Social Media And People Of Good Will
Posted: March 22, 2012 Filed under: Anti-War, Iran, Israel, Middle East, social media 8 Comments
We’ve seen the power of social networks in action—the Arab Spring, the explosion in Athens, the spreading Occupy actions around the world. Facebook and Twitter have by-passed conventional media outlets, giving private citizens eyes on the world in real time, regardless of geographic location. You Tube and live streaming have piped uncensored images to all corners of the globe. But recently, there’s been a new development in usage, a reach-out campaign by two Israeli graphic designers, horrified by the bellicose rants for war in their own country, Iran and the US. The saber rattling has gone unabated as politicians, commentators, and Heads of State seemingly try to outdo one another with Dirty Harry rhetoric.
Ronny Edry and Michal Tamir had a simple idea. There’s a certain beauty to simplicity. The couple designed a template to be used on Facebook, posters of themselves that say:
Iranians. We will never bomb your country. We love you.
Initially, their friends scoffed and said they were crazy and naïve. Several messages they received at the beginning were cynical, mocking in nature. But then, other Israelis joined in and Iranian responses followed. In fact, the two Israelis started receiving messages from around the world. Citizens talking to citizens, devoid of leaders, diplomats, generals and propaganda.
We don’t want war, the messages read. We’re sick of war. We’re sick of the people leading us into war. The You Tube posting states it clearly:
Crazy? Naïve? Perhaps. But I couldn’t help recalling that old line from the Vietnam era: What if a war was planned and no one came? What if?
We’re living in dangerous, uncertain times but along with that comes great opportunity for change. I really like the idea of individuals reaching out in creative ways to change the unchangeable, to push against the unmovable. No guarantees, of course. There are few positive stories out there anymore but this just happens to be one. More information can be found here.
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PeggySuee,
Thanks for posting this. HUGS 🙂
I am so tired of all the wars and the neocon mentality. I hope that the Iranian people know that we may not like their oppressive leadership, but we love them and know they are suffering, especially the women and the youth.
You Rock Peggy!
Thanks, WV. You know, I can hear it now from the major political pundits–how utterly stupid and silly. But a story like this has an inexplicable appeal.
We’re all caught up in the propaganda, told who to hate and when. And the people directing that propaganda are not the ones putting their asses on the line. Are there bad people in the world? Of course. But Persia [Iran] is an ancient civilization, far older than us. The country didn’t age by being stupid–stupid leaders, perhaps, but not the culture, the people. The majority population in Iran is young and educated with good reason to look to the future.
Personally, I’m weary of war and lame excuses. War is death, anti-life–for all sides. There are those who would say not to be war-ready on the moment is a death in itself. We’ve played that game to America’s great expense in blood and treasure. So much blood. So much death. The idea of ordinary citizens reaching out and saying: we don’t want this, we are not controlling this . . . is nothing short of inspiring.
Color me crazy and naive. This is change I can actually believe in :0). It may come to nothing but still, I’m glad a few people of good will made the gesture. That’s not a small thing.
I love this peggysue! Thank you! I really enjoy your posts!
Thank you, Ma’am :0).
Citizen to citizen ——– there is common ground. The problem is too often the leaders.
Thanks for this uplifting and positive news.
What a heartening story! I hope this people-to-people movement keeps going. The grunts who have to fight and die in wars know the cost. As do their families.
The idiotic leaders hyped up on power-over and excess testosterone should have to fight it out in the ring themselves. We could just lock up the arena and throw away the key.
This talk was given by Gates last week but I’ve seen almost nothing of it in the MSM.
Robert Gates: Attacking Iran Would Be A ‘Catastrophe’
Sometimes it takes a simple act of humility to make a difference in the world.