In support of good for Iran

BY JEREMY CARPER

AS I WRITE this, spontaneous demonstrations are continuing to erupt throughout Iran. Despite government intimidation, people are still protesting the Guardian Council's edict that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won reelection in June by an overwhelming majority. Rifts have even been reported among the clerics themselves, although it's not clear what impact these may have. The current regime has command of the firepower and muscle to stay in power, and it isn't hesitating to use them. But the claim that its policies are the result of its religious authority is unlikely to resonate with many of its citizens or with the world at large.

Many of the people protesting the election are young professionals. Women, whose roles seemed to be diminished under the Council's rules, have played a surprising leadership role in the grass roots opposition. The martyrdom of the young woman known as Neda Agha-Soltan has left many individuals and nations feeling appalled—and commenting.

Iran seems to be on the cusp of history, teetering between an abyss of repressive dictatorship and an equally uncertain alternative that at worst could bring anarchy to a proud people with 3,500 years of recorded history. But these two alternatives don't have to be the only possible outcomes. An ancient and well-loved Iranian proverb can point toward a spiritual solution. It is, "Taking the first step with the good thought, the second with the good word, and the third with the good deed, I enter paradise."

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