Persian-American Rational Society (PARS)

Unity in Purpose

Dear Alborz:

Here is my thought on (Unity in Purpose).  I think your assessment and proposal of *unity on purpose* is an accurate and a practical solution.  As a case in point, two group with diametrically opposing views can unite on one specific joint project and once it is complete they can move back into their corresponding diverse base.  So any time there is a task to perform and there is consent on fulfilling the task, they set aside their diversity and only focus on unity to accomplish the task.

This would require flexibility in being able to switch between Unity and Diversity when there is a requirement for unity.  The ability to move back and forth between Unity and Diversity when it is required is a characteristic which not every one qualifies for.  However, it is a very good asset to have.

Thanks again for all your input Alborz.

David Ramezani

The battle of identities

Thank you Mr. Alborz for your very valuable contributions sir.  I greatly appreciate all your efforts and what you have done for your community in Northern California.  I envy you.

Persia is a land of contradictions.  This country is a bipolar society.  The habitants of this land have two distinct identities.  These are two cultural and socio-psychological identities which include:  A. Iranian pre Islamic and B. the Islamic cultures.  The battle between these two identities has been the number one source of polarization and as a result the main cause of deadlock in this Nation.

I probably can say Persia is the first federative Nation through out the history which is a home of multiple distinct ethnic groups like Persians, Kurdish, Azeri, Turkmen, Lori, Balouchi, Arabs and others.  For the most part all the ethnic groups always have lived relatively in harmony.  With the exceptions of some separatist groups there have never been any major issues between these various ethnic minorities.

The main challenge has always been the battle between Islamic religion with Persian cultural identity and also the Communist ideology.  These are the three camps which has caused so much hostilities and fragmentations.  These three battles of ideology and religion and cultural heritage are the epicenters of the battleground in Iran.  The Communists are in the pursuit of Class warfare and they are mainly focused on anti American and anti bourgeoisie warfare.  The Persian cultural identity is locked in a deep and a very intense battle with the Islamic religion.  As a result the concept of *Unity in Diversity* does not receive much attention.  It is hard to get attention on this issue while these people are bugged down in these battles.

Our task is how to defuse the tensions in these battlegrounds and attract their attention to *Unity in Diversity*.  It is a monumental task but it is doable.  Nothing is impossible.  We just have to maintain our optimism and promote this motto.

Sepass,

David Ramezani

Those that attack ...

... others for their views or cause division do this because they fail to recognize nobility in either a person or a community.

The cause of liberating Iran is a grand and noble cause.  To expect our community to rise up to this challenge is akin to asking a elementary school child that struggles with reading to write a literary work.  While the potential is there, it needs to be developed and the steps involved in developing this potential involves with first seeing the nobility in another person before attacking their views. 

Unless and until we as a community recognize where we are in our social evolution and what path we must take, it is likely that we will go in circles without getting anywhere.

Your noble intention is appreciated by me and the example I shared with you was to simply share the first step that has been taken for Iran's future, in the Iranian community that I live.

Alborz

Our challenges…

I absolutely agree with you Mr. Targol.  Thank you for your advice sir.

The biggest challenges of our community are the followings:

1. The Old Generation of Political Activists with obsolete and bankrupt ideology.
2. The Islamic Centers who also are lobbying for Islamic Republic in this city.
3. The dishonest Communist members of former Confederation of Iranian Students (Konfedrasion) who are still pursuing their anti Americanism in here.

Most of these people travel back and forth to Iran.  Some of these people received scholarships from Islamic Republic when they were going to school in here.  These are the people who have polarized our community not recently but for the past 30 plus years.  So this is not a new problem in here.  This is a very old problem which dates back before I came into this city.  These guys have been fighting and continue to fight in any issue and in any place they meet each other.

They have been fighting over who should be in charge of the community center or who should be calling the shots.  They have been fighting over the money which was collected for the Bam Earthquake.  They have been fighting over any thing and everything you can imagine which might be related to the community affairs.

