Writing in the U.K. Times Online, Michael Binyon asks if Iran is approaching the tipping point of revolution. It’s a revolution observers in the West have anticipated for a long time. Ever since the massive protests against the stolen elections of early 2009, when a murderer’s bullet slammed into Neda Soltan’s chest, we’ve wondered if the Iranian people would stand up and overthrow their sinister regime. Neda’s name became a prayer in the West, and many of us thought it would soon become a battle cry ringing through the stale air of Tehran.
New demonstrations are under way, and there have been fresh atrocities, but the regime remains in power. Charles Krauthammer has encouraged the Obama Administration to declare the regime illegitimate… but by the time that happens, the lumberjacks of liberty will already be shouting “Timber!” as the dead regime comes tumbling down.
The melancholy truth is that tyranny is extremely difficult to overcome. Every successful revolution has been a desperate struggle, conducted in the defiance of inevitable defeat. As a religious and spiritual people, we have a tendency to regard the triumph of the righteous as assured, and see victory as the destiny of virtue. The evidence of history says otherwise. No one would have given the American patriots winning odds at the outset of the Revolutionary War, fought against the most disciplined and well-equipped military force of the era, by men who marched through the snow in the tatters of disintegrating boots.
Even patriotic Americans of today don’t always appreciate how special our achievement is… not just in its success, but its endurance. Most victorious “revolutions” end with a new class of slaves cleaning up the victory celebrations, beneath the whips of a new set of tyrants. As Binyon points out in his Times Online article, grisly regimes like North Korea remain in power, despite decades of poverty and manifest failure. The image of a lone, unarmed man standing against a line of tanks in Tienanmen Square hangs proudly in the gallery of Western memory, but it is virtually unknown to the people of China, its rightful owners. Brutal oppression works. That’s why humanity is still sick with it, after thousands of years.
Freedom is not a gift, or even a prize to be taken in battle. It is a challenge, and it is frightening. Modern Americans are born with the greatest inheritance of freedom enjoyed by any children of mankind, but they don’t guard it jealously. Too many of them view it as a currency to be exchanged for benefits. Freedom implies responsibility, and choice is meaningless without the risk of failure. We’ve come to define “fairness” as “everybody wins.” To build that rickety and doomed variety of “fairness,” freedom must be melted down into nails.
Our current government does not provide a rousing defense of liberty to those battling oppression in Iran, and elsewhere. What do those people think, when they see an exhausted West that wallows in self-loathing? What conclusions do they draw, when they hear the grandchildren of the Greatest Generation meekly concede that freedom is a burden, and life depends on the subsidies and control of the State? What encouragement can they find in the example of a nation that racks up debt as if it doesn’t expect to survive long enough for the bills to come due? Should the Iranian resistance be eager to fight and die, to replace mullahs with swindlers who steal trillions with midnight votes?
Capitalism is the practical expression of freedom. The two concepts are inseparable. Freedom of speech without property produces nothing but serfs with active social lives. Our current President was pleased to accept a politically-motivated Nobel Prize from a committee that honored Yasser Arafat, a murderous totalitarian thug. He visited Copenhagen to receive polite applause from people that gave socialist dictator Hugo Chavez a thunderous ovation for his anti-capitalist ravings. Could anyone in this Administration deliver a heartfelt endorsement of capitalism to the hungry ears of the Iranian protesters? Would any of them even be willing to try?
President Obama’s belief that America’s standing in the world would improve with his election, because he’s a “good listener,” is the exact opposite of the truth. Wise people, and nations, are always listening carefully… but the world improves when America speaks with confidence. Obama’s cherished Indonesian childhood, and the travels through the Muslim world he boasts of, have proven to mean nothing to the forces of Islamic fascism. He should have spent more time learning what his American heritage means to the people dying on the streets of Tehran, and those like them around the world.
Iran’s future remains cloudy. Even if the rumors about the Ayatollah Khamenei preparing to flee the country are true, a great deal of butchery may separate us from the moment when the wheels of his plane leave the tarmac. The wildest dream of democracy would have the Iranian people put the rest of the theocracy on the next plane behind him, with no blankets or pillows, and strict instructions to remain seated during the last hour of the flight. Even if the story took such an incredible turn, we should be under no illusions that the people of a liberated Iran would automatically love us… but we should love them anyway. The American flag was not raised solely for the benefit of those who are blessed and honored to stand beneath it. It is a challenge to all the tyrants of the world.
