America's--and Iran's--Independence Day
By Edwin A. Locke

On July 4 we celebrate American Independence Day--the anniversary of the day we freed ourselves from British tyranny. On July 9, on the other side of the world, Iranian students and their followers will demonstrate in support of their own independence movement. Their goal is freedom not from a foreign power but from their own theocratic dictators who have stifled every attempt at freedom of thought and expression. What strikes terror into the heart of the Iranian government is the idea that people will think for themselves instead of blindly obeying the dictates of the mullahs.

Let us hope that the Iranian freedom movement will ultimately triumph despite the terrible risks and odds which the students are facing, and that Iran will be the first Muslim country to recognize individual rights--the principle on which America was founded. To quote Ayn Rand, "The spirit of man will remain alive on this earth. It may sleep, but it will awaken. It may wear chains, but it will break through." And for the Iranians, the sooner the better.