Some time ago I decided that this blogging thing is becoming too much of a burden and not as much of a recreational activity I envisioned it to be, so I relied on Forrest Gump to convey my feelings on the subject and stopped. Surprisingly the Earth didn’t stand still, and, according to a humorless fellow Pitch commenter, everyone is probably better off without me “spouting some inane half literate garbage off the top of (my) head, without offering a single new fact, based on things (I) read courtesy of the hard work done by the good folks in the “dead tree media”" . In the meantime, I entertain myself trading one-liners on Twitter and mostly keep my opinions to myself. Once in a while I see a subject, an image, a story and just like in the old days I think: “This could make a good post”, too bad I don’t feel like writing it. In the past weeks for various reasons I thought about death and dying, love, P&L made-up controversy du jour, almost typed something up in defense of Nadia Pflaum, who I don’t even know and rarely read, almost wrote something about Obama, auto industry, weather, movies and pickling of a watermelon (that may still show up some day). I thought about writing about these things but I didn’t because no one really cares what I have to say and to prove that, my blog is still getting about the same number of clicks I used to get when I posted something every day.
I guess nothing prompts me to actually sit down and write something like a cattle-like public support for the Iranian opposition, complete with blogs, facebook messages, re-Tweets, green-tinted avatars, etc. Here is a video of the public racing to support the “democracy” in Iran.
For the record I don’t care who gets elected in Iran because in Iran “…Supreme Leader … has the final say in all matters”; Iran’s current president may be an angry Holocaust-denying degenerate with a potential access to nuclear weapons and no love for America but I can make a similar case for many other world leaders and, to some degree, for many people in the US congress and some former presidents. Let me make up some facts for you.
1. Until last week you’ve never heard of Mousavi.
2. You think he is better than the current president because an angry demonstrator with a green mask on his face told you so.
3. You have no idea what his platform is and if he is planning to stick with it.
4. You found out from Twitter that there was election fraud.
5. You felt that the opposition needed your personal support.
6. You painted your avatar green and now it says “where is my/their vote”
7. Mission accomplished.
8. This doesn’t seem ridiculous to you at all.
I am sure after being beaten and sprayed with tear gas the Iranians come home and find satisfaction in the “sea of green” faces on Twitter. You played an important part in the supporting of democracy, give yourself a good pat on the back.
It’s no secret that the tactic of indiscriminately supporting pro-American opposition didn’t always work out in the long run. One doesn’t have to look back 30 or 50 years to find another failed example of a misguided American foreign intervention. Both the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and the Rose Revolution in Georgia were enthusiastically supported, encouraged and financed by the United States but produced neither the expected results nor any significant political and economic improvements. Few years later the new opposition is clashing with yesterday’s revolutionaries demanding their removal from power. Today, Ukrainian and Georgian people resent the United States for interfering in their affairs and egging them on into hasty action.
That’s why President Obama should continue with the policy of leaving Iranian people to resolve their election problems for themselves, while making sure that their Twitter is in perfect working order. United States’ support of the Shah is in no small part responsible for the current situation in the country so if there is a time to stop interfering -- it is right now. It is painful to watch the beatings, bloody clashes and murders but there is no guarantee that if the opposition wins they will not kill and loot like their neighbors in Iraq. Who will you support then? So far the number of casualties is comparable to an average year in Kansas City, I don’t recall a huge wave of Twitter indignation for our local beatings and murders.
In the meantime all the clueless do-gooders can continue their self-gratifying support for the Iranian demonstrators and protesters, changing time zones for conspiracy and painting their faces green. Election fraud and stolen elections apparently happen to the best of democracies (just Google “2000 election stolen“), no reason to get hysterical about it. Especially if you live 7,000 miles away and it takes you 3 tries to point Iran on the map.
In the famous words of Klaatu:
People cannot be given the government they truly want. They need to take it. It has to be built on their own efforts. The mess Iran has for a government is their own mess. The less meddling we do in it (either officially through our government or otherwise) the better in the long-run. I don’t want the people of Iran to think of whoever their tyrant is next year as America’s poodle. We’ve got enough of our own problems to deal with.
And some of that daily traffic was just me checking to see if you’d posted again yet. If you’d really stopped you would have taken the site down. You’re a cynical old humbug and I enjoy finding things to disagree with you about (the Iran subject notwithstanding).
Hey… I missed your posts and was glad to see this one. Just do like I’ve started doing… if i’ve got something and I feel like it I post otherwise I don’t. Theocracies scare the hell out of me even when they aren’t exploding.
You impress me with your knowledge of world politics. Of course, I don’t even TRY to understand all that stuff, so you could be faking it and I wouldn’t know the difference. But I don’t think you are faking it.
I hope you can once again find some joy in blogging, but if you don’t, that’s your business.
