The intense examination of Jackson’s life and death eventually will subside; people will listen to his music and watch videos of his performances for generations. A few weeks or months from now, only Iranians and those people concerned about them may remember Neda. Michael and Neda came from two very different worlds, and in Michael Jackson’s world it appears there is far more sympathy for him than there is for young men and women dying on the streets of Iran for freedom and democracy.

Until the video of Neda Agha-Soltan’s death flashed around the world on the Internet, she was just another unknown Iranian woman. It became a sensation because she represented the aspirations of millions of oppressed Iranians seeking freedom and democracy. As long as videos of Iranians marching, scuffling with police, and dying were on our TV and computer screens, we were paying attention, twittering our messages of support, and thinking about Neda. Now that they’ve stopped and Jackson’s death is in the news, our attention has shifted.

We’ve seen people like Neda before. In every war, revolution, or popular uprising there is always a picture of a person or persons who capture the essence of the conflict. Neda put a face on the Iranian uprising. The lone, unknown Chinese man in 1989 who blocked a column of Chinese tanks put a face on the Tiananmen Square demonstrations. Their images and our memories of them, however, are fleeting and difficult to sustain because we live in different worlds and it’s difficult for us to appreciate what they’re up against.

In Michael Jackson’s world almost everything he did from the plastic surgery on his face to changing his skin color was permissible and socially acceptable. He made and lost hundreds of millions of dollars. While he had money he indulged his fantasies, often surrounding himself with young boys on his Neverland Ranch. Indeed it was his eccentric life style along with his talent that fascinated his fans. In our celebrity-centric culture, young people increasingly reward and emulate people like Jackson. At the same time they’re becoming less and less informed on world affairs.

In Neda’s world, one ruled by an autocratic Muslim theocracy, freedom to pursue your fantasies doesn't exist. Born in 1982, she lived her entire life in an Iran run by Ayatollahs in the aftermath of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. She studied Islamic philosophy at Azad University and worked at a travel agency. Like other Iranians she was told how she was expected to dress, think and behave. She never knew the freedoms we take for granted in America. Yet, like tens of thousands of her fellow citizens, she was unhappy with the results of the presidential election and went out on the streets, not so much to protest, but to witness something she had never seen before in Iran. For that she lost her life; and for a few days her story bridged the gap between the two worlds.

There has been much debate about what the US government should have done or still can do about the situation in Iran. President Barack Obama was criticized for his overly cautious and delayed reaction. Before the uprising, he pursued a policy of engagement with Iran’s government over its nuclear weapons program, seeking direct negotiations with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In his Cairo speech he spoke about them in conciliatory tones.

People have suggested he should have done, and still can do, what Ronald Reagan did with Russia and Poland in the 1980s. President Reagan wasn’t hesitant about expressing sympathy and support for dissenters. He imposed sanctions on the Polish government when it imposed martial law. He encouraged labor unions and other organizations to do what they could to support Solidarity in Poland and dissidents in Russia who sought freedom and democracy. With a little help from a Polish Pope and Mikhail Gorbachev   he brought down the Soviet Union and freed the people of Eastern Europe.

Like Elvis, Michael Jackson made an important and lasting contribution to America and the world’s popular culture. His music brought enjoyment to billions of people. But he lived a sad and tragic life, and it ended as many sad and tragic lives do. It’s only natural for people to mark his passing and remember his contributions.

We should not, however, allow the Iranian government to extinguish the passion for freedom and democracy by killing Neda Agha-Soltan and only they know how many others that she represents. Freedom and democracy are not just American or Western values, they are universal values. There are limits to what individual Americans can do, but they can encourage, indeed demand that their government do everything reasonably possible to support those Iranian men and women still struggling against an oppressive government in Iran.