I dearly hope that, before his time in office is done, President Obama comes to understand that the challenge of freedom was not meant to be mumbled, or cloaked in the false vanity of regret. It should be bellowed in the faces of butchers and dictators. America has a moral obligation to remain strong, brave, and confident. No one on Earth should ever have to face a disaster and wonder if the Americans will be able to help. No victim of oppression should ever look at us and wonder if we still think freedom is priceless.
Cross-posted at Hot Air.
This is one of the finest uses of words I have ever seen .
A wonderfully crafted essay, Doctor; your use of rhetoric is truly inspiring. Unfortunately, they are words to which we cannot adhere; while I agree that there was a time and place for them, these are not they. It is an antiquated notion, to cling to the American machismo which has, of late, placed us in such low esteem world-wide. Was Bush the Younger’s machismo well received? The “Coalition of the Willing” proved otherwise. We must stand down from being the schoolyard bully … No, this does not automatically place us into the role of the 98-pound weakling, either. As with any responsible citizen, the proper tack is somewhere in the middle.
As usual, Doc, you have left me with nothing else that can be said.
@ DOne
One: “As with any responsible citizen, the proper tack is somewhere in the middle.”
Glad you’re not steering my ship.
How exactly does “low esteem world-wide” figure into our support of folks rebelling against tyranny? Is there ever a proper time and place if these are not they?
@ DOne:
“while I agree that there was a time and place for them, these are not they”
I assume you meant ‘these are not “those”‘..as in times. That aside. Please leave behind the Bush references. It’s tiresome and childish. Doc Zero’s words are timeless. And it will always be time for them.
And to the extent that Bush was a macho cowboy, I’d have to say that we have swung the pendulum as far away from that as we could have. For Obama is as an effeminate pantywaist as I have ever seen in my life.
DOne wrote:
I think you have entirely missed the point. The point is that the notion of liberty is timeless. It does not matter if the words of Jefferson and Madison were penned 200 years ago or yesterday, it is the concepts that matter.
As we are learning to our great chagrin, just because a president that can claim a level of heritage in the Muslim faith, including invoking his middle name upon his inauguration, it has not followed that the radical Muslim has disengaged. Indeed, it would seem that he has become emboldened by our acquiescence and appeasement.
So it would seem that the lessons learned on the playground in grade school apply equally to small children as they do to entire nations – bullies will continue to bully those who cower, but the first time a bully gets a knuckle sandwich will be the last time he bothers the person attached to the fist. And I dismiss entirely the notion the United States plays the role of the bully. I wonder if those who have been released from the bonds of tyranny in Japan, Germany, Soviet satellite states, Afghanistan, Iraq either directly or indirectly by the United States and the principles that our nation was founded upon would agree with you.
But apparently there are those in power who never learned that lesson. Taken together with the old saying about those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it, we are in for a long three years.
“Man can be chained, but he cannot be domesticated.”
-Robert A. Heinlein
DOne reads more line just plain done. Antiquated my arse! If that is truly how you feel about this country and its freedom, them perhaps you should move elsewhere, say, Cuba, where you can bow down in comfort to Castro.
As usual Doc, you nailed it and stuck the landing! If the founding fathers were here today, I think they would be appalled at our current state, and would probably be preparing to pimpslap Precedent Dither.
Great article, Doctor.
Scientific testing shows the last paragraph is not actually ink, but is in reality made of 24k gold. Perhaps you should contact a gold resale group and offer to provide them with pure ingots of fiery, freedom-loving truth.
+1.
Hello John, and pleased to meet you finally. I have thoroughly enjoyed your essays since I first followed a link to the Green Room. I know that others have said this more eloquently, but you have a gift for synthesizing very complex concepts and rendering them with poignancy. I read your work aloud for the simple pleasure of hearing the language used so beautifully. I hope that many others will discover and appreciate your sincere and wise point of view. I look forward to a future with your thoughts available to me and wish you the very best success with your blog.
