The pictures from #Iran are all over the news, at least as many as are able to get out. People are awakening to what more they want their lives to be, fed up with being told to shut up, sit down, and take whatever's served up.

It reminds me a little of when I was a kid. My grandmother lived with us, and cooked dinner during the week. My mom, you see, was a school teacher and got home a little late for that.

Anyway, me being me, there were times I didn't like what was served, and sure as shootin' some remark demonstrating my displeasure would slip out of my mouth.

Grandma would reply, "Eat what's put before you and say nothin' about it," probably quoting her mother or someone else in the family. She was great at those old quotes, most of which I can still spout today.

And of course, I did. Even the liver.

Now I think I had it pretty good, because at least I didn't get slapped for speaking out.

Our brethren in Iran are struggling right now just to have the right to speak out, much less get their way.

Are they standing alone?

I don't mean are we out there marching with them in Tehran. I mean, are we standing up in opposition to our comfortable lives in which we've learned to take whatever's served up without saying -- much less doing -- anything about it?

You know what I'm talking about.

Look at some of the symptoms.

A government that pretty much does what it wants with little concern for the good of the people, much less the repercussions of its actions (or inactions). And along the way, slowly but surely gobbling up more and more of our income and freedoms. Mind you, I'm talking about both sides of the aisle being responsible here, present administratino included.

Let's not forget an economic system built on making it rich under a philosophy of bigger is better, where competition is squelched and rules are stacked against the little guy (we're all little guys) -- of course padding the pockets and pulling the strings of whichever party has influence to sell.

There's a whole lot more I could say, but I won't. You don't need me to. You know what's up.

The idea is, are we marching in the streets against what the system is serving up to us, exercising our own supposed "freedoms" to oppose that system?

No. Instead, we roll over and play dead, willingly allowing those in power to erode as they impose oppression after oppression upon us.

I grew up in the 60's, and did my share of marching in the streets opposing a war that should never have been fought. At least, we pretended to do so after a few kids were shot down the road at Kent State. While it had us hopping mad, none of us were willing to stare down the wrong end of a loaded weapon. Whether that was because we were smart or cowards is hard to tell (maybe a little bit of both). But the result was clear -- it pretty much stopped the anti--war movement in its tracks.

Those brave souls in Iran remind me of us 40 years ago. The question is, will they be good little boys and girls like we were and return to whatever they were doing so they can dutifully be assimilated into a system designed to squeeze all the individuality out of them?

Or will they keep making their stand against a system that oppresses their right of self-determination in favor of a centrally-imposed ideal, and in the process maybe inspire some of the rest of us to do what we lacked the fortitude to do a long time ago?

What's that, you ask? Stand up to the Establishment that's taking us exactly where we feared they'd take us four decades ago -- right down the drain.

Thank God someone has the guts to start the process. Maybe the rest of us will follow suit. I sure hope so.