Sometimes we need to back off and look at the world, not as a Democrat or a Republican but as Americans whose forefathers decided that we would be governed by those whom we elected as opposed to kings and queens.

Our forefathers allowed for us to have a broad expanse of freedoms that too often we don’t cherish until our ox is in the ditch and we need to call upon those rights.

So just a few days ago, the ruling clerics of Iran decided their folks were just enjoying themselves to much, perhaps patterning themselves after the "decadence" that they deplore in the Western world.

So the police went out and seized satellite dishes, raided parties in search of alcohol, music and other entertainment devices.

The ayatollahs’ decrees have been especially hard on women folk over there. The crunch has been put on them for displaying their hair as well as any portions of their legs. Also they must not wear bright colors.

This is an example of what happens when religious nut jobs rule a country. And there are some in our own country who would issue the same decrees if they could. But they can’t. They can only attempt brainwashing in that venue.

Two things should jump right out at us on this tyrant activity in Iran.

First, we should look at our system and note that even with all its warts, it’s still a darn good system. Someone once said in reference to the United States, "Democracy is the worst form of government, besides all the rest."

And of course we must realize that our style of democracy is probably more palatable to the majority of us than any other flavor of that political ideology.

Events like these in Iran can cause us to take stock and realize that even on our worst day, we are a great country, and we must be ever vigilant that we do not allow our government to take us in a direction that ultimately would cause us to become what we abhor.

Second, regardless of our opinions of these decrees by the ayatollahs and those suppressions, it’s really none of our darn business. Apparently, the younger folks in Iran are quite upset, and the brightest of these minds want one thing — out. When such attitudes gather in numbers, revolution often results. In other words, changes come from within, or not — their passions, their choices, their forces.

Unfortunately we did not embrace such view in Iraq. There was no grassroots clamor for democracy. There was no public outcry nor movements on their part to bring about a democratic state from within. And the concept of trying to force democracy through invasion and decree on our part is close to being oxymoronic and absolutely foolish. Time will further explain all of this to us.

Meanwhile, on this day of Thanksgiving, we can appreciate a system that allows us to direct our government at the ballot box via the concept of a democratic republic. We have come a long way since that first Constitutional Convention and our growth out of the Articles of Confederation. The Bill of Rights is likely the most beautiful thing ever framed and hung on a wall in our nation. Indeed, let’s give thanks, even though our democracy continues to be a work in progress.