Letter from Iran

(Above painting by Bansky.)

This will be my last post for "Iran News: Condensed and Highlighted". The reasons are several.

The materials I have posted are primarily part of my attempt to prevent war from taking place. A few months ago my comments, articles, and blog posts increased primarily because the war drums once again started to beat, and this time they were very loud and at fever pitch. They have not yet fallen silent but war against Iran has been pushed aside for now.

The other reason is that my responsibilities in Iran are so pressing that the risk of posting from here and ending up in jail would mean close to one hundred people falling in serious financial difficulty given that I operate a small business here. And like 75% of businesses in Iran the company has debts and faces a very uncertain, and ugly business environment. Even closing down is not an option given mind-boggling rules and regulations that are beyond idiotic.

One other reason is that often the issues that come up are re-statement of issues that have been pointed to in the past. And repeating oneself can become a bore.

Below I've listed sites that in my opinion are a must read if one wants to stay in touch with events that pertain to Iran.

I really think Iranian-Americans have a responsibility to stay informed and take on the responsibility of educating others if Iran is to get through these difficult times.

Those Iranian-American that are regular Republican voters, that get their news from Fox News, and listen to Rush Limbaugh – yes, there are many – are so lost and out of touch with what is going on that one is at a loss as how to get through to them.

You can't support Empire USA and still call yourself an Iranian-American. You have the freedom in America to protest; exercise those freedoms instead of trying to conform to what is rapidly becoming a police state, if not fascistic.

The Iranian diaspora is too splintered and divided and has so convincingly demonstrated its inability to unite and present a coherent and effective opposition to the regime in Iran that we in Iran have lost all hope in looking for help from the outside.

Nevertheless, I still think if we all just focus on a handful of objectives and agree to agree on just these few objectives eventually change will take place.

What are these objectives that we can agree on?

True democracy for Iran:

And no, not the form of democracy that exists in the United States, one which has been corrupted by money. Many other nations practice democracy that is far superior to the American system and by examining all these other countries and picking out the best practices they have and implementing them in Iran we will place Iran on a very solid foundation for a good future.

Rule of Law:

Again, the American system is not superior to other countries and has gaping loopholes that corporations manipulate to their advantage and to the detriment of society, but it does have admirable strengths that few other countries have.

That's it, just these two objectives. If we can all agree on these two, which I think we can, the rest will fall into place eventually because once the rule of law and democracy are implemented all the other problems that exist can be resolved through the processes of the rule of law and the democratic process.

If Iranians sit around a table and learn to put into practice the basic principles of democracy and the rule of law – just in that room! – then they can step outside that room and apply it throughout society.

Easier said than done? Maybe, but when you look around it soon becomes obvious that almost all other systems of government are obsolete, oppress basic freedoms, create inequality, stunt human development, and have to be maintained through violence and coercion.

Peace is hard work, and more of us need to take on this task because if we don't those that profit and benefit from destruction and death will destroy Iran if we let them.

Get informed, pass on the information, stay informed, protest, write articles, start an anti-war blog, and don't allow your hatred of the Islamic Republic of Iran blind you and thereby allow you to get manipulated into supporting the warmongers.

Believe me, a clear majority of Iranians in Iran want the end of this regime but when sanctions and war drums are beating we are forced to stay silent and not weaken the regime because they control the guns --- which we will all pick up if Iran is attacked.

Peace, democracy, and rule of law can be created if we all work together. We owe our children a good future and fighting each other will not bring that about.

Peace,

Mohammad Alireza

//www.antiwar.com/

//www.lobelog.com/

//www.democracynow.org/

//www.campaigniran.org/casmii/

//www.counterpunch.org/

//www.tomdispatch.com/

//garysick.tumblr.com/

//www.juancole.com/

//www.iranaffairs.com/iran_affairs/

//www.commondreams.org/

//www.johnpilger.com/

//www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbure...

//www.payvand.com/news/

//www.truthdig.com/

//www.cfr.org/

//www.theatlantic.com/

//www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/