DOne wrote:
With all due respect the good Dr is correct about freedom. You cite “world opinion” and how President Bush was viewed as proof that we must “tread” a middle path. the fact is the only time the world had an overwhelmingly positive opinion of the US was when they needed our strength to bail them out of a war or a disaster. Do you truly think that President Obama’s approach will garner us anymore support in the global community? How did his approach work so far with Russia, Iran or even something as petty as the Olympic Games?
The concept of freedom and defending that concept does not have an expiration date unlike the promises of the current administration.
You’re just the best Doc.
DOne wrote:
It is an antiquated notion, to cling to the American machismo which has, of late, placed us in such low esteem world-wide.
Yeah, I have noticed over the past few years how people are risking life and limb to escape this evil empire, why before you know it “they” will be building fences on our borders just to keep people in.
DOne, you best escape now while you can …..
Wonderful discourse, everybody … I thank you for your corrections. However (and you knew that a however was coming), what Doctor Zero calls for is:
“[Freedom] should be bellowed in the faces of butchers and dictators. America has a moral obligation to remain strong, brave, and confident. No one on Earth should ever have to face a disaster and wonder if the Americans will be able to help. No victim of oppression should ever look at us and wonder if we still think freedom is priceless.”
While I agree with the basic argument, the implication is that we, as a nation, should impose ourselves upon the world to incite “freedom.” Does this entail a physical imposition, a la Iraq? Or, is this simply a verbal imposition, a la Pakistan? Regardless, each nation and its citizenry must determine that democracy is their path, their choice … a way of life should never be “bellowed” in a foreign citizenry’s faces.
John Durham wrote:
Why, because I’m outnumbered? Why don’t you process my opinion, respond to it, and attempt to change my mind? Isn’t that what intellectual discourse should be? Or, has the Right become that entrenched that liberals are thrown from the walls of the Conservative keep?
“each nation and its citizenry must determine that democracy is their path, their choice”
Leaving aside your conflation of liberty with democracy, no.
Any more than each citizen may determine whether rape or burglary is his choice.
Human liberty is a goal, not a means.
Oops, I forgot-
If the citizenry decides that it wants to be enslaved, is that a free choice?
What if the White citizenry decides that the Black citizenry doesn’t need liberty? Does it matter if only 10% of the citizenry is one or the other colour?
We should oppose tyranny whenever, and to the degree, practical.
Reluctant alliance with Stalin in 1941.
Kill Mugabe today.
I think “Freedom” should be bellowed, at this time more than ever…..when you see the strong hand of government growing stronger every day….then yes, it should be heard loud and clear.
We should also teach our children what it means to be free.
I am currently watching the “John Adams” series that HBO did….if any have not seen it, and like American history…..take the time to rent and watch this series. But when I watch it, I am reminded of how much of a struggle a single thought was…..that single thought of being free. These men dearly wanted freedom for their children and grand children and were willing to do what it took to achieve it.
So DOne I see your point, and I understand what you say. But our President and country should speak out against tyranny….but we should not venture into a country to bestow a precious gift of freedom (not to mention the precious gift of our men and womens blood) on a country that is themselves not willing to die for it.
So I have to say it does sadden me to watch the current President not realize what a great country we the people have trusted him to run for the next 3 yrs (maybe 7). Our the previous office holder not wisely use the resources of our country and citizens.
So for now, I will continue to pray for our leaders regardless.
And I hope most of ya’ll that read DocZ’s words do the same.
Ezekiel 22:30
@Doczero,
Man I always am glad to see one of your posts on HotAir.
Keep it up, you have a great understanding and use of the pen.
The issue is not as to the worth of freedom, nor the value of liberty.
Rather, it is whether America’s children are worthy of remaining a free people. Many are but are enough? Make no mistake, it is the American people who shall make that determination by their choice of which path before them they shall follow. One path leads to the uncertainty, the challenge of liberty, upon the other; “There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”
No barbarian outside the gate shall by force take away from us our freedom… but, we may gradually give it away, until there be nothing left to give.
The question is whether Kennedy’s inaugural words still ring true for ENOUGH Americans, “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
Obama’s election and American’s 50% split on most issues, makes the answer to that question one that no man knows but upon that question, shall our fate be decided.
