Aaron Benedetti

Listening to NPR a few days ago, I was struck by one commentator's observation about the protests. She remarked on the symbolic differences between the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the current uproar over the election - then, bearded, middle-aged, male clerics were the face of the revolution; now, that face belongs to a young woman called Neda. She was reportedly a 16-year-old philosophy student living in Tehran, shot by a sniper while protesting for democracy with her father.

The cell phone-recorded video of Neda's death quickly found an audience on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, even as Iranian officials attempted to jam social media outlets. But fencing off the Internet just doesn't work, it seems. Communications can't be secured in the way that some believe national borders can, and this link between the pro-democracy movement in Iran and the social media points to a very important aspect of democracy itself - it may be individual at heart, but it only works with collective effort.

Technology, at least in this case, is not a tool for oppression. Rather than playing into the hands of some towering Orwellian conspiracy, the Internet is undermining the powers that attempt to control it. Media and news coverage of world events is nearly ubiquitous today, and I doubt, even without Twitter and YouTube, that the extent of the violence occurring in Iran would remain hidden for long. I'm pretty sure, though, that Neda's last moments would not have been broadcast on CNN were it not for Iranian officials' attempts to keep tabs on the social media.

What does Neda represent? The rebels? The force of social media? Iran's lack of control over the popular means of communication? She might represent all of these. But more than anything, I think, Neda represents herself. She was one individual, protesting, storming the streets with thousands of others, but she was killed. Neda, and the thousands like her, represents the real, collective tragedy of this conflict.

To view the video, click here.