People are sick and tired of these guys.  They have destroyed this community and they still do not give up and continue pursuing their divisive agenda.

Sepass,

David Ramezani

DR, I was thinking about

Mr. Samsam Kashfi, but he livesd in Maryland.

//www.kashfis.com/

But regardless of any Iranian poets living around you or not, the problem in ATL sounds very much  like the rest. Too much old generation, dead weight, practically suffocating anything around them.

To combat this obstacle I would again humbly suggest and  insist on organizing some kind of a  cultural-artistics event (like a Kiosk concert, or Kiosk and Abjees,...) with an eye towards the younger generation( the breath of fresh air that ATL needs), while expressing our solidarity with the struggles within, that might be a good start? cheers

Atlanta is Messed up

I was talking to friend who has lived in Atlanta for a long time and agrees with David. She said there are a few people who pretending to be unifying do nothing but drive wedge between people. AT the head of them there is this guy called Housain who probobly is an agent of Islamic republic, who has done nothing but create anger among people. He comes forward pretending to bring people togehter but then starts attacking people who doesn't agree with him. Apprantly Islamic repblic has a bunch of these people to bring "nefagh" between people and they have succeeded. I think people like him should be made known.

Unity in Diversity...

To Alborz:

Unity in Diversity is a great concept.  234 years ago the Americans understood how important it is to use this motto (E Pluribus Unum) and rally the people around this in order to fight the British Colonial power and gain the American Independence.  It worked back then and also Gandhi used it when he was fighting the same British Colonial power in order to gain the India’s independence.  I also believe it will work for us Iranians in order to liberate our country from the tyranny of Islamic Republic.  I also understand that the Baha’i community belies to this very important principle of Unity in Diversity.  This is a simple and yet powerful principle and has proved itself to work in different countries and regions.

I think the challenge comes when we try to implement this.  The implementation of this principle in the real world would be the litmus test to see weather we really can accomplish this task or not.  This is a huge task.  It takes lots of genuine and honest person or group of people to tackle this task.  You have to be very honest with yourself first and do what you say.  You actions should be the manifestation of what you preach.  I am not suggesting that I am a good candidate to lead this way of life.  However, I know this is the only solution which would work for us Iranians.  I sure like to promote it and convince people that this is what we need in order to solve our problems in our small community here in Atlanta and also in Iran.

I thought liberating your country would be considered a ‘noble’ cause.  But I am not sure if there is some thing nobler than this cause.  I am open to any suggestions.  I want all of us to agree in principle at least agree to disagree and treat each other just the way we expect others to treat us.

Sepass,

David Ramezani

Population in Atlanta

To Parthianshot:

I have been told there are between 10,000 to 15,000 Iranians in this city.  Some say it is even higher number.  It is hard to tell.

David

Unity in diversity...

... or (vahdat dar kasrat) cannot be achieved if there is no single cause that is identified and which all can support - that is you will be left with just the diversity.

In your blog and comments you repeatedly refer to "compromise" which implies that the starting point remains those things that differentiate people.  In my opinion this cannot be the starting point.

Cultural activities do not represent a "noble" cause and therefore their appeal will be limited to those that have an interest in a specific activity - and only if they can tolerate each other in other aspects.

In Northern California, a few Iranian Baha'is have organized discussion groups on family life in the US and the participation in these monthly events has steadily grown. At all times the dignity of the discussion has been preserved because of the tone which they have established.  Everyone interacts respectfully and it is wonderful to see the very same people that in other Iranian settings have be very passionate and at times willing to transgress the bounderies of others, are mindful of the established standards in these event.  This has allowed everyone to participate and invite their friends to future events because it is safe and rewarding.

So, in this case the organizer's priority has been on facilitating an experience that is safe and relevant to all.  Personal views are expressed and there is never any hint that anyone is either lecturing or being lectured to - universal participation is encouraged and people know that this is not the place to be judgemental.

I wish you the best of luck in this regard and hope that you can reframe the goal with the help of one or two like minded people.

