Just An Average Joe: Generational Divide

It has been said that the younger generation had an effect on the Presidential election that brought the first African American President in our nation. It is now being said that a generation that will not be silenced or dictated to by a status quo and enjoys the freedom and hope of a better future, is also influencing a countries election. This paraphrased statement is from an article appearing on The Daily Dish by Andrew Sullivan. The country being spoken of is Iran. The following is the article as it appears on the website theatlantic.com;
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/06/the-revolution-will-be-twittered-1.html
The Revolution will be Twittered
Mock not. As the regime shut down other forms of communication, Twitter survived. With some remarkable results. Those rooftop chants that were becoming deafening in Tehran? A few hours ago, this concept of resistance was spread by a twitter message. Here's the Twitter from a Moussavi supporter:
ALL internet & mobile networks are cut. We ask everyone in Tehran to go onto their rooftops and shout ALAHO AKBAR in protest #IranElection
That a new information technology could be improvised for this purpose so swiftly is a sign of the times. It reveals in Iran what the Obama campaign revealed in the United States. You cannot stop people any longer. You cannot control them any longer. They can bypass your established media; they can broadcast to one another; they can organize as never before.
It's increasingly clear that Ahmadinejad and the old guard mullahs were caught off-guard by this technology and how it helped galvanize the opposition movement in the last few weeks. That's why they didn't see what those of us surgically attached to modems could spot a mile away: something was happening in Iran. If Drum is right, the mullahs believed their own propaganda about victory until reality hit them so hard so fast, they miscalculated badly and over-reached.
The key force behind this is the next generation, the Millennials, who elected Obama in America and may oust Ahmadinejad in Iran. They want freedom; they are sick of lies; they enjoy life and know hope.
This generation will determine if the world can avoid the apocalypse that will come if the fear-ridden establishments continue to dominate global politics, motivated by terror, armed with nukes, and playing old but now far too dangerous games. This generation will not bypass existing institutions and methods: look at the record turnout in Iran and the massive mobilization of the young and minority vote in the US. But they will use technology to displace old modes and orders. Maybe this revolt will be crushed. But even if it is, the genie has escaped this Islamist bottle.
Maybe that's what we're hearing on the rooftops of Tehran: the sound of the next revolution.
Allah O Akbar!

I believe this article is spot on with the assessment of the situation over the Presidential Election in Iran. If the Mullahs have underestimated the rising unrest in their country, we could be viewing, the beginning of the end of the tightened hard lined Islamic rule that has been in place since the over throw of the Shah in the 1970’s. Iran has had Presidential Elections through the years but, the elected official has limited power which is controlled by the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Iran is facing many issues such as economic hardships with unemployment over 12% and inflation near 25%. Mir-Hossein Mousavi is the major opponent to the incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mr. Mousavi, former Prime Minister of Iran, is a reformist who wants more of a free market economy and a less aggressive tone towards the International Community involving Iran’s nuclear ambitions. He appears to have most of the support in the urban areas where Ahmadinejad has the support of the rural land. The election results have shown Ahmadinejad winning in a landslide. However, violent demonstrations have occurred since the results appear to contradict poling sources and demographic statistics.