Sunday, March 4, 2007
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Equal rights for women!
Humanities and Government is a fun and interesting look at life of a "would be" politician. For relief of political frustrations and Hum Drums of Government Doldrums.
Reconnecting Clutures
A lesson in tolerance was in order when my son, Eddie Jr., asked why Randy’s dad wouldn’t let Randy play with him anymore. I promised him that I would find out why before his next weekend visit, as any good divorced dad would do. Eddie is a 11 years old boy. He is normal, over active, socially conscious and his fathers favorite “pain in the behind“ and he has the ability to make me smile no matter how I feel at the time. Naturally he thought that it was something that he did that made Randy’s father react so harshly towards his little group of buddies in the neighborhood. He didn’t understand what he did wrong. That week I spoke to Randy’s father. I saw him come out of his house, as I was raking the leaves that God in his infinite love and wisdom gives me each year, I called to him and asked of his justification for not allowing the boys to play together any longer and if my son was in any way at fault. His answer was surprising as he said, “ I will not allow my son to play with that “towel-head” [an Iranian neighbor], they are all terrorists to me.” He was referring to Abizar, Eddie’s new friend in the neighborhood, a bright and very well behaved child. I had meet Abizar only a couple of weeks earlier and was quite impressed by how articulate and polite he was. Abizar told me that his family had just moved here from Dearborn, MI, and without going into much detail, he said things were much different here than back in Iran. He said that his father had just received an appointment at Eastern Michigan University as a professor. I told Randy’s father, “I can’t see it [the problem], even though people have differences, the boys should be allowed to be boys.” He then went on about how we are giving away America to foreigners and how he basically hates people from all other cultures and even races. It was enough information for me to conclude my son was not at fault here, but now I’m going to have to explain all this to my son in a way he might understand. I did not understand how I felt about all of this, so explaining it would be hard to do. For me to explain it to my son I would need to educate myself first… I did some research on American-Iranian relations and found: There were some issues between the countries of the United States and Iran. That certain events, secular idealism versus religion, and hate have changed the relationship between people of two cultures. Even though things have happened, the problems between our two people can be resolved.
The world we live in today is much smaller, thanks to modernization, than the world that my parents lived in. Technology is a wondrous thing to be sure. In the United States the latest gismo is always welcomed. Some are highly anticipated, like the “new x-box” and some are variations of old concepts, like video cameras for your computer or web cams. Discovering all the latest and greatest techno devices on the market and their potential uses is an American passion. We are not alone, as Japan and China seems to share these exact same values and addictions to the electronic marvels. The “electrical jungle” that now exist, in our modern societies, would have confounded my parents. It’s a lot to absorb for a person of any age. You might say that I’m an enlightened baby boomer, as I take what I need from the jungle and leave the rest to my postmodern “x-generation” brethren to figure out. Advances come so fast in these societies that equipment is outdated before it even pays for itself. Unfortunately, if you wait until all the advances are made before jumping on the band wagon you are left so far behind, you can hardly keep pace with new advancements. We throw good money after bad trying to keep up with all the latest breakthroughs our modern society offers, that’s the capitalism we Americans all know and love. While these things might be great and valued in our society, we should have understanding for the other culture. We ought not to force the rest of the world to accept our mentality; other cultures do not value these things and consider them harmful to their culture.
The way these marvels of modern day man can have an adverse affect on a culture could be a branch of social science in its own right. Most religions, Christianity included, look at secular interest with a certain amount of distain. In Iran the culture shock, when these western products and ideals were imported by the Shah, was felt by all segments of Iranian culture. Iranians were caught in the middle of fundamental religious beliefs and modernization. Lines were drawn by the clerics, who interpret the Koran. They were coming to an impasse. Secularism was demonized in that culture, as well as in their Western counter parts. The Priest, pastors, imams, rabbis, and elders in this culture saw these things as distracting from the ultimate goal of seeking God. The people of Iran wanted most of all to hang onto their cultural identities and they looked to their Muslim religion for answers. That is normal, it shows courage and that their will is great. They should be respected for that.
