Posted by Onleilove Alston (with permission) and authored by Lisa Sharon Harper on God’s Politics (first posted 09-25-2009)
The following is a message delivered at the “Stand for Freedom in Iran” rally that took place September 24th, 2009 at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, across from the United Nations.
Hello! I’ve been deeply moved by this gathering. This is amazing! My name is Lisa Sharon Harper. I am the executive director of NY Faith & Justice and the author of Evangelical Does Not Equal Republican … or Democrat, and I am here today to say “Enough is enough!” Say it with me, “Enough is enough! Enough is enough! Enough is enough! Enough is enough!” The whole world saw the elections in Iran and the crush of the Iranian government when they stole the election from the people! We saw it via social networking sources like Twitter and Facebook. Well I’m a twitterer! So, everyone say “Hi!” and I’m gonna take a picture of you because this is amazing!
[The empty space is the space directly in front of the stage. You can’t see it from here, but the crowd reached back to 3rd Avenue from 1st Ave!]
President Ahmadinejad,
Democracy is not enough!
Democracy is nothing unless that government protects the rights of “the least of these” in society!
Democracy is nothing unless that government protects the rights of the ones who live with their backs against the walls!
And that kind of democracy is achieved by protecting the basic human rights of all people within a society.
We watched Iran’s election and it is unconscionable that 322 people have been executed just this year. It is unconscionable that every day citizens of your country were thrown in jail just because they wanted to have their vote count!
Enough is enough!
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