If you’re waiting for Iran’s hard-line government to collapse and freedom to bloom, have a seat.
This is going to take a while.
The regime in that country is not some teetering shell, ready to be pushed over by mobs of protesting students. It’s an organized, disciplined and brutal entity. It will hold on to power.
Idealists may look at the injustice in Iran, combined with the now-dwindling protests, and conclude that it’s just a matter of time before the good guys come out on top.
But those who hold power are not inclined to give it up. And there are plenty of examples where those in authority manage to persist, despite a lack of wisdom, good judgment and legitimacy.
In fact, it’s the fear of losing power and control that leads to self-defeating harsh actions.
That’s why change is coming to Iran. The only question is: How will that change go, at least in the short term.
It would be nice to think that the massive rallies have given pause to Iran’s Islamic leadership. The huge protests that greeted the country’s (presumably) fixed presidential election might make leaders consider the risks of denying all of those people a legitimate voice in the political process.
Then again, consider the words of one of Iran’s high-ranking clerics, Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami, who declared protest leaders should be punished “without mercy.”
If you’re wondering, that means execution in Iran, whose penchant for capital punishment is second only to China’s.
In short, Iran’s leadership must decide if it’s willing to respect those who believe the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was rigged, and seek accommodation with them, or if it will crush and terrorize this upstart opposition.
I’m inclined to believe the latter. Compromise is not exactly the sort of quality one expects from the Iranian government.
Still, the regime has an image problem, and probably realizes it. Where it was once able to play the victim and blame the “Great Satan” (that’s America, by the way) for its ills, millions of people around the globe have seen the images from Iranian streets. And they are well aware of how the government has sought to clamp down on the free flow of information — only to be thwarted repeatedly by modern technology.
President Obama has kept his responses to the Iranian situation rightly subdued. His critics fail to understand this battle is one the Iranian people must fight. A strong U.S. reaction will play right into the hands of hard-liners hoping to make the U.S. the issue, rather than their own ugly actions.
And Obama’s measured approach will cause future problems for Iran’s ayatollahs. Efforts to silence the opposition through violent means will be noted by the rest of the world. In the Internet and wireless era, governments of educated nations need credibility to sustain themselves.
Let’s remember the Iranian government not only seeks to impose its own repressive religious standards on the people. It also has mismanaged the economy, creating bitterness even among people who might not otherwise care about politics.
There is no doubt Iran has a young and increasingly sophisticated population, aware of the freedom that exists in other parts of the world. Arrests and executions may stifle the push for modernization — for a while.
But not forever. An unjust system and a modern and demanding populace cannot coexist. The days of the ayatollahs are numbered in Iran. That number may be a high one for the moment, but the regime has planted the seeds of its own destruction.
Editorials
DEAR READER: Freedom faces long, uphill battle in Iran
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Postal service’s financial woes not of their own making
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Our Opinion: UPMC, Highmark tangle for dominance. But what about the public?
Health insurance recipients in western Pennsylvania received some good news recently. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Highmark Inc., the two local behemoths of the insurance and health care industry, reached an agreement to extend their contract with each other. The 18-month extension will be good through 2014.
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Our Opinion: Annual Jack Butz Award honors community involvement
During his lifetime, Jack Butz was known as someone who donated much to the community. And even now, years after his passing, Butz continues to give. We refer to the annual Jack Butz Award, where a local citizen is recognized for his or her contributions to New Castle and the surrounding area.
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Our Opinion: Why would New Castle weaken architecture standards?
There are times when communities must decide what they want to be. For New Castle, one of those times is arriving later this month. New Castle City Council is considering changes to the municipal zoning ordinance that will have the effect of seriously weakening standards for the North Hill Historic District.
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Our Opinion: A box from 1914 says something about the past — and today
The former Elks building in downtown New Castle was demolished months ago, but one bit of business remained. And city officials addressed that last week, when a time capsule from 1914 was opened.
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Our Opinion: Awareness campaigns protect generations of children
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Our Opinion: Secret Service scandal symbolizes breaches of public trust
There are a couple of pieces of good news regarding the Secret Service sex scandal. The first is that an investigation has determined the women hired as prostitutes by Secret Service agents in Columbia apparently were just that.
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Our Opinion: Municipalities save money with shared services
In difficult financial times, finding ways to use tax dollars more efficiently is an essential government task. That’s why we were pleased to learn that Shenango Township and South New Castle Borough have agreed to share police services.
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Our Opinion: State politicians use campaign funds in criminal cases
If you want to wage a spirited defense against criminal charges, you need money. A good attorney, after all, isn’t cheap. But if you are an influential elected official in Pennsylvania facing trial, this problem comes with a ready solution. All you have to do is tap into your campaign funds.
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Our Opinion: Resignation in Neshannock highlights leadership issue
With Neshannock Township now seeking a new manager, we hope the supervisors have learned something from their experiences so far. That’s because their efforts to date on selecting a manager for the municipality haven’t gone very well. Ironically, the questionable practices and decision-making displayed by the supervisors demonstrate the need for sound management in the township.
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Postal service’s financial woes not of their own making
