by Rich Miles
Now this is news: large numbers of Iranian clerics have gone against the status quo, and have declared that the Ayatollah Khamenei and the Guardian Council, the government organization that regulates elections are...simply...wrong.
Think about this for a minute: Khamenei is the Iranian equivalent of the Pope. He is considered infallible, and to even question his decisions and pronouncements is blasphemy, literally. It can get you jailed, or even executed.
But now, over a month after the Iranian election, and over a week after Khamenei made his pronouncement that it's all over, nothing to see here, the election is final and Ahmadinejad is the winner, no discussion or further examination - a large group of lower-level Iranian clergymen are questioning - questioning!!! - the Ayatollah's decision, and indeed disputing it, saying that the evidence is there that says the election was rigged.
Now, consider this for a moment: Iranian clergymen (there are no clergywomen, at least none whose opinions are this important in Iran) are doubting their god-on-earth.
Could this be the beginning of the end of the Islamic Revolution?
But more to the point, could this be the beginning of the end of infallibility cults in religions all across the globe? The pope, the Dalai Lama (a good infallibility figure, but still...), the wingnut leaders in America, etc., etc. Could we start viewing these people as just people, just like us, instead of godheads in earth?
We could only be so lucky.
Regardless of your own religiosity quotient, have you ever thought about what the world would be like without gods? Have you ever imagined what we as the human race could do with all the resources that are diverted to religious causes, if we only had them to distribute to the truly needy all across the globe?
"Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky.
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace.
You may say I'm a dreamer,
But I'm not the only one.
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one."
- John Lennon
Almost 30 years after his death at the hands of a murderous madman, could it be that John Lennon's dream is starting, on a very small scale, to come true?
I know, pie in the sky, dreaming, crazy nuts, etc. etc.
But I'm not the only one.
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4 comments:
Would that your wish be reality.
But ... there is some immuteability here. The Basij militia makes the Shah's SAVAK look like crybabies. The Aya will turn them lose. Remember how much he has in common with Shrub/Chimpy/43.
You may be right, Scout - but I think it rather depends on how many Basiji there are. I have a sense that the Iranian people have reached a breaking point at which they will fight back with vigor if pushed much harder. Sure, the Basiji are better-armed than the average Iranian, but we may be surprised at what comes out of closets and out from under beds if necessary.
The 21st century is the time, in my humble opinion, when despotism is defeated once and for all. And Iran may be the first place it happens. Just a hunch, just a feeling. It will either happen this way, or not.
You may be right, Scout - but I think it rather depends on how many Basiji there are. I have a sense that the Iranian people have reached a breaking point at which they will fight back with vigor if pushed much harder. Sure, the Basiji are better-armed than the average Iranian, but we may be surprised at what comes out of closets and out from under beds if necessary.
The 21st century is the time, in my humble opinion, when despotism is defeated once and for all. And Iran may be the first place it happens. Just a hunch, just a feeling. It will either happen this way, or not.
Tiananmen Square didn't change things in China, and they don't have the level of superstition embedded in the culture that the Persians do.
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