-- Amil Imani

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” John F. Kennedy Today, all Iranian expatriates are united in solidarity with the Iranian people in Iran. Today, we are all standing tall to let the world hear our continuous aspiration for a free and democratic Iran. Today, we pledge ourselves, under the divine inspiration, to stand beside the Iranians in Iran and echo their voices around the globe. Today, we make history, yet again.

Iran's President Ahmadinejad, a veteran of the Islamic Republic's repressive Revolutionary Guard, took office on August 3, 2005, after unexpected win in a sham presidential election -- there are no democratic elections in the Islamic Republic of Iran. All candidates are prescreened by the Guardian Council before they are allowed to run for office.  In practice, a president of Iran is already chosen through a farce process of giving the voters a chance to elect one of the men hand-picked from the regime's functionaries, as was the case with President Ahmadinejad. {C}

What is a demagogue? According to the encyclopedia, a demagogue  is a politician skilled in oratory, flattery, and invective, evasive in discussing vital issues, promising everything to everybody, appealing to the passions rather than the reason of the public, and arousing racial, religious, and class prejudices.   History tells us that personal liberty is most often the demagogue's first victim, particularly when popular sentiment is whipped up against some internal or foreign enemy. In other words, liberty and demagogues cannot coexist. The ancient Greek word "demagogos" means simply a spokesman for the people or, more pejoratively, a leader of the mob. “Modern usage implies rhetorical gifts and the ability to arouse an audience,  sually with the promise of radical change.”

I repeat: Is democracy the killer of liberty? The dictionary defines democracy as the rule of the people. Even at its best, “democracy is the worst form of government except for all the rest,” according to Winston Churchill. Is democracy a very bad form of government? Does it hold the threat of destroying humanity’s most precious right – liberty? Here are some things to think about.

In the so-called democratic societies, a semblance of democracy hobbles along with fits and starts, always on the verge of complete subversion and collapse. For instance, the Western democracies are representative democracies where the ordinary citizens do not rule. A representative democracy is, in effect, a plutocracy where moneyed people and powerful interest groups rule.

Never mind the mythical angels of religion and poetry, meet a living angel in flesh, Nazanin Afshin-Jam. Many of you may not know that we have a hero in our midst. Many of you may not know that this individual, singlehandedly, has done more for her compatriots, as well as for other people of our planet, than most of us together. This dazzling beauty, both inside and outside, has dedicated her life to the good of humanity.

The vast land of United States was once inhabited by a relatively small number of indigenous people. These native “Indians” had lived throughout the land for thousands of years, and they will always remain the first inhabitants of what is now the United States. These native people helped the pilgrims survive the winter.  Later, European immigrants came and the number of settlements finally outgrew the native Americans.

Then, on July 4, 1776, America declared its independence from England, the old white grandfather across the sea.  The miracle of America happened, and its dynamic birth rapidly changed the entire world.