Brookfield Basics

Where is Neil Young When You Need Him?

Posted by Tom Gehl on Dec. 30, 2009 | 8 comments

I am a huge Neil Young fan. 

Actually - my physical size is unimpressive; and unfortunately - I don't know the great musician.  So given my respect for the English language I will refrain from hyperbole and more accurately state that I am a big fan of his music.  Along with Wayne Gretzky, he stands as one of Canada's greatest exports. 

On May 4 1970, four students were killed while protesting the Vietnam War on the campus of Kent State University.  I well remember that day - most clearly - the depth of my father's concern over that awful incident.  Neil Young immortalized the tragedy with his iconic song, Ohio.  With its fractured and disjointed opening riff, devastating lyrics (tin soldiers and Nixon coming), and haunting refrain of "four dead in O-HIO", the song imprinted itself on the musical DNA of a generation.

As our Country's State Department remains mute and all but oblivious to the burgeoning developments in Iran, perhaps the great Canadian will write another song to memorialize the dead student protestors who gave their lives trying to expose and ultimately topple what might be the most repressive, militant, and dangerous regime on the planet - the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 

What is happening in Iran is the stuff of history, and certainly has profound geopolitical implications.  And it is a gift wrapped development for the leaders of the Western world who have been blathering for months about the need to "do something" about Iran.  

The danger in dealing with tyrants like Ahmadinejad is that his rhetoric is so bombastic, so utterly, off the charts ridiculous, that we tend to dismiss it.  No one can really believe such things, we tell ourselves.  No one really believes "the Holocaust never occured", or that Israel "has no right to exist" and should be "wiped off the face of the earth".  I don't know any more than you do what his beliefs and intentions are.  I only know what he says.  

The young students of Iran who are leading the revolt against Ahmadinejad and his group of ruling Mullahs probably don't know any more than I do about their leader's geopolitical designs.  What they do know is that his regime is repressive in the extreme; and now resorts to torture, imprisonment, and murder to maintain and solidify its grip on power.  It is one of the most under-reported and under-analyzed stories in recent time.

So far our State Department has had tragically little to say about these stunning developments. 

If only Mr. Young were - ah - younger.