Pen Truth Contributor
The Iranian people are actually following our lead. The United States has been a beacon of hope to the world not because we say so, but because our actions in the past have not been those of self interest. We stand for the rule of law, the will of the people and support common interests.
For eight long years we have had a leadership that did not represent our common ideal. The world felt that we abandoned our grand ideal. Our leadership bolstered those feelings with arrogant go-it-alone policies and rhetoric. Under that leadership we told the world that we didn’t care about world opinion or the rule of established world law.
We castigate countries that believe they are an island unto themselves and disregard world opinion and law. North Korea, Cuba and Iran just to name those currently isolated from full membership in the world community. The U.S. was quickly headed in that direction of becoming a world pariah
We wiped that away with one very substantial voice through the presidential elections of 08. We showed the world that democracy does work. That the American people have a real voice and did not like what our leadership stood for. One single election showed the people of the world that we still stand for our core ideals of inclusion, freedom, respect and the rule of law.
The people of Iran have taken our example and are addressing their grievances with a leadership that is out of touch with the concerns of the Iranian people. These changes are taking place not by bombing Iran as a different administration would have perused, but by our own ability to stand up and elect a leader that we believe stands with us, a leader that represents our core values and beliefs, a leader that those most in need of hope can look to and say, “Yes we can too.”