God Bless you, Doc Zero – your piece is another masterstroke!
“Our the previous office holder not wisely use the resources of our country and citizens.
sdunn December 30, 2009 at 10:09 pm”
Although I’m not prone to defending GW Bush, in this instance I feel compelled to offer another perspective.
In the case of Radical Islamists, I don’t think anyone, including the Intelligence Community and the Pentagon, could have imagined just how relentless and ruthless these jihad terrorists could be and would be, until 9/11 and beyond. Throughout the world, including unfortunately the United Nations members/representatives, information was disseminated via the powers that be through a Legacy Media with preconceived notions and an agenda/meme, and that agenda was primarily to charge that the United States of America is the big, bad, capitalist country, and anyone who opposed them by any means must have been justified in doing so.
Right now the world at large is getting a rude awakening and reality check, and realizing that without the US’s military support and political support, all are desperately vulnerable because they went the socialistic route, neglecting their own military defense needs so dangerously due to the presence of the USA in the global theater, that they’re now faced with becoming overrun by Islam themselves and/or other threats.
And at the helm of the USA is the weakest President we’ve had in at least a century, with Jimmy Carter claiming that title right up until 2008. Sadly, unless Obama does a complete 180, we won’t be able to “lead” or help out because we’ll be too bankrupt financially and militarily. And us ‘civilians’ have our hands tied until the next elections.
BTW, Great article, Doc!
sdunn wrote:
Please do not misunderstand me: I will fight to maintain freedom in our own country … my contention is with the imposition of liberty. Any liberty not earned through struggle and fortitude … any liberty imposed upon a people … will not be as cherished as liberty desired and earned.
KendraWilder wrote:
Oh, gawd… this is exactly what I’m railing against. It’s the world’s fault because they didn’t follow our example … because they chose Socialism, we abandoned them and they will fall to the Islamofascists. Please, this is an oversimplified version of the world. There are plenty of ocialist and pseudo-Socialist regimes that we support; there are democracies that we reject. The world is not able to be classified in such neat, tidy, black-and-white generalizations.
Having read all of the comments, I can only conclude that DOne missed the point of this essay.
This post has been linked for the HOT5 Daily 12/31/2009, at The Unreligious Right
Doc-
I’m going to print that out to save, and to have my children read. Thank you very much. And I will even leave in the one line that doesn’t ring true, and is a fairy tale, given the tenderness of their ages:
“I dearly hope that, before his time in office is done, President Obama comes to understand that the challenge of freedom was not meant to be mumbled, or cloaked in the false vanity of regret.”
There’s no point in looking to Obama for anything, other than to locate the obstacle to right-thinking, and the impediment to goodness and righteousness, and justice. As such, he’s a danger to America, and to the aspirations of freedom-loving people everywhere. And imho, it’s no longer necessary for you, or any writer, to continue to offer him the benefit of any doubt, by virtue of his recently won position. Apparently, Presidents can not only be failures, but scoundrels as well.
If Obama has done anything for America, and even for this writer, it’s to prove that if he can be President, anyone can. (That’s a double, back-handed compliment.)
@ DOne:
“each nation and its citizenry must determine that democracy is their path, their choice”
I think DocZero meant that we should promote the idea of freedom and democracy loudly.
However, I’d like to take on this idea of people making their own choice. This was OK in the days of the American Revolution when the oppressor was an ocean away and had to send troops armed with muskets on a months-long journey by ship to put down the rebellion.
In the modern, post-colonial world, freedom fighters have no such advantage. The oppressors are in the capitol city and have weapons of mass destruction at their disposal. If the Iranian military sticks with the mullahs, the protesters have nothing but a mass grave in their future. This was the case in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, hence the still-being-discovered mass graves filled with Shiites and Kurds. So, there are times when the forces of freedom and democracy need to impose that on a people ruled by a vicious and intransigent dictator.
The measure of great writing is the extent to which it forces you to think. Your writing always leaves my brain exhausted! This post took me all the way back to my childhood (which is very far away). It made me aware of just how challenging my own freedoms must have been to those around me and how absent those freedoms are for the children of today.
