Think Foreward

Dear Mr. Hosseini, I am

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

I am in full agreement with your phrase below.

"I personally think that as a person who has been outside the country for a long time, I should NOT tell people inside Iran what to do, yet as an Iranian who cares about the country,  I  should be able to give my ‘opinion’ on issues related to Iran."

I also am in full agreement with IRANdokht that regardless of differnet world views and opinions when a person claiming to be Iranian and constantly screams his or her credentials as such and yet advocates foreign intervention and attack against Iran because they oppose the government, I consider that treason.

Debating various political ideologies, seperation of church and state, how to define the role of private sector vs public in the economy, whats an appropriate model for Iran's development, relationship with former colonial and imperialist powers, how to support liberations movements or not and etc...... are all valid form of debates and should be openly discussed. However I strongly object to individuals and organizations who think its legitimate and proper to cooperate with hostile powers to the detriment of their own country and yet be so brazen about it and at the same time delusional that they actually think and promote their actions as legitimate and ......

Unfortunately there are alot of Iranians in the US and european countries who fall into this category. Its a sad commentary but unfortuantely very real.

Reaching a middle ground

The first and formost step to take, in order to understand the pain and suffering of our hamvatans in iran is to learn how to reconcile our differences and that starts by us learning to see eye to eye even with those who happen to beileve in radically different ideas that we do. if we fail in this very important part, that means we are failing to be united, despite our differences and so long as we are not united, our views and ideas are not worth a damn in any official or unofficial gathering of iranian people inside iran.

I think that it is a fact that although many people here and everywhere else refuse to admit, people in iran do need to hear our views with ragards to what they are going through. They do need to know where we stand on so many issues that is facing them, and above all they need to know that they have our support and contribution should there be a massive movement toward a major change. We should not interpret each others' opinions, as horrible and an unacceptable as they are, as what we really want to see happen in iran. we are merely exchanging ideas here and there is no need to be offended or get defensive on the positions of certain individuals. 

If it is a fact that we are here because we care about a more important cause that personal attacks, then we must stop assuming that there is a group of us who would like to see misery upon others , or that they are intentionally advocating a strike against iran because their evil and so one can not bear having a conversation with them... or that there are those who think they are the only ones who have the right to have an opinions and so on and so forth. I believe these are nothing but self-induced beliefs and thoughts that we tend to have in our minds.

These are the roots of "tafraghe" and the inability to form a united front at least in theory. hence, we can never even reach a semi-unanimous conclusion and always end up tearing each other apart and of course as a result we Can't possibly be taken seriously by those who need us in iran.

Sorry for por choonegi but lazem bood:)

You absolutely have a right to comment on Iran

You have not stopped being Iranian. You have voiced your opposition to the current state of affairs that Iran has been forced to adopt, by using your feet as your vote. This (possibly) even makes you Motefaker!

In some ways the Iranians inside Iran are more complicit in the path Iran has chosen, than those of us who left Iran after the revloution.

Those who left before the revolution were merely very clever geniuses!

we can not help it.

As Iranians we know everything and we love to complain about everything and everyone

we all have a distant, warm, and fuzzy picture of our hometowns. Yet we get up, drive to work through California freeways and listen to Delkash. All we are doing is pretending to be in Iran.

Even my 20 year old Wisconsin born son has the fever. He is taking Persian Poetry Classes at UC and pretends to be well versed in Persian culture and literature.

So we have never accepted the new country and would like the old country to be like to the new one.

Our Opinions of Iran from LA or SF are only opinions and a form of homesick venting. However, we should shout when they stone a girl or threaten others

Mr. Hosseini

You make an excellent point, however, I'm afraid that your words will fall on a few deaf ears.

Some people simply do not wish to acknowledge the existence of other opinions concering Iran, for exactly the reasons you have specified, and more. Worse, they hold the belief that they and only they are entitled to have an opinion in the first place, a behavior I find to be both arrogant and repugnant. I think such mindsets play a significant role in the current state our homeland is in.

For example, I, for one, find it offensive to be living comfortably in the West, enjoying all of the freedoms and opportunities that go with the privilege, while family, friends, and other hamvatan that you claim to care about are living under the black cloud of oppression, shrugging it off with the attitude that "hey, it could be worse."

In my view, there's no such thing as an "acceptable level of misery". But for some on this site, it appears that some misery is OK, provided that the misery falls upon someone other than themselves.

Thank you for posting your article.

Dear "hossein.hosseini",

For a complete analysis you need both views from the inside and outside. Economic stimulations only work when they are similarly related to microeconomics and macroeconomics, social theories refer to microsociology and macrosociology. and so on.

On the one hand breeding causes physical and health defects, on the other hand if you replant a tree uprooted in another soil it will never grow the way before.

Reason for their perspectives

"What might help is to be a little bit more tolerant of other people’s ideas and the reasons for their perspective. What do you think? "

The reason for their perspectives?!

I don't see any reason for wholeheartedly supporting a brutal criminal corrupt-to-the-core repressive regime fast destroying Iran other than having a self-serving agenda which is usually either the acquistion of wealth and high positions under the IRI or defending/protecting steady income, wealth and high positions one's already got under IRI. Of course, they resort to a thousand and one lame silly excuses to justify their unconditional support but we all can sense the HOGWASH and hypocrisy in their claims.

I agree!

with your view on this subject. Everyone entitle to his/her opinion.

Payandeh IRAN & IRANIANS

Down with IRI

Great observation!

There are indeed two different points of views toward Iran; a radical one, and a pragmatic one. Both valid to a certain extend, and both needed to exist. 

I believe you can love Iran, and at the same time vote for Mousavi, Karrubi, or even Ahmadinejad, or even do not vote at all.

We have much more in common, than what we think.

Nothing justifies

In my mind nothing justifies attacking Iran.  Those who advocate such approach are 'Khaaen' pure and simple. 

I have seen and heard this 'point of view' for military attack to bring 'democracy' to Iran :)  We saw that great democracy that war brought to Iraq and Afghanistan.  So I will call those as I see them and this also goes to those who sided with Saddam in the 1980's war with Iran.

Dear Mr Hosseini

I have also heard and used this phrase in my comments.

Although I appreciate your peaceful suggestion of seeing things from the other side's view, I can't possibly imagine having a civilized exchange with someone who is sitting in a comfortable home in the west and arguing for military attacks and sanctions on the ones who live inside. I have family there, friends and relatives. I care about people who live near Natanz, Bushehr etc... so when they claim that all they're suggesting is surgical attacks on the nuclear facilities, I can't help but imagine the innocent casualties of the attacks and the possible danger that is associated with the destruction of nuclear facilities and the health problems that it may cause. How can I have a normal conversation with such people who justify this sort of actions against the people of my country?

Please let me know how, I am not enjoying the nastiness and the never-ending arguments either, but I could never see their point of view that some casualties would be ok, or that more people die every day in the Iranian highways... That is no excuse to go ahead and wish for more misery on the people. 

IRANdokht