The Revolution Will be Uploaded

Uploaded today via Twitter

I’m trying to figure out if it’s the fact that a lot of American journalists are banned from getting on the ground coverage of the protests following Iran’s obviously rigged elections, or if it’s just a smug praise gesture towards our new media that has turned a devastating injustice into a promotion for twitter, facebook and youtube. How much do people even know about Mir Hussein Moussavi anyway?

As much as I love the power of the people via citizen journalism…I’m just curious…what’s the bigger story? The fact that Ahmadinejad is a tyrant (that’s not news to anybody); the largest Iranian protest in 30 years; or the fact that new media is changing the shape of news in countries where free speech is not encouraged? I really think it’s the latter. Look at me, I’m a blogger blogging about this communication. And it does excite me to know that I can see videos from a peaceful protest in Tehran that are happening right now. And if it weren’t for youtube, this news may not have had the chance to make it out of Iran.

Police attack peaceful student protesters. Tehran, June 14, 2009

Well, I am a journalist. Smug, perhaps. New era. New media. New age.

Ways to stay on top of news developments in Iran:
The Lede
iranriggedelection.blogspot.com
Seach twitter under #iranelection

He Was Talking to Me

He was talking to all of us who seek peace whether internally or internationally. It’s like Benito Juarez said, “Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace”.

And speaking of quotes, I just have to highlight some of my favs from President Obama’s call-for-peace speech in Cairo. The man brought me very near tears. He speaks directly to the heart of every human being knowing full well that, if inspired, encouraged and respected, we can one-by-one paint a bold, clear vision for a better future. And live it.

Excerpts from President Barack Obama. Cairo, Egypt. June 4th, 2009:

So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace.

In this new age such attitudes are self-defeating. Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation…will inevitably fail.

Whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners to it. Our problems must be dealt with through partnership. Our progress must be shared.

Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and it does not succeed. For centuries Black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights, it was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America’s founding. This same story can be told…a story with a simple truth. Violence is a dead end. It is a sign neither of courage nor of power…that’s not how moral authority is claimed, that’s how it is surrendered.

If we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward. And I want to particularly say this to young people of every faith in every country. You, more than anyone have the ability to re-imagine the world to remake this world.

It is easier to start wars than to end them. Its easier to blame others than to look inward. It’s easier to see what is different about someone then to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path.

We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning keeping in mind what has been written.