 Divided we stand
Individual success but group
failure?
By Faye (Fereshteh) Farhang
February 11, 2004
iranian.com
Take a good look at the Iranian family unit in the
US and you'll surely be impressed. It's not uncommon,
and one could reasonably argue that it is more
than common to repeatedly find Iranian households
comprised of successful individuals. Indeed
professionals, siblings who are top doctors, lawyers,
dentists, and engineers.
These Iranian Americans have
not only made it but they have made it well. Whether
they were immigrants themselves or children of
immigrants, they all worked very hard to get
themselves to this stage, and now they are
respectable, upstanding citizens, residing comfortably
in a very high income category in the world's leading
capitalistic society, the Great United States of
America.
Somehow it seems that as small children it was drilled
into them by their parents to succeed. Maybe it is in
the blood, maybe it is the Persian Pride, or possibly
a combination of both. Yet what is problematic is that
these very successful individuals who have made it in
the eyes of the majority and despite the pressures of
partaking in a diaspora lack the skills to stand
together.
The individual mentality is so strong and driven
but when it comes to putting these successful people
together to create a 'group mentality' that would
unite and benefit Iranians everywhere, there is
failure. In short, this is problematic, and in the
long run, this is a tragedy.
The Iranian mentality is that of the individual,
entirely fair to call it even selfish. We look out
first and foremost for ourselves, the benefit of our
families, and the success of our children. And when it
comes to helping the majority, suddenly the
intelligent, successful members are dumbfounded and
ill to move.
But maybe it's time to question our ways, maybe
it's time to realize that 25 years of oppression, a
quarter century of escaping the reign of a
totalitarian regime is partly our own fault, an
inidication of missing unity, of an indifferent
'group mentality.'
Isn't it about time to realize that
the group, that our people as Zoroastrians, Jews,
Christians, Muslims and Bahais are really an extention
of our immediate family. That peace loving, driven
Iranians of all creeds have the same interests.
Of course the West has a hand in installing certain
regimes in the Mid-East when it serves Western
interests, but would they, could they, reasonably
manipulate Iranians if we were united? Food for
thought?! Yes, especially for those successful
Iranian-Americans!
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Divided we stand