By PAUL SCHNEE

In his “INFERNO” Dante wisely reserved the most scalding corners of Hell for those who, in a moral dilemma, tried to remain impartial. If Barack Obama had been a character in Dante’s Divine Comedy we would have known exactly where to find him. You will recall that when Russia invaded Georgia, during our election, the best Obama could do was to issue a statement saying “both sides should show restraint” thus drawing a moral equivalency between the attacker and the attacked. The inability to distinguish between the arsonist and the fire-fighter is a hallmark of the appeaser. Those of us who are unable to remain impartial between the fire and the fire department believe that a firm and immediate statement of moral support saying that the United States, as a beacon of freedom and democracy, stands with the Iranian people in their desire for fair elections, civil liberties, and the rule of law, should have been issued at once. This would not have smeared their protests with the “taint” of Americanism which so concerns the reluctant champions of democracy. Such a declaration of solidarity may seem a bit like stating the obvious but it is akin to “Give me liberty or give me death”. It has the salutory effect of stiffening the spine and focusing attention on freedom from tyranny.

Iran is a mullahocracy, an enemy of its own people, supported in all its malevolent forms by the odious apparatus of the Republican Guard who, thus far, have not required America as an excuse to hang homosexuals, stone women for infidelity, execute dissenters, or otherwise abridge the most basic concepts of justice and freedom. Sixty percent of Iran’s population are under the age of thirty. Unlike their enslaved counterparts in North Korea they have been exposed to the Internet, satellite broadcasts from the West, and news from family living in democracies. They like what they see and hear. Due to their courage Iran will never be the same again. The repressive regime has been wounded. Iran’s fate will play out in the streets, but the sight of an American president holding aloft America’s torch of liberty would not have gone amiss. However, this is best accomplished when that torch is not buried somewhere in the oval office underneath dog-eared copies of “Das Kapital” and Saul Alinsky’s “Rules For Radicals”.

It seems that Barack Obama will go to almost any lengths to avoid doing anything that President Bush would have done regardless of how appropriate it may be. Thus he displays a cold reluctance to support the protestors in Iran and to take advantage of the foreign policy opportunities their brave protests have afforded. In the alternate universe inhabited by Obama, reading captured terrorists Miranda rights so they can be brought to our shores and be tried in civilian courts will make our enemies stop hateing us, but timely and strong support for those trying to establish democracy in the face of ruthlesss oppression is far too dangerous. Since democracy gave us Barack Obama maybe the Iranians shouldn’t be so keen on having it after all!

PAUL SCHNEE lives and works in West Hollywood, California. He is a self-confessed sceptic with more grey hair than anyone really needs or wants. He does not have a degree or any other paper manifestations of his abilitiy. Therefore, by the public standard he is unqualified to pass his opinions. Nevertheless, he does it because he thinks he is right and because his career does not depend on him being so! Blog: paulschnee.com