Alborz

Tribal politics verses National Interests

Again let me thank each and everyone you for your very valuable contributions.  This is an extremely important issue not just for Atlanta, I believe for any parts of the world where the Iranians live.  We are in a deadlock situation.  It is so hard to persuade the ideologists to give up an inch of their position.  It is difficult to convince the people who are diametrically opposed to each other to compromise.  It is very challenging to make these guys understand that the stakes are very high and we are faced with a monumental task in front of us.  We need to work together and help each other out.  These guys do not understand the concept of **Unity in Diversity**.  They say:  my way or highway.  Some of these guys even have Ph. D and still have problem of understanding this simple fact that we are all in the same boat and we desperately need each other more than ever.

These losers put their partisan and ideological interest above their country.  Their loyalty is not to Iran.  Their loyalty is to their ideology and their own political party.  They are bunch of selfish and an ego centrist charlatans looking for their own personal interest and they do nit care about anything else. 

They try to hijack our movement.  They try to sabotage our rallies.  They try to derail our activities.  It is a very sad situation.  We need you help and your advice.  I am sure every city has its own bad apples.  This is not unique to Atlanta.  We are looking for a smart way of handling this.

They even had problems on sending the money which was raised during the Bam Earthquake.  They were fighting over this money like cats and dogs.  They were throwing the dirtiest words on each other over who should have the rights to send this money to who.  Basically the Communists wanted to send this money to their people in Iran and some others wanted to send this money to various gangs inside Islamic Republic.  It was a crazy scene.  They had a law suit over this money and I am not sure what happened later.

Basically it boils down to this.  There is absolutely no trust in this community.  No one can trust anyone.  As soon as you rely on someone then they betray your trust.  There is a history of backstabbing and screwing each other any way they can.

To Hoshang:

I think you are talking about Mr. Khoi and Mehryar Mehrafarin.  Both of these poets have left Atlanta.  I think Khoi is in London and Mehrafarin in Los Angeles.

I am very much grateful for all of your contributions.

Sepass,

David Ramezani

Iranians in atlanta

I had no idea there were so many Iranians in Atlanta. How many are there? in V.a we got like 50 thousand or so and they're all united, not much talks of politics though. we're all anti islamic regime though. I guess we lack islamists and commies in our communities.

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"They are not afraid of the ideology alone, but of the detemination and will of the men behind it"

My answer might be a little extreme

But I suggest creating a Iranian cultural/nationalist group that lets regular Iranians abroad and inside Iran join. Now when you say nationalist..... A Nationalist is a Person who cares about his nation, so if they're anything else then I don't see them caring about Iranian unity, but only their ideology, you get my meaning?

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"They are not afraid of the ideology alone, but of the detemination and will of the men behind it"

Have you had any cultural/artistic events?

If I'm not mistaken there are couple of Iranian poets living in or around Atlanta, have you though about a night of poetry? cheers

we have a long way to go

Greetings everyone:

I would like to thank every single one of you for contributing on this very important issue.  Our only valuable resource in here is our collective wisdom.  I am learning from you all and hopefully I can apply them onto my community. 

To Alborz:

It is true that kindness, selflessness, dedication, compassion and generosity towards others are the key ingredients for unity.  This community has been polarized for the past 30 plus years by a small number of Old Generation Activists all the way to its core.   These guys are masters of manipulation and divide and conquer.  They have all kinds of tricks in their sleeves.  They are polarizing figure and know exactly how to manipulate, exploit and play their games.  We have been trying to promote (Unity in Diversity) within the community and so far we have only seen a little result.  There is a great degree of mistrust.  People do not trust each others.  It is hard to convince others to start trusting one another.  I do not blame them either.  They have been betrayed so many time by others that is why they have hard time trusting others.

Lots of times these guys attach themselves to some public figure like Mossadegh, Esmail Khoi, Shahram Homayoun, Pahlavi or some other figure in order to effectively pursue their hidden agenda.  They hide behind these public figures in order to mask their true motives and display a legitimate cause.  We need to establish transparency and accountability which has never existed in here.  Some of these guys are ideologically motivated and are building a political resume for their selfish gains.  Some try to buy their way out by bribing others.

