I protested in the late sixties and early seventies. It was when I was in college in the midwest, and the country was consumed with controversy. The Vietnam war was raging and the draft had us all afraid we would end up like the friends we had who didn't make it back. At the time, I was torn. My father was a decorated WWII veteran and, I was of a mind, that my country needed me. But I was against a war that seemed to make no sense, unless you were an ideologue. A seemingly, unjust war that was taking too many of my friends. So we protested. We marched, and sat in, and spoke our minds. Speaking truth to power was what believed in, and, that we could change the world. It is amazing to be part of something like that.

During the time I was protesting, the Kent State tragedy happened. For those who don't know, it was an incident where the National Guard opened fire on some protesting students at a college in Ohio. I remember the sadness, but most of all the shock and outrage. Our own forces shot our own kids. Everyone that I knew felt personally attacked, and it made us surer of our cause, and we redoubled our efforts.

As I watch what is going on in Iran, I am thinking about my experiences, back then, as a "power to the people" person. For the uninformed, they had an election in Iran, that seemed illegitimate, and like us, the people have taken to the streets to vent their displeasure. There is a difference though, and I wonder about us, here in America, as I contemplate that difference. Here, in America, we were shocked that there could be any retribution to protesters. In Iran they were told, in no uncertain terms, that there would be terrible consequences if the people did not stop their demonstrations. Even though the demonstrations were peaceful and allowed by the Iranian constitution. So that made me think. These people are out in the street, in spite of the danger, risking a government crackdown that will make Kent state look like a picnic, for the things we take for granted. In their disputed election, they had an eighty percent voter turn out. In America, we celebrate when get sixty. The question then is, if we had to confront our government for the things we believe in, and we knew we might die for it, would we? Or would we just listen to our favorite "news channel", the one that reinforces what we already believe, and leave it at that. Satisfied that we knew what was what, and just lazy enough to believe it.

I don't know what will happen in Iran. I hope it is the beginning of something that will change the world for the better. In any case, we should be inspired by the courage of the Iranian people and grateful for living in The USA. What's left, though, is, taking the time and making the effort to know what really is going on in your country and the rest of the world.