Will Iranian protest be silenced? Despite government efforts, Iran is approaching the day when the clerics who actually run the country may not be able to continue their reign of power. The current Iranian citizen protest over the recent election results gives credence to the idea that change may not be far from reality in the near future. Older Iranians remember better days when Iran was a friend of the west.
Two particular elements contribute to the possibility that the Iranian protest will not be silenced. One element that is beyond control of the clerics is the youthful population that resents the total control exerted upon them by the old clerics who seek to keep Iran isolated from the modern world. Despite the clerics efforts to control all information from the citizenry, the Internet has effectively diminished their power. Young Iranians yearn to join the world community, and enjoy the potential of increased freedom.
In addition to the unrest of this youthful population, the old clerics continue to battle each other for control of the country. They are totally inept in the world of international politics, and are relics from another time. They fight for control based upon their individual regional interests. As Abraham Lincoln once told us, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." That is an apt description of Iran today.
In the short term, Iran can undoubtedly quell the protests by the force of power. The killing of protestors is not distasteful to the ruling powers. Their culture has always been a brutal one, and death may be viewed as an escape from worldly problems. Thus, Iran will assert the absolute power with which it is ruled. However, there is no evidence that the threat of death will silence the voices calling for change.
The world community may play into the Iranian protest situation by continuing the isolation of Iran from global trade. As Iran continues to slide into the depths of economic depression from the sanctions imposed by a disproving world community, those protesting the tyranny in Iran will be aided. Economic disaster also helps diminish the power base of Iran's current ruling cleric.
Iran's citizens are not ignorant, and oppressive rule is not universally embraced by them. The current path of Iran's ruling clerics has no long-term future in a country that cannot be blinded forever from the reality of today's world. Just as Americans were known to chant that they would rather be dead than red when Russian world domination was a threat, Iranians today seem to be of similar thought about continued repression by clerics who would return them to the lifestyle of one thousand years past.
Thankfully, the point of no return will soon be reached by Iran. That is a nice thought to contemplate, and one that should be embraced by all people worldwide.