The Revolution Will Be Tweeted?

Let me start off with saying that I’m pretty pleased that the Iranian people are off their butts and risking life and limb to participate in the democratic process.  It goes without saying that is impressive, especially from my context: a supposed democracy where barely half the population can drag themselves to a polling station despite a lack of threats.  So, that’s cool in my book.  Way to go, Iran.  What boggles my mind, however, is that Twitter and YouTube are being lauded as the harbingers of revolution as Iranians have been able to plan protests via Twitter and document the proceedings with cell phone video cameras via YouTube. 

D-Day + 65 Years

As you may have noticed, D-Day is a pretty big day in my world.  But not a lot of people talk about D+1 or D+2 or 3 or 4 and how this mighty gamble was determined to be a success (at least for the time being).  I can’t imagine the sigh of relief then Gen. Eisenhower must have released when it appeared that the beachheads were secure.  I was quite surprised to find, however, that he didn’t rip up the draft of a message he had prepared in case the landings had failed:

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

Gen. Eisenhower's Order of the Day - 6 June 1944

So that the World Could Be Free

As an American and a reenactor, my point-of-view of D-Day has been shaped largely by two things: media and our collective legacy as liberators in WWII.  When I watch Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers or The Big Red One or The Longest Day, I’m identifying with the paratroopers and ground pounders who floated down or waded onto Fortress Europe.  They’re the heroes in this tale and their accomplishment is nothing less than epic.  But on the drive into work yesterday I got to thinking of a certain picture that’s been in my mind since I saw it a few weeks ago.  It’s a picture of a stained glass window in the town church of Ste.-Mere-Eglise.  If you’ve seen The Longest Day you’re probably familiar with the church.  It’s the one where an American paratrooper gets his parachute caught on the steeple while his comrades are engaging the Germans in the town below.  That was an actual incident and if you visit Ste.-Mere-Elgise today, there is a mannequin still hanging from the spire in the same way that paratrooper did on the night of June 5th/6th, 1944.  Anyways here’s shot of the stained glass: