Twenty Years Later

On June 4, 1989, tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square and the army fired on its own people. The world watched in horror as China brutally suppressed any signs of open rebellion to cement its political legitimacy.

20 years later, there are rampant fears that history will repeat itself in another area of the world. Days have passed since the apparently fraudulent presidential election was complete, and the streets of Tehran continue to be hotbeds of political dissent as demands for legitimate democracy are heard with no end in sight. Analysts expect the situation to only worsen. And many anticipate that it is only a matter of time before the tanks coming rolling down in Tehran.

If Iran experiences its own Tiananmen Square incident, what will happen next? Will it lead to the broader mobilization of revoluationary activity? Or will it effectively quell any future prospects of democratization?

I'm no expert on Middle Eastern affairs, but something about this is captivating. I've been swept up in the revolutionary spirit. Although I cannot imagine what these brave men and women in Tehran are facing, I embrace the principles they stand for and am there in spirit with them. In a speech, former President George W. Bush once said, Everywhere that freedom arrives, humanity rejoices; and everywhere that freedom stirs,let tyrants fear." So in that spirit, let Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Khamenei fear. And let the seed of democracy runneth over into other tyrannical regimes in Sudan, North Korea, Burma, China, Zimbabwe, and others.

Let freedom ring.

pictures courtesy of Boston.com.