Worth Fighting For

The picture that is all over the news today is stunning! It is a picture of a young Iranian woman, beautiful, alive! Quite different than the picture of that same woman being shown a couple of days ago, the picture of the same woman after she was shot in the chest. In the older picture she is dead on the street, a victim of violence during protest! "Neda" has become the face of the Iranian uprising. In the instant she was shot, she became a martyr, the face of the cause. The cause is freedom!

It is easy to take our American freedoms for granted. I am typing this freely and will post it with my open access to the internet. I am doing this while watching "Morning Joe" on MSNBC and listening to them openly discuss what is going on over in Iran. Some agree with our president's stance to sit on the fence, others don't. They are, however, free to discuss their disparate views freely.

After I am done here, I will take a shower and get dressed. I can wear what I want without worrying about covering my head or if I have an inch of skin showing. I don't have to be concerned about being stoned if dressed inappropriately. To women of other cultures, the fact that I am dressing to go to work....a job to make my own money...is remarkable!

Actions such as dressing, working, blogging, to us they may seem basic but in other places in the world, having the freedom to do so is unheard of. Freedom from oppression. It is what the people of Iran were hoping for when they headed to the polls last week and what they are protesting for today!

As we head towards the annual celebration of America's rising above opression, commonly known as 4th Of July, I can't help but wonder when Iran will be celebrating the success of their own revolution. It will take just a few brave people like "Neda" to lead the charge. Then a momentum will grow and hopefully freedom and democracy will take hold.

I said jokingly yesterday that I am glad America's revolution took place before I was born. I can't imagine not being free to do what I want, where I want to do it and when! Just can't! That feeling is ingrained in me as I was born in a country where freedom is a given. I am afforded the right to freedom by others who have fought on my behalf. I am very grateful for the ones that have fought in the past for our country and those that continue the fight today. I hope the Iranian people will someday be able to look back and be grateful as well. Like this post? Please share it, bookmark it or leave a comment.