Politics A Change Is Gonna Come
posted by on December 18 at 11:52 AM
The House elections on November 7 sent a big “no” to Bush and American extremism. Similarly, the current local elections in Iran are sending a big “no” to Ahmadinejad and his form of extremism.
“Early results show that Mr. Ahmadinejad’s list has suffered a decisive defeat nationwide,” the Islamic Iran Participation Front, the largest reformist party, said in a statement. “It is a big ‘no’ to the government’s authoritarian and inefficient methods.”The pro-reformist newspaper Etemad-e-Melli said in an editorial: “The most important message of Friday’s vote was that the people have chosen moderation and rejected extremism.”
The way Americans voted in November must not be separated from the way Iranians are voting at this moment. Ahmadinejad’s power fell at the same rate that Bush’s power fell because, in the first place, it was Bush’s intolerance that pushed Iran to the far right. Bush made Ahmadinejad possible at the same time he made the situation in the Middle East impossible. If the results hold in Iran, the election, like the American one, can be read as a correction within the ruling system, capital. Once properly fixed and the soft power of the Clinton years is restored, then the global justice movement can return to the business it began in earnest in Seattle at the end of the 20th century. We are still on the road to planetary democracy, planetary socialism.
If the last election in Iran had been remotely fair, the Iranian people would have already rejected extremism.
extremism is never a virtue, and sadly Iraq may give the extremists in Iran an out.
How very "backwards".
You are exactly correct Charles.
How typically American (and arrogant) to always reach to capture the position of “cause” of all “results” as American. Its seems equally reasonable to say that the Bush administration would not have been possible without the likes of Ahmadinejad and his form of extremism and that it was the islamofascist worlds intolerance of infidels that pushed the Bush administration (and the majority of the rest of the USA, remember Bush was reelected) to the far right in response.
Charles, marry me.
Of course "islamofascist" is an entirely bollocks term of American origin.
"Bush made Bush made Ahmadinejad possible"
maybe.... and maybe it was and will continue to be the other way around. Most Americans consider themselves to be Christians and are slowly finding out the truth about religious freedom and (lack of) respect for nonmuslims in the Islamic world. Jews, women and gays will be likely to tolerate
"Islamaphobics" if it means standing up the people like Ahmadinejad.
And the whole world has seen that the west is bullied into supressing our freedoms by Muslims (ie the Mohammad cartoon rage and Pope riots) while Muslims proudly and with no aplogy execute people for being Christians and encourage antisemitism. There is nothing that causes Islamaphobia more that Islamic political,media and religious leaders. And with Islamaphobia there is more tolerence for the relious right in this country.
And just as American voters are ignored, so will the voters of Iran be ignored.
American troop levels increasing in Iraq,
preparations for invasion of Iran continue. Iranian religious leaders have a choke hold on Iranian civil society.
The machine grinds on. Who cares about the vote? It makes no difference.
The system is broken.
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