The events further added to the problem. C.I.A. documents released in the 1990’s showing U.S. and English involvement in the Middle-Eastern [Iran] countries affairs. The 1953 coup and the ousting and arrest of Mussadegh, the Prime Minister in Iran, who tried to nationalize the oil industry in Iran. Interferences in that region of the world by the U. S. and other western governments did more harm than good and caused the resentment of the U.S. and it‘s allies from the Iranian people. These were leading to overall distrust and ultimately the Revolution. In an article from Infoplease, an internet web source, I found out: In 1951, the National Front movement, headed by Premier Mussadegh, a militant nationalist, forced the parliament to nationalize the oil industry and form the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). Although a British blockade led to the virtual collapse of the oil industry and serious internal economic troubles, Mussadegh continued his nationalization policy. Openly opposed by the shah, Mussadegh was ousted in 1952 but quickly regained power. The shah fled Iran but returned when monarchist elements forced Mussadegh from office in Aug., 1953; covert U.S. activity was largely responsible for Mussadegh's ousting(infoplease). The U.S. embassy take over in 1979 by militant students held this whole country hostage. I found an interesting article written by the people at The Jimmy Carter Library which said, On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran and took approximately seventy Americans captive. This terrorist act triggered the most profound crisis of the Carter presidency and began a personal ordeal for Jimmy Carter and the American people that lasted 444 days(jimmycarterlibrary).
Religious leaders and revolutionaries used this distrust to exacerbate the problem to attain power. The 1980 Iran Iraq War, then Iran-gate, was also seen as U.S. interference in the region, the former first Iranian president Sadr writes, “The end of the war was approaching. The United States would have to choose between normal, official relations with a democratic state and shady dealings with the mullahs. I had no doubt what its choice would be. My convictions when I read in the New York Times stating that because of the hostage affair the United States government wanted very much to destroy the Iranian Revolution, but not Iran. At the same time Henry Kissinger wrote that the revolution in Iran had to crushed regardless of the cost; otherwise, it would be the end of U.S. influence in the region(Sadr149)
The talk with Randy’s Father concluded with me thanking him for not explaining his reasoning to my son. When Eddie returned the next weekend I explained to him, “It was not your fault that Randy was no longer joining in your play group. Children must reflect their parents’ position on social issues until they are able to decide their own position. Randy’s will come around given time and until then each night before you go to bed, you should pray for them.” My son knows that God loves the prayers of little children. Eddie’s sure that he has the ability to move mountains with his. I do not doubt it in the least. I did not explain the real reason was fear and fear leads to hate. He did not need to learn that lesson yet, but he loves to talk and soon he will bring the subject up on his own. I recall when I was young, being from a large family, there were plenty of opportunities to get mad and hate one of my siblings for one reason or another. My mother, God rest her soul, would say, “Now what would you say if he [my sibling] died?” This guilt always seemed to work and the situation diffused itself. It’s hard to apply that type of reasoning to countries and cultures. But, think of how much we would have lost if the Iranian/Persian culture no longer existed. I, for one, would be heart broken that a society with such a commitment to culture and humanity was lost. I say this in reference to the people, not the government of Iran. There are Iranians who share the same line of thought that I’ve introduced. It is the government of the U.S. that they distrust, not the people.
The distrust felt by Iranians was far reaching. It followed Iranians wherever they went. Even the Iranians who came to the U.S. distrusted their neighbors, fearing that the neighbors were part of the “other regime” and was bent on their ultimate destruction. In Iran social life had to be conducted out of sight, in homes privately. Moral police monitored all public activity. The passion for the revolution was soon replaced with the fear of their new government. Reform was needed. While humanitarian related things are better now for the people of Iran, they still have a long way to go before they can say that all issues are under control. In the book Persepolis, The Story Of A Childhood we are introduced to Marjane Satrapi. It is a wonderful graphic novel about a girl who was growing up in Iran from the 1970’s through the war years. In the introduction of Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi writes, “I believe that an entire nation should not be judged by the wrongdoings of a few extremist”(P1 Satrapi, intro.2). In Persepolis 2, the continuation of the tale, she shows the Iranians and their more secretive lives that went on. How they persevered within the framework of their new government and maintained their own alternate society. It showed what the new government after the revolution was like. And that never the less, the people had a will of their own(P2 Satrapi).
