I've received quite a few emails from many of you asking my opinion about what is happening in Iran right now. I will say that this is exactly what most of the people I spoke with when we were there last fall, had expected. Obama had just been elected but not yet inaugurated and many of the people spoke of hope for a president they could also respect when their election came next. I did not meet anyone who was in favor of Ahmadinejad. Yet everyone I spoke to said they feared that because Khamenei liked him he would remain in office whether or not he won the vote. This was entirely expected. They've had a chance to prepare and knew what was in store for them. I watch in great admiration to those standing up to that regime. I feel honored to have met many of the citizens there last year and trust that this is the time they've been waiting for to make the change.
There are a few points I find irritating by the US press- there's been a lot of talk about whether or not Obama has done enough to speak out against the regime and stand with those opposing it. I've heard a lot about how 'they' are looking to him as the leader of the free world for support. I find this point of view incredibly ethnocentric and really bothersome. In that statement, there is an implied assumption that the Iranian people cannot organize themselves or have their own ideas about what they are wanting. First of all, let's all please remember that democracy is not an American idea! Keep in mind that the very first recorded model of a democratic society came from Iran thousands of years ago! Most Iranians I spoke to do not want an American version of democracy. Yes, they are looking for greater freedoms, of course, however, they are wanting it on their own terms and in a way that suits them. The chador is a voluntary piece of clothing, yet about 50% of the women choose to wear it. Many women would like to choose to not cover their head at all, however, many find the dress that American women wear extremely distasteful and vulgar and do not want it to be allowed on their streets either. There is a deeply moral vein running through the country that 95% of the people I spoke with would like to keep. It is a very decent, family oriented culture, due in part to their laws. Most I spoke with do not want to throw the baby out with the bath water. They are not at all looking to make Iran like the US! They just want more flexibility to make more of their own choices. But they are a very old and wise society and realize that with more freedom comes the other parts the US often does not recognize- high teen birth rates, illiteracy, a failing school system, high percentage of fatherless families, high theft and murder rates. If the US with all of its great freedoms was really such a fantastic system would we top the world in school shootings?
Many Americans like to think that freedom is everything. The propaganda here tells us that Iran hates America because we stand for freedom and they stand for oppression so naturally they hate us. I found that most people there do not hate Americans at all but do feel (like I do) that there are many things in this country that have crept into other Asian countries in particular that have decreased the quality of life in many areas. Again, it comes down to a moral demise. I don't think anyone that is sober can look at an area like Phuket, Thailand or Kuta Beach, Bali and feel good about what western culture had brought to these areas. Areas that were immersed in Hinduism or Buddhism that are now areas full of bars, prostitution and drugs. There are clinics on every corner for STDs, tons of filthy Western men looking for very young Asian girls fueling the sex trade, lots of women left behind to take care of children born out of these trade or young girls left infertile by multiple abortions. This is all part of our western freedoms. This is the part that many righteous Americans do not want to take responsibility for, but it's part of the package.
In Iran right now, there are many capable, intelligent, great thinkers, philosophers and activists that have a vision for their country. There are plenty of political activists that have been in jail multiple times, who have spread literature underground for the past 30 years! Iran has one of the most honorable histories of thinkers in the world. Hafez is who Goethe read and influenced him. There is no shortage of great minds and great hearts in that country. They are by no means an aimless group of people looking to the west for direction. They have been suppressed and are now taking back control of this country. I'm watching with great hope and anticipation of what their future holds. My prayers are definitely with all the people there as they move through this point in their history. And I am a firm believer in the old adage that, "The greatest tragedy is not death, but rather a life without purpose." There is a lot of purpose bubbling up to the surface right now. Let's all join in them in that purpose driven life. Let's be inspired to do something meaningful with our own day today.
And let's pray that peace, love, harmony and joy return to Iran asap!!!
