If the broadcast news has escaped you in the last few days, you are not alone. Just think of the thousands in Tehran who, in the wake of the recent elections, first of all lost their broadcast media, then lost electricity, then suffered a shutdown of internet and mobile phone services. Then there are those with satellite links who are forced to run for cover and go underground.
Meanwhile, the news in the western world wakes up to the events unfolding, but slowly, oh so slowly. Still, with journalists having to flee the country, or having their equipment confiscated, it’s asking a bit much that we get a balanced view of the news on television.
Anyway, we’re probably more concerned with celebrity chefs and TV hosts, or renegade comedy outfits making inappropriate satire, but there’s a revolution going on in real time… Robespierre and Danton would be stirring in their graves.
And so this is the Golden Age of social media, where Twitter, You Tube and Facebook can be a voice for those seeking democratic change in Iran – and suddenly we all know what’s REALLY going on.
If I didn’t give these platforms enough credence before now, this has certainly changed the way I think. It’s comforting to know that with evolution can follow the revolution!
If I recall correctly Robespierre invented modern terrorism as an instrument of domestic repression, so I’m not sure his eternal rest would be as troubled as you may think by the trainwreck unfolding in Iran. This is, of course, completely irrelevant to your broader point but gives me the smug satisfaction of making out like a history pedant. I think I need a real hobby