“Hush! Now is not the time.”

“Hush! Now is not the time.”

Nowadays, this is basically the reaction that many people get when they raise their voices against violations of human rights in Iran, executions, prisons, suppression of ethnic groups, and shutting down of newspapers. This reaction comes not from the government but from some of us who believe that any attempt at pursuing demands and asking questions is the same as radicalism and attacking a moderate administration, especially an administration engaged in multi-party negotiations to solve economic and day-to-day financial problems so important to the majority of people. The importance of these efforts and negotiations cannot be questioned; neither do I expect that the demands would be met and fundamental changes would take place in short term. But I worry a little when I read some journalist friends declare that “the era of being in the opposition is over.” Are we to suspend pursuing all civil right demands until an unknown future where there would be no negotiations, no problems, no threats? Can we say “the era of being in the opposition is over” in a country where no opposition party or even critic is officially allowed? Does national empathy means collective silence in the face of problems? These days such questions occupy my mind or, perhaps, the minds of my fellow journalists and cartoonists.