Very interesting commentary. Everyone realizes, even the neocons, that we cannot physically intervene in Iran. It appears that the current rulers will continue to rule and probably continue their bloody acts. The only war that we can wage right now with Iran is one of words. The real test will come with how we deal with N. Korea. We know they have nuclear weapons and they have probably supplied Iran with components. If N. Korea shoots one toward Hawaii as promised, Obama will have no choice but to blow it out of the air and be ready for confrontation at the border. I am grateful Gates is at the helm because Obama desperately needs his wisdom and guidance now. Israel and/or the Arab nations will have to deal with Iran. We’ve got bigger fish to fry.
Burrowowl: this site is paid for and I am getting about $5/month worth of clicks, plus I am pretty proud of my previous work so I am not deleting anything unless I have too.
Donna: I do make a lot of stuff up,so don’t quote me on anything just in case. The only exception is food, I do prepare and eat everything you see here.
Travel:I read a lot about N.Korea because a prominent Russian specialist on Korea has a blog. He also writes books and in newspapers, lives and teaches in S.Korea, interviews N.Korean refugees,etc. He emphasizes that all this stuff is a ploy to attract more American attention and especially more aid to N.Korea. N.Korea is not as high on Obama’s list as it was on Bush’s and they are not happy. There are also rumors about change in leadership there. Hopefully Obama has someone who has an understanding of the situation and can help guide the policy.
I like your posts, but I understand – sometimes it’s fun, sometimes it’s not, and when it’s not, then it’s kaput. Happy Father’s Day!
I swear to The Flying Spaghetti Monster, you and emawkc are the most cynical, negative human beings on the planet.
No one can do anything about anything, we are all powerless pawns, voicing protest is a waste of time, nothing ever changes, blah, blah blah.
History has proved you wrong so may times it’s pathetic.
English noblemen forcing King John to sign the Magna Carta made a HUGE difference in the medieval power structure.
The American Revoloution, The Declaration of Independence. The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, all registered on the Richter Scale of world wide Human Rights and dignity.
The French Revolution echoed those same traits throughout Europe.
For good or for ill, the Russian Revolution had a similar impact.
The actions of individuals can change the world.
The inaction of apathetic, cynical individuals can also change the world.
Or ensure that it stays exactly like it is.
Your call.
What are your priorities? How much do you care about the world your children will live in?
XO:100% of your examples involved people with weapons doing (or credibly threatening to do) things. You painted your picture green. There is a difference. Now if you packed a backpack and joined protests in Tehran (not on the Plaza by the fountain) I would totally agree with you. See I am not all that negative.
Happy Father’s Day!
I got a free ticket to the Harry S. Truman museum. Being a father finally starts paying off.
Haven’t you trained your daughter to fetch you cold beers yet? Just hours away at the pool we were remarking that the parenting thing is already paying off, b/c we can send the older one to fetch drinks from the snack bar.
she cooked the pancakes but I had to wash the dishes, obviously there is still lots of work to be done
You did a damn good job covering the fortified angle and I hope you will cover more stories like it in the future and I can link to you and be more timely about it.
As for Iran, I’ll admit to being swept up for a day (Iranians sure do know how to tweet) but I now agree this is something for the Iranian people to resolve. I’d like change but it’s not about what I’d like, it’s about what’s best for Iran.
Post on your schedule, not what you think everyone else thinks your schedule should be. Some m.v. beats the hell out of no m.v.
Well and truly said, Meesha.
But what are we going to do with all this energy and indignation now? Being level-headed, evaluative and calm is just no fun at all.
I am so glad that you are blogging again. Would have been quite a loss for me — what would I do with my time at work?
Yeah, part of that traffic was me checking in to see if you’d posted. Take breaks if you like, but don’t go away, Meesha!
But this is a bit much !
Credit to Hot Air
“President Barack Obama’s administration said earlier this month it would invite Iran to US embassy barbecues for the national holiday for the first time since the two nations severed relations following the 1979 Islamic revolution.
“There’s no thought to rescinding the invitations to Iranian diplomats,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters.
“We have made a strategic decision to engage on a number of fronts with Iran,” Kelly said. “We tried many years of isolation, and we’re pursuing a different path now.”
Dang, dude!
I would have penned your obit but the Forrest Gump video was too subtle; with anyone else I might have gotten the hint. But you’re not known for your subtlty…
; ‘ )
Ah well – you can always quit again.
My own flip flop on the blogging thing taught me to take a less obligaited attitude towards blogging. While the standard rhetoric among bloggers is to say “I write for myself and not traffic or comments” sounds good, but is pure bull shit. Case in point, practically every blogger who writes those words has a hit counter. You write because you have something to say, be it about Korean Tacos or people turning their avatars green. Ive never read one of your posts because I though it would change the world. I read you because you write well, you are right more than you are wrong, and because you entertain me. Glad you are back.