Slashdot Mirror
Iran Cracks Down on Internet Sites
Dan Brickley writes "It appears that Iranian ISPs have been ordered to block a large number of popular Web sites, including weblogging, community, chat and email services. Web (particularly weblog) use has been increasing rapidly in Iran, with 64000+ weblogs published by Iranians via various sites. As of today, if the news is correct, the majority of these may be inaccessible to their authors, as will the email (eg. Yahoo) services they use to communicate with friends, colleagues and family worldwide. See stop.censoring.us and hoder.com for more details. The newly expanded blocks include PersianBlog, Blogger and the Google-hosted Orkut 'social networking' site, where Iranians come third after Brazil and USA, representing 7% of all users. How can we get our Iranian friends back in the Web?"
I'm a kid of some poor(ish) people. I'm no longer anything resembling poor, but it's my intention to join the National Guard anyway, because they need the people. It's definitely not for the money.
I'd take a couple of years out to fight (i.e. kill, and risk dying, in your terminology) for a free Iran, one in which they may blog hateful or joyful things about me, to their hearts content. I'd fight to stop the Iranian-state-sponsored murder of girl-children who were victims of rape (aka 'unfaithful wives'), and to free their women and dhimmis from second (or third) class status. I'd fight in the Sudan to bring something resembling justice and fair play, and end slavery. I'd fight to end the abomination of infibulation (look it up) in certain Islamic and W. African cultures. I'd fight to stop the genocide in Darfur. Drop me in Chechnya, and point, and I would strike at the heart of the groups who were affiliated with the Beslan atrocity. I'd fight to stop Syrians crossing over to Iraq, as well as fight to take down Bashar Assad's Baathist regime. I'd stand on a wall between Palestinians and Israelis, suicide bombers and all, to make sure neither side harms up the other while I'm standing there. I'd go into the mountains of Afghanistan and work to end bin Ladin's mortal coil. Or to help complete the route of the Taliban, to help stabilize the entire country of Afghanistan.
The question is, why won't you? What happened to you that you can see the abominations of the world and not work to oppose them by whatever means feasible?
Maybe you think all wars of liberation are, somehow, wrong when we play a part. Maybe you want to see a world marxist international instead of a free market. Maybe you think f* em, they can do it themselves. Maybe you don't see anything about America worth propagating (let alone even defending). Maybe you think that we can change Iran, or N. Korea, or al Queda by protesting. (If the latter, I'd love to see that. But you and your type don't even give it a try, because, like I, you know it's a worthless gesture, and you save your protests for people who won't just kill you outright)
But for me, my duty (the responsibility to recapitulate the blessings I've lived with all my life) calls me: America is good in that it has democracy, stability and freedom for itself. It is great in that it can bring democracy, stability, and freedom to others. I want to be part of that greatness.
Jefferson said it well: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants". For Liberty to take root in the world, our patriots (not nationalists - the patriotism of free men can transcend nationalism) might have to bloody up the sand in another land. We just have to find the patriots over there, is all. There aren't that many now - but there are more every day.
I think a lot of people here forget how blessed we are - not just America but the entire West - and, instead of feeling the duty to be the best we can be because of those blessings, instead become resentful, spiteful little trolls (c.f. France, the Democrats, Michael Moore, and you).