Who are we kidding?
We need more than just mild improvement
By Reza Razavi
July 28, 1999
The Iranian
The recent events in Iran have affected most Iranians in different ways.
There are some who really don't care one way or another what happens to
our country as long as they have their relative freedoms. These people
are the weaker ones who always find a need to go along with the system
and would much rather live a life of imprisonment in Iran rather than risking
their lives to be free. Well, whatever tickles their tummy.
We also have those who are happy with the way things are. People who
like the way the government takes care of its own people; beating them
down and killing them during peaceful demonstrations, attacking university
dorms and whiplashing students in their sleep. All in the name of Islam,
incidentally. This particular group of Iranians is responsible for the
appeasement of the theocracyt in Iran. The ones who like to be told what
to think and what to do. The ones who falsely believe freedoms have no
place in Islam. The ones who blame the United States for crimes they have
committed against their own country.
There are also Iranians who are in support democratic reform and believe
that once their moderate ideas have been realized, their lives will all
of a sudden become significantly better. Deep down they know what the price
of freedom is, but they are afraid to express it. To them, the 1979 revolution
symbolizes one of the darkest events in our history, yet they do not want
another revolution. As long as there is some measly chance of compromise
with the power-hungry totalitarian Islamic Republic, they will put aside
any ideas of revolution or rebellion.
Of course we'll always have those who are loyal to our culture and the
freedom of our people, who will not be happy unless all Iranians around
the world are free from tyranny. They are the ones who want ABSOLUTE freedom
for our people. No excuses or ideas of minor reform. Only democracy. They
believe Islamic rule needs to be abolished and the Islamic regime annihilated.
That reform will only cloud the minds of our people and lure them into
believing that they're free when in fact they are being tossed an extra
piece of meat so that they won't bark and wake up the neighbors. I mean
who are we kidding? We need more than just a mild improvement.
We can make things happen with the merest gesture of unity -- unless
the people of Iran would like to wait another ten or twenty years for "things
to get better". The grim truth is that the majority of Iranians are
not ready for democracy in its purest form. Does there always have to be
some extreme group that will take the country to new extremes? Do we always
have to struggle for balance? Can we ever get out of this cycle of extremes
which has been haunting our political life for the that past 20 years?
No. There does not always have to be one fascist group after another
that will presumably rescue us from the previous one, only to start another
whirlpool of death and destruction. We should not always have to struggle
for balance. We can get out of this evil cycle that has kept us from reaching
freedom. We can live in our country with a balanced political system which
can guarantee us human rights and the freedom to be who we are and what
we want ourselves to be without any limitations or boundaries. We all want
to be able to help each other without hesitation and the fear that we might
be taken advantage of. Yes a little unity never hurt nobody.
- Send a comment for The Iranian letters
section
- Send a comment to the writer,
Reza Razavi
Related
Widening
gap
Reflections on the student uprising
By Rasool Nafisi
July 26, 1999
It's
the civil society, stupid!
It's ugly and brutal - but true
By Mansoureh Haqshenas & Koorosh Bayat
July 21, 1999
1999
not 1979
Protest movement has no recognized leader
By Fereydoun Hoveyda
July 20, 1999
What
now?
Three possibilities following the student protests
By Mark J. Gasiorowski
July 15, 1999
Gridlock
Student protests, the government and the constitution
By Guive Mirfendereski
July 14, 1999
Deja
vu
20 years after the revolution
By Arash Markazi
July 16, 1999
Book
of Kings
A tribute to Iranian students
By Laleh Khalili
July 16, 1999
Great
pain
Eyewitness accounts of tension in Tehran
July 13, 1999
The
spark
... that ignited nation-wide student protests
July 12, 1999
Links
* Opinion
* Cover stories
* Site map
* Who's
who
* Bookstore
* Music Store
* Video Store
* Subscribe to
The Iranian Times
* Would you like to be
featured in The Iranian?
