anti-government demonstration when she was shot in the chest by the military. Her death is captured on a cell phone camera and is circulating around YouTube and other video sites. Groups all over Iran are using it as a rallying point.

This prompted me to read some of the other articles to see exactly what all of this is about. Apparently there was an election on June 12th. Huge numbers of Iranians turned out to the polls to vote and rallies held for both candidates suggested that the race was going to be close. The incumbant leader was declared the winner, but the guy who lost said that there were violations in the process. Supporters from the losing side took to the streets in protest on June 15th in one of the largest protests since 1979. Days later, the supporters take to the streets in a silent protest (those were all the pictures of people that you saw over the past few days with green tape marked over their mouths). On June 21st, Iran's Guardian Council said that the number of ballots cast in the election exceeded the number of elligible voters, fueling the fire.

I absolutely cannot imagine living in a country where you could be shot for just observing an anti-government demonstration. I know that the United States there was actually a time where you could get killed at an event like that - I'm so incredibly thankful that if I chose to protest now, I could go out and do so. I also feel so lucky that we live in a country where we don't generally see the kind of protests that we're seeing out of Iran. I know that it took a lot of work to get to where we are, but I sure am glad I'm not one of those people that had to pave the way.