Neda, Father’s Day, Iran, and comfort
Today I sat with my father and grandfather (and the rest of my family, of course) and had a great lunch, followed by a few hours of family time. I came home and looked at the news, and out of what must have been a sick sense of curiosity, I saw the YouTube video of what will undoubtedly be the poster incident for the Iran election protests: a young girl named Neda cut down by a policeman’s bullet, her father crying over her as her life slips away.
We often think of Iran and the Middle East as a far-off place that will never be settled. I’m sure we would probably all agree that Ahmadinejad is a problem, and that Iran could use a better government, but that’s a cool observation made from our skimming of headlines. Here, in upstate SC, what sort of connections do we have to the place? What would push us a little further into the fray, and make us follow the news as if we cared? Certainly, we all care about Iraq and Afghanistan, but our men & women are over there in harm’s way right now. Of course we care. People we know and support are being shot at.
Elections aren’t a foreign thing, nor are rigged elections. I don’t believe for a minute that Ahmadinejad won. Protests aren’t foreign things either. So you have people protesting a bogus election. People protest in America all the time, and (barring the 1960s), most everyone nowadays is able to drive back home after the protest and have dinner with the family. In Iran, people are dying because they’re protesting a bogus election. Neda, the girl in the video, went out with her dad to exercise what we consider a basic human right. Next thing you know, she’s covered in blood and her dad is hysterical. Folks, this is not excusable.
We can’t go over there and join in protests, nor am I suggesting that we should. If you don’t feel any sense of pain for what’s going on halfway across the world right now, fine. But if you’ve ever protested anything (and we had a wave of that stuff over the past few months here) and not been killed, thank God, and pray for the families in Iran (such as Neda’s) that are caught up in this mess. Pray for the country. (I know there are people of different faiths over there, but don’t we still believe that God has the WHOLE WORLD in his hands?) Start following the news stories. Join a Facebook group in support.
Most of us enjoyed a good bit of comfort today with our fathers. Many fathers in Iran are mourning the loss of their kids, who were shot in the streets. If you’ve never paid attention to world news, now is certainly the time to perk up your ears.
Share this Post[?]
Nice!