Our Duty

On their own, new technologies do not take sides in the struggle for freedom and progress, but the United States does. We stand for a single internet where all of humanity has equal access to knowledge and ideas. And we recognize that the world’s information infrastructure will become what we and others make of it. Now, this challenge may be new, but our responsibility to help ensure the free exchange of ideas goes back to the birth of our republic.

Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton

January 21, 2010

Some of these challenges are very useful, particularly for the new generation, in whom the essential fervor of the Green Movement (Mr. Mousavi’s Political Movement in Iran) is found. The true achievement of the Islamic Revolution is the struggle against a return to dictatorship and the resistance of the people on this path. The refusal to conform to lies, cheating and corruption, which we witness today (in Iran), clearly shows the presence of this ongoing and everlasting achievement, just as the tightening choke hold on the media and press, the filling up of prisons and the merciless killings of the innocents on the streets, whose only wish is to peacefully obtain what is rightfully theirs; clearly shows the existence of the roots of oppression and dictatorship which are leftovers of the tyrannical monarchy.

Mir-Hossein Moussavi

February 2, 2010

To me, the issues are clear cut. Our Secretary of State says in eloquent terms that access to the internet is a human right. Mr. Moussavi describes the situation in Iran as one in which the ugly head of dictatorship is raising its head.

Today is the 31^st anniversary of the Iranian Revolution and the ousting of the shah. For anyone who is interested, we watch the attempts of thousands of brave men and women trying to stand up to this dictatorship. For the past six months, we saw the people of Iran demand that their votes in the last presidential election be counted. As with the demonstrations today, these people face tear gas and beatings and being shot. They are rounded up and thrown in jail. Some are tortured and some are murdered. When they are rounded up, their families are not told.

What can America do to help? Are we still the great bastion of Democracy or not? Do we have the power to help these people? I think we can help without sending our troops which would have the wrong affect. In the name of promoting the Democracy that we hold dear, we should find a way to open the internet to the people of Iran. The Iranian people need an internet that is not censored by the Iranian government. Do we not have the technology to get something similar to wifi for the Iranian people? How does Google provide free internet in Mountain View? Madame Clinton speaks of an uncensored internet as a basic freedom. We must insure that these freedom seeking people have access to sending and receiving information.

If this revolution succeeds, will the new Iranian government be pro-American? I wish I could answer that positively but I cannot. If we are seen as an ally helping Iranians claim their freedom, we have a good chance. But whatever the outcome may be, a new government can hardly be worse either for us or the Iranian people than what they have now. As Americans, we have a duty to help people seeking freedom. Most Americans believe this. I hope our government does as well.