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24 June 2009
Understanding Risk and Revolution
It's a nice get-together with my in-laws on Father's Day.
The kids float in and out of adult conversations, wanting snuggles here and owie-mending there... when this particular adult conversation turns to Iran and the upheaval it is experiencing.
We discuss some of the complexities and conflicts most recently in the news, and I become particularly animated as I recount the rapid succession of tweets from a day prior, about the rooftop Allahu Akbar chants escalating into shouting that shook the city.
That catches my eight-year-old nephew's attention.
With fascination and callousness borne of near-complete lack of understanding, typical for his age, he asks, "Why don't the [Basij & co.] just shoot 'em?"
"Sometimes they do."
His face falls.
"These people," I continue, "are risking their lives to get up on their rooftops and shout because they believe so strongly in what they're doing."
It's quiet for a moment, and then the conversation moves appropriately in a different direction.
***
It was quite a sobering talk for me, too - having this risk illustrated so graphically.
In today's society, it is too easy to forget the real risk our own founders took in banding together and rebelling against the government they had. It wasn't clean and peachy: slander at least, hanging, burning, drawing-and-quartering...
And it makes me think.
What am *I* willing to stand up for?
What am *I* willing to risk?
I'm at least willing to put my own name out there.
It's Krista.
23 June 2009
Good News from Kyrgyzstan
Following up on this post: The US and Kyrgyzstan have finally agreed to a deal that will allow the US to continue using their Kyrgyz air base.
That's good news on the Afghanistan war front, since the base serves as a main supply line for those efforts. As long as we're there, we'd better darn well be able to get supplies to our troops.
01 June 2009
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