Hate has several forms. Iranians hated other Iranians, Americans hated Iranians for the hostage incidents, Iranians hated Americans for the betrayals in the areas of security, their national [cultural] interest, and meddling in their affairs. The world is better off without all this hate. Only bad things such as the Holocaust, genocide, and disarray have come from it. It is not in our country’s best interest to create disarray for any other country. It is self serving and beneath us [all] to behave so uncivilized. Virtue first must come from the people before it is adopted by their governments. If we show that we are committed they must follow our lead.
There is no sound philosophy for hate. Hate does not benefit the majority. It can not be universally applied, even though there are those who try. It is not logical, it’s a means to a dead end [s]. Americans must see that hating a whole culture, for the actions of a few from that culture, is the sign of a small mind. Hate’s general foundations are of fear, it is not only bad karma, it is wrong. We have come so far already. We should look at our own civil rights movement as the ground works for understanding others.
Hate is a two way street. We can change the Iranian mindset that America is evil. In Iran, America was known as the “Great Satan” an evil of gargantuan proportion. Although, in their culture these days, this type of rhetoric is mostly just lip service. Americans, not to be out done, referred to their government as the axis of evil. Hopefully someday we will all grow up and this will be a thing of the past. In her book The Last Great Revolution Robin Wright notes interestingly a complete about face of the same type of students, who twenty years earlier took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the modern day students, in a surprising political protest in 1998 she describes this way, “…A generation later, the students’ message was quite different too. Or so the signs indicated. [signs noted] “In the heat of revolutionary fervor, things happen which cannot be fully contained and judged according to usual norms.“ …A second declared, “Nothing should prevent dialogue and understanding between the Iranian and American nations.” “Terrorism is a product of despotism and nihilisms” But the fourth was the topper. “Not only do we not harbor any ill wishes for the American people, but in fact we consider them to be a great nation,“ it said and there was no danger of mistranslation or misunderstanding a nuance. All were in English“(Wright 245). The differences between our two cultures are noted, and experiences and history are often pointed out. America’s culture is a baby compared to Middle-Eastern culture. We must respect the fact that it took over 7000 years to develop the current societies in that region. Some of the world most important literature comes from this part of the world. Which include the Holy Bible, The Koran, and countless other books and poetry they are all from this region.
Post Revolution Iran saw many changes, some good, some bad. Still the problem of modernization, only now it had to be done within an Islamic structured government. Governments can be as hard on the people as they choose to be, but kids want their MTV! Human rights issues came to the forefront of the new government. The American Government had done their fair share of misdeeds also, repentance ought to be immediate and reparations made. We need lines of communication based on real needs, not the need that we think are important, but that they think is important. Fair deals will only build respect between the two countries. It could lessen their fears of attack. Who knows, they might see that there is no need to have nuclear capabilities.
In summation, we can apply what we learn from this to other nations. When we educate ourselves and learn about other cultures, histories, strengths and weaknesses, then assessments can then be made. If we defer from placing value judgments on them, at least till all the facts are known, both our culture and their culture will benefit. We can apply these lessons to our dealings, not only with Iran, but the rest of the world as well. There is good and bad in every culture. Hate only robs one and others of joy. If you have hate, hate a person or persons who are doing the wrongs, or better still forgive them of their wrongdoings. Life is not long enough to hate forever. Let’s get back to something that is more important than oil. Lets get our friends back.
This is a human.
Equal rights for women!