by Dennis Augustine
After taking a deeper dive into this issue — attending a peaceful protest in downtown Los Gatos square, and after heartfelt conversations with our Iranian friends — I’ve come to better understand a people who have been suppressed for nearly 50 years under a theocratic regime that has ignored the will of their people.
The protests in Iran are not only about economic collapse or social restrictions. They are about dignity, freedom, and the right to choose one’s future.
My namesake, Augustine of Hippo, wrote about what constitutes a just war. For Augustine, force is only morally justified to restrain grave injustice and protect the innocent — never for domination or revenge — and always ordered toward peace.
That moral lens matters: Iran’s ruling system — particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — has fueled instability across the Middle East through its proxy networks. The violence we’ve witnessed in the region, including October 7, did not emerge in isolation.
Yet the Iranian people themselves are not the architects of that policy. Many are its victims.They are asking not for chaos — but for liberation. Not for endless war — but for accountable governance. Not for domination — but for the freedom to decide.
Iran is home to nearly 90 million people shaped by one of history’s great civilizations — a culture that has given the world poetry, mathematics, medicine, architecture, philosophy, and art. Imagine what could happen if that creative energy were fully free again.
A free Iranian people would not destabilize the region — they could help stabilize it. Peace in the Middle East will not ultimately come through fear or suppression, but through justice rooted in freedom. A free Iran strengthens not only its own people — but the hope for peace in the region.
