We watch in horror and distress, admiration and fear as so many brave Iranians are murdered in the streets, imprisoned for their beliefs, executed seemingly at will. We watch with revulsion as the Government of the Islamic Republic intentionally uses its citizens as cannon fodder, as women are deeply persecuted and denied basic rights, as men stand up for freedom. Twelve-thousand dead? Twenty thousand? How many more?
Dismantling a regime whose leaders do not see the deaths of their people as a loss, who, motivated by religious extremism, see no cost in human suffering too high, view the sacrifice of its people as martyrdom or a necessity for its very existence…
What can we do? I try to learn.
My friend and fellow writer, Rebecca Morrison, whose family had to leave Iran when she was a small child, wrote in her article in this morning’s U.S.A. Today:
For decades, I carried anger and heartbreak about Iran so deep I thought it had become an unmovable part of me. Watching the current protests has brought up emotions I thought were long buried. The familiar ache that comes from loving a country that’s caused so much pain for so many.
The rest of her moving article here:
(And follow her on Substack, where you will also learn about her upcoming YA novel, The Blue Dress, which tells the story of an Iranian girl growing up in the U.S. https://rebeccamorrison.substack.com/):
Perhaps listen to Haviv Rettig Gur’s recent podcast “Breaking Iran’s Machinery of Oppression.” Haviv is a wise Israeli commentator who has some cautionary words about the outright use of military force by the U.S. to bring down the regime, complex suggestions of what might be done:
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I have no music to share this week, but you might like to recite this prayer, written by my friend, Joel Kleinbaum, (https://postwokepnw.substack.com/) for the people of Iran:
Mi shebeirach avoteinu Avraham Yitzchak, v’Yaakov v’imoteinu Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, v’Leah… May the One who blessed our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and our mothers, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah: bless the brave people of Iran who have risen up to fight tyranny and oppression. Bless them with courage, strength, and the will to throw off the yoke of tyranny and oppression, as it is written by the hand of Your prophet, “This is the fast I desire: To unlock fetters of wickedness, and untie the cords of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free; to break off every yoke.” Remember the words of the Psalmist, “Adonai is a haven for the oppressed, a haven in times of trouble.” May You protect them, strike down their enemies, and prosper all their endeavors. May their freedom bring about an era of peace in the Middle East, and for the entire world, and we say, Amen.
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I had a different Substack in mind for this week, talking about my writing progress and the publication of a new essay that I’m proud of. Time enough for that in a few days.
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