History in the Making

As I read the news, follow on Twitter, and listen on NPR, I am almost speechless on the events unfolding in Iran. I believe we will look back at these past few days, and realize we saw history changing and unfolding before our eyes. This is the largest revolution that has occurred in Iran since the fall of the Shah in 1979. Thousands of Iranians are on the streets protesting the presidential reelection of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Over the past few days, we have seen a multitude of amazing things occur. Most importantly, the Iranian people have said they want freedom. The Iranians, 70% of which are under the age of 30, believe they suffered an injustice, and are fighting for what they believe is right.

The Iranian government has attempted to cut off communication to the outside world. They are trying to suppress the internet, and asked foreign journalists to leave the country. In response, new media has taken over as one of the primary methods of communication. News updates and videos are being reported on Facebook and Twitter. New media is now becoming mainstream media. According to the New York Times, Twitter had been planning to go offline for several hours for maintenance. The U.S. Department of State called and asked them to delay their scheduled maintenance. This is a benchmark in social networking diplomacy.

No matter what results from these protests, history has already been made. If Ahmadinejad remains the Iranian President, I will know there are thousands of Iranians who disagree with his policies. Next time he begins his anti-Western, anti-Israel jargon I will close my eyes and picture the thousands of protesters we are seeing in Tehran today. I will remember that these protestors forced Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to ask the countries Guardian Council to invite the three losing candidates to meet to discuss their grievances. In a country where the Ayatollah has the final word on everything this is progress. This is what I will remember no matter who emerges as the next Iranian President.