The story told by Anushirwan concerning the difficulties in the King of Kings army.
My friend was a Capitan in Iranian army. He was working in the administration part and also guides a group of soldiers. One day his commander called him and said to him if he has any questions or suggestion? He was two stars general and he was nice and very friendly to me. I told him, general I know foreign languages and I can translate or teach these languages.
The work that I do now any officer can do. I wish to be more useful and because I learned foreign languages; I think it is better to be transferred to the college of the army and teach them to the students and officers. The general told me, you have right, you study these languages in Iran and Europe and American and you can be more effective in the military academy. I heard that they need also teacher.
Tomorrow you can go to the general who is the commander of the military academy and I will call him and get time for you for tomorrow; go there in the morning and may be he can use you there.
I was very happy that the general is so nice and understandable so in the morning I went straight to the military academy. In the side of the big gate of the academy was a room, in which an officer was sitting and checks the people and sends them inside the building. It was something like waiting room and I went there and gave my ID card and said the general told my commander; I can be here about eight o’ clock in the morning.
My commander called the general yesterday and gets an appointment for me for today at eight o. clocks.
The lieutenant said yes Capitan; I understand; I will take your ID to the commander of the academy and as soon as he agrees I will let you go in.
I waited in that little room until the general accept me inside the building.
First I though as my commander called him and get time for me from him; it take few minutes until I be called in. And the general in command said to my general that I should be there at eight in the next morning. So may be I should wait few more minutes until he, the general is prepared.
It passed one hour, two hours, three hours, four hours, and it was time for lunch and I waited there and now it is afternoon and after the lunch time.
I thought may be the general has forgotten that he has an appointment with me. And he does not know that I am waiting for over four hours for him to be called in his office. The soldier who was helping the officer called many time and asked if the general is ready to see Capitan Dr. Anushirwan…and the Capitan is waiting for the general. The general told him, I know I am very busy, he should wait until I get some free time. May be you cannot believe me, but the general accepted me at four O’clock in the afternoon. I waited eight hours to see him. I was tired and hungry and have no interest any more.
But I tried to be normal and not angry and went to him office. He was a short one star general and I think he does not like my commander the two stars general who was even much younger than him.
He was very cold and unfriendly with me.
I sat there and said general you told me and my commander to be here at eight, but now it is four o’clock afternoon. All these eight hours I waited in the room next to the gate.
I could not go any where as I thought you will call me any minute. He said in an angry ton, I was very busy; and I did not know that I will get so many files today. May be you think that I am lying to you? I went to him with a lot of interest that he is a general who work in academy and he should be intellectual and nice.
But now I see a man who even is not willing to say that he is sorry to let me in the waiting room for eight hours. I do not remember what our conversation was. But I remembered that he said many time, you think that I am lying. I did not expect that a general be so cheap and speak so bad and poor.
He said I heard that you had a lot of stipendiums from the army to go to American and Europe to research.
The army paid for your education more that paid for me. The general, who introduce you, said a lot of good things about you. That you are a very serious person and work with a lot of interest and you have also a vast knowledge in army science and languages. You are young; you have PhD degree, you are Capitan and you have a nice future, but all of these are not important for me.
I want somebody who can work what I want.
I was tired and angry and did not listen to his words any more, what I understand was this that he think I came there to get his job. Now even after thirty years I do not remember if he wanted me or not. He was not clear. But he was very impolite and rude with me and I do not know why and may be for this reason he let me wait for eight hours in the room near the gate, which is a waiting palace for few minutes.
He wanted somehow to destroy my situation and show, that my PhD and my rang is not important for him at all. He did not even respect my papers and my degree and all my rewards from different college and university in which I researched and taught. In short I was so angry and upset that by driving back to my house I had a very bad accident.
I afraid to say to my commander what have happened, I thought he get may be angry and I will be involved to a fight between the generals. And may be I get more problems. I stay quit and work in the office and taught the simple military lesson that any officer could do. I thing the general who was about sixty years old, thought a young Capitan with a doctorate degree soon will be a general and will take his position. May be the Capitan with fourty will be a general and will be the commander of the military academy.
So I have to destroy the Capitan and make him angry. So he will go away. But I wanted just to teach the language and political science to the young officers and students. May be the commander said so many good thing about me, that he got also jealous.
But in reality after thirty years I still cannot understand the short general why he was so impolite with me. And why he wanted to destroy me position by telling me that nothing you have is not important for me.
The army paid so much money for your education, and I think he said the money has been wasted. He was a general and I was a Capitan, I could not be rude with him and discuses hard with him or give a hard answer. I have to be quite and listen to him. It was dangerous to fight with another officer who was four rang more than me. So I tried to stay quite and listen to his impolite words and may be in this way he would be satisfied.
With other words he was the little fat dictator, who cannot see other people are better than him. And he wanted his position be guarantee for him. His selfishness and his dictator attitude were not acceptable. In the past the general and some officer and rich people were dictators and now the clergy people and their friend play the dictatorship actions.
We do not need dictators, we like nice people who want to work for the society and for the community. We should destroy in ourselves the greed and dictatorship attitude. Even a commander in a military academy will play a dictator role.
But Anushirwan continued that my general with whom I worked was a nice man. May be some clergy people are nice and friendly and human, but some of them are rude dictators and they want everything be theirs and the people respect them like kings. After so called the revolution in Iran my general has been killed. He was a nice general. Many people cried for his execution which was not right.