I guess we have a long way to go.  It is a sad situation.  I am very grateful for all your inputs.

Sepass,

David

David, unity in purpose...

and unity in approach, both warrant a close examination.  I see both as sources of division in the Iranian community.

Politics by its nature is divisive and people are averse to conflict - particularly the passionate kind which we practice.

To transcend all of these divisions the purpose needs to be self-less dedication to serving the members of the community in Atlanta.  No doubt they have many challenges as immigrants and the spirit of service to one's fellow human being will awaken the nobility that is masked in many of us.

If we are able to show kindness, compassion, and generosity towards others, not necessarily only Iranians, without any expectation of reward or recognition, people will get engaged and feel good about themselves as a community.

We have to have an awakened conscience and I am not aware of a more effective means than serving others. I have seen it work in many communities and once the bonds are established within the community, then differences of opinion will not be allowed to tear apart the established dignity of the community.  Should anyone attempt to cause divisions by their approach, others will arise in its condemnation irrespective of who they are and their affiliations.

So find a local cause that you can rally around and invite your friends to support it.  Make it fun and over time expand people's involvement.  Nothing here is new or novel - just foreign to our community.

Alborz

motives are suspect

MasoudA,

There is no transparency in our community and there is no accountability.  It is a wild, Wild West in here.  They try to bully you around.  If that does not work, then they try threatening you by filing law suite.  Basically their idea is to silence you any way they can.  These guys can not be trusted and their motives are suspect.  We need to come up with a strategy to fight these guys.  We are not sure what they are doing behind the scenes.  All of our pain and devastation is caused by this Old Generation of political activists. 

David Ramezani

Here is my 2 Cents

Yes I had a similar experience and here is what I found out - at least in our case. 

Anytrime any group of Iranians outside Iran gather for an Iran related political cause - they are approached by one or two of hundreds of payrolled Iranians whose sole jobs are to break up such gatherings and groupings.  They move from one job to another.   They pose as Monarchist, Leftist, .............but what they do is exactly what you described as extreme polarization.  For example - one would think the easiest thing us Iranians should have been able to do was to unify monarchists with nationalists - but in reality we see the distances keep increasing - why?  Because payrolled agents who have posed as monarchists start arguments against Mossadegh and those posed as Mellis start anti Reza Shah campaigns hence keeping the Shah vs. Mossadeg fire alive.....same applies to many other conflicts such as left vs. right or Islam vs. Zartosht..... 

An epidemic problem

You are correct this is an epidemic problem and it is so wide spread that no one knows how to resolve this.  It is a sad situation.  These guys claim they want to liberate Iran and in actuality their action is totally posit of what they claim.  They polarize the community and put some people against the others.  I am just trying to do some brain storming on this issue to see if I can get some good ideas to solve this problem.  I believe our community has lots of potentials if we could address these issues and clear the air for everyone.  It is a great community to be with except there are some outstanding issues which needs to be resolved first.

This “my way or highway” mentality is the most damaging attitude we have had in this community.  This is how this community has been devastated for so many years.  People with this attitude are the most irresponsible ones.  They knowingly or unknowingly damage the relationships.  Most of the guys who polarized this community are the Old Generation of Political Activists.  Lots of problems stems from the ideological battles that these guys have had for a long time.  It is very poisonous and frustrating to say the least. 

David Ramezani

The Atlanta case represents our Diaspora as a whole

David,

You just described the Iranian-American community, and probably the Iranian Diaspora.  We have all built our castles and put down the line in the sand.  OH YES, everyone talks about unity, but it is all about unity if you knock and come into my castle.

The answer I have concluded is that we need to talk about goals such as "freedom/human rights in Iran" as the end result and not a regime change.  As soon as one talks about a regime change, that is when spitting contests (my way is better) and pissