I know I am wrong. I realize my bias stems from misplaced and long discounted idealism. I know he is not the savior, far from it – he is the one who will do us in. But I cannot help liking him deep inside. I know he has been portrayed as an ape, a fascist, as a reactionary, as the devil reincarnate, as the epitome of extremism and backwardness. But I cannot help liking him deep inside.
Ahmadinejad reminds me of the promises of the green revolution when I was 12. He reminds me that there are still forces challenging the unbridled materialism blanketing my country of birth. He reminds me that there are still the poor and the uncared for. He reminds me that religion is still an internal force not a political tool. He reminds me that there is the other side of tracks where the majority lives and silently suffers. He reminds me that there is a South to the ubiquitous North.
He is not the savior, far from it; he will do us all in. Soon he will take an axe and will collect the heads of his enemies as trophies: Newspapers, artists, writers, political exchange, women's rights… they will all become trophies on his mantle as enemies defeated.
But as of now, I cannot help but liking him deep inside. He gives voice to the unspoken, to the poor, to the oppressed, to the ones that all others dismiss as the masses.
I hope Ahmadinejad loses, but may he be resurrected in a more moderate character one day.
I doubt it, but I can hope.
