On Courage: Million Signature Campaign

The world may be suffering from disturbing shortages of cheap food and oil, but one commodity seems in full supply - fear-mongering, hate-filled ignorance. And it's hardly inexpensive, costing us dearly all around the world.

A President of the United States inappropriately and incorrectly invokes the name of Hitler in the Knesset, Sharon Stone blames China's tragic earthquake on "bad karma" stemming from Beijing's Tibet policy, and a right-wing commentator sets off a firestorm of protest among the crazies over Dunkin' Donuts Rachel Ray's wearing in the firm's latest television spot what Michelle Malkin conveniently but incorrectly believes is a keffiyeh.

This last item is so stupefying that it is difficult to discuss. Malkin excels at playing to the lowest common denominator, generating self-serving heat with very little light. She claims the scarf resembles a keffiyeh and that keffiyeh are symbols of terrorism. Oh really? In whose mind? Malkin certainly knows that Ray's all-too-trendy scarf is not a keffiyeh, which is worn around the head by Arab men. Scarves like Ray's are worn by women all over the world from New York and Paris to Stockholm and Tokyo.

Are we unraveling to such an extent that this kind of nonsense is allowed to occur let alone be effective? Apparently, yes. Dunkin' Donuts has pulled the ads, and who's to blame them? What they don't need is 20 or 30 far-right bloviators with too much time on their hands making trouble. Yet how does Dunkin' explain their actions to customers, employees, suppliers, investors and business partners around the world, some of whom likely wear the keffiyeh?

So, what's the remedy? Through the stench of ignorance, it really is possible to find pain relief. It's the opposite of ignorance. It's smart, respectful, open-minded, thoughtful and courageous. It tries hard to place the interests of the many over the selfish ambitions of the few. It's the very best of leadership. Today's example is the Iranian One Million Signature Campaign. Imagine the bravery of women (and some men) in Iran risking their lives right now to collect signatures to call for an end to discriminatory laws against women embedded in the Iranian system of justice. Bush, Stone and Malkin seek expedient political or economic benefit for themselves and worry little about the scorched earth they leave behind. The Iranian campaign organizers, on the other hand, look at the scorched earth around them and insist that we can and must do better. So, for a moment at least, try not think of these usual suspects. Consider instead heroic Iranian signature-campaign leaders such as Jelve Javaheri, Amir YaghoubAli and Maryam Hosseinkhah.

So where can you sign up? It's at http://www.we4change.info/english.