tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19833734.post6839106716337113692..comments2024-02-22T19:21:40.330-05:00Comments on Muhlberger's World History: It's not a show for the spectatorsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19833734.post-8580177431323768842009-06-24T11:22:09.487-04:002009-06-24T11:22:09.487-04:00Likely the use of English indicates that the prote...Likely the use of English indicates that the protesters want to make their case before an international audience, and feel that they are part of an international community whose standards include honest elections. Persian participants in the Constitutional Revolution of 100 years ago felt exactly the same. (Kurzman, Democracy Denied.) What kind of foreign involvement the protesters might want varies, I am sure, from person to person, but many Iranians sympathetic to the protest are very cautious, for reasons that are obvious for anyone who has read 20th century Iranian history. The issues here are not pro-West/anti-West. The "West" means many things in Iran, some good, some bad, some even irrelevant.Steve Muhlbergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18136005762428407135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19833734.post-28446217408428438432009-06-24T09:40:49.757-04:002009-06-24T09:40:49.757-04:00I would argue that the ubiquity of protest signs i...I would argue that the ubiquity of protest signs in English, YouTube videos captioned in English, and English-language Twitter feeds suggests that the Iranians DO want are involvement somewhere beyond the realm of hopes and prayers.<br /><br />It does make me laugh, though, to read Joe Klein referring to someone else, without irony, as "a crude, unsophisticated demagogue."Dr. Richard Scott Nokeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01348275071082514870noreply@blogger.com