I remember jumping on my bicycle with a fishing pole, some matches, a little food to cook for lunch, and enough worms to drown for the day. I was 12 and I would often travel for miles to a favorite fishing hole, by myself or with a friend. I can only imagine the horror this sort of behavior would induce in modern parents. By today’s standards this behavior could well be illegal.
What I’m sure of, after reading your essay, is that my childhood freedoms were also lessons. They taught me that great freedom comes with great responsibility and that when you take freedom away you pinch off the need to be responsible.
I fear that our creeping, relentless march towards nanny statism and our reluctance to shout out our freedoms, has a dark side. For every freedom you give up there’s one less thing you’re responsible for and the end point of such trades is a people responsible for nothing, devoid of any purpose at all.
I finally understand where “live free or die” was born and I thank you for that.
Well done doc, and thank you DOne for stirring the pot. I would encourage all those calling for DOne’s deportation to instead welcome his dissent as an opportunity for debate.
Some important points to make in regards to the ideas of freedom and liberty.
There is absolute truth in this world. The ideas of freedom and liberty are components of that truth. In the same manner, Evil exists in this world, and most have forgotten what the face of evil looks like. Most Americans have never come face to face with it. The tyrants of Iran, venezuela, russia, cuba are evil. And they are AFRAID of America and all it represents. Never forget that they, rightly, fear us. People are starved for a voice of truth and hope. In this world, it is sadly missed. The world has mistaken the rhetoric of Obama claiming hope and change for truth. Those of us who know what truth is, cover our ears at this noisy gong ringing hollow.
As Doczero writes “What conclusions do they draw, when they hear the grandchildren of the Greatest Generation meekly concede that freedom is a burden, and life depends on the subsidies and control of the State.”
“The challenge of freedom was not meant to mumbled, or cloaked in the false vanity of regret.”
The greatest struggle Americans face in maintaining their liberty is complacency and sloth. We are supposedly in the midst of one of the worst recessions ever, and yet, in the history of the human race, we’ve never had it so GOOD!
DOne writes “It is an antiquated notion to cling to the American machismo whi has, of late, placed us in such low esteem world-wide. ”
I don’t believe it can be considered machismo to hold dear and proclaim the ideas of freedom and liberty. Are those ideas antiquated? What do we care of the esteem of the world? Do you care what a stranger thinks of you? Even more so, do you care what those who stand against us think of us? Of course they hold us in low-esteem. I would be more concerned if they held us in high regard.
DOne ” WE must stand down from being the schoolyard bully”
Is it bullish to stand up for the oppressed? Are we bullies because we don’t stand for being punched in the face? Most bullies will only stop terrorizing you when you punch them back. America is not the bully. Just because a defender chooses to defend with violence does not make it a bully.
DOne “As with any responsible citizen, the proper track is somewhere in the middle.”
Liberty is the middle between anarchy and suppression. This argument annoys me to no end. We should just go along to get along. Everyone should have a voice and all their opinions should be considered and we should find the happy middle, blah blah blah. When you know the truth you stand up for it and proclaim it. You don’t dilute it with falsehood.
DOne speaks that we shouldn’t impose liberty. The idea of imposing liberty is oxymoronic, and America doesn’t do that. We impose on tyrants. We take away their power to oppress and then we give people the opportunity to choose freedom and liberty.
America should BELLOW in the face of all tyranny. Instead we mumble and whisper and apologize for being great.
Odysseus wrote:
Touche, Odysseus. I suppose that this is my talking out of both sides of my mouth; I call Doctor Zero’s position antiquated, yet I fail to place my own argument in modern context.
I guess that the root of my dissent stems from the fact that I do not support any call to war in Iran. Not only would this tax our quickly depleting stores of credit, but this will just stir more hatred and resentment in the already- volatile Islamic states of the world.
Excellent argument ev! And thank you for welcoming me.
We on the left espouse, as you state: “Everyone should have a voice and all their opinions should be considered and we should find the happy middle, blah blah blah.” This really should not be trivialized. Truth is not as objective a thing as you state.
Truth is a subjective concept, despite how we frame it. As Milton states, once trapped, she becomes like Proteus … insubstantial and indistinguishable. Our version of truth is never, with 100% certainty, clear; we need everyone’s input and perspective in order to fashion a version that is probably closer to the truth, but never quite reaching it.
But, I’m rambling. (Sorry)
Despite the fact that I abhor violence and despise the Chavezes, Ahmadinejads, and Ayatollahs of the world, their and their people’s version of truth is different than our own. We call for freedom, but their vision and version of what freedom is is entirely subjective. Let us understand them completely before we begin shouting them down.
DOne, I had the sneaking suspicion that objective truth would be the root of our disagreement.
What I always find interesting is the idea that one who subscribes to a relativistic world view point can take a stand on anything. The logic will always break down when dealing with relativism. If there is no objective truth, then globally nothing matters. The humanist should only care about themselves and their own advancement during their time here on earth. There is no foundation for a global argument about anything.
It doesn’t matter what they do in Iran, Sudan, Pakistan, Venezuela, Cuba, or anywhere else, because that action can be explained, and rationalized relatively. You may believe in the value of all human life and freedom, but without an absolute truth, it doesn’t matter if Chavez or the mullahs believe in it.
ev, you’re absolutely right; it’s a sort of existentialist existence where (naturally) doubt, uncertainty, and a bit of self-loathing comes into the equation.
Like Milton states later in his work, it does not prohibit us from the constant seeking of an objective truth. Despite the fact that she is unattainable, we are not absolved of the responsibility of the drive to define her. Unfortunately, though, bits of truth are found in the evil as well as the good.
KendraWilder wrote:
I salute Bush on how he handled the terrorists, after watching Obama handle things, I full believe now that Bush has been right.
Where I think he went wrong and wasted precious resources and blood was when he listened to the hawks around him, to build a case for Iraq (done by fear…something that they have been doing very well ever since).
Sadaam, love him or hate him, was not a “religious” Muslim….in fact while he was in power his whole nation was afraid of him, and he had no problems. By having that crazy man there, it also kept Iran in check…..don’t forget they have fought each other.
I wish Bush would have focused all our efforts and energy from the beginning on Afghanistan.
I think he totally caught them off guard and they had no way to mount a defensive posture.
I think if Bush would have kept on Afghanistan from the beginning….things would be very different now.
And Iran would not be doing the crap they do now.
Now we have a president in office who is afraid of the word win or victory unless it involves basketball.
DOne wrote:
“Truth is a subjective concept, despite how we frame it. As Milton states, once trapped, she becomes like Proteus … insubstantial and indistinguishable. Our version of truth is never, with 100% certainty, clear; we need everyone’s input and perspective in order to fashion a version that is probably closer to the truth, but never quite reaching it.”
Man I don’t know…..sounds to philisophical too me.
I believe that while some “truths” could be subjective….
Some are 100% certain.
Truth is that Castro is a burden to his country and people, same for Kim Jong Il and N. Korea.
Truth is that a centrally planned economy does not work, i.e. Soviet Union.
Truth is that the young generation of Iran wants freedom and that the hard line of Sharia law is not in favor of freedom.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by juanitocabrone: “The Challenge of Freedom” http://is.gd/5GdRc by @doc_0 “swindlers who steal trillions with midnight votes?” I *loves* that man #tcot #gwot…
@ Carolyn in PA:
Ditto-couldn’t have stated it better!
We are losing our freedoms on a daily basis and I fear that until this is realized, America and Americans are being replaced with the diversity of the European style. We are losing the diversity of the individual, which is the type of diversity that made America unique.
Everyone in this country has had the freedom to be anything we set our minds to. Unfortunately, now we are once again being held down by the beliefs of a few. We are being told we cannot succeed above our station in life if we are black, we cannot succeed above a certain level if we are white unless standards are lowered for others first and we have allowed ourselves to be placed last so as not to offend others. We cannot pray unless we do it in secret, yet we must make allowances for Muslims to pray five times a day to mecca and provide a place to do it.
We have made so many allowances for others that we are losing who we, as a nation, were meant to be. Islam mmakes NO allowance for diversity, only conformity. Unless we remember who we were at the time we were founded, we will find ourselves having to choose between being Americans or Muslims. There will be no inbetween. Islam or death is the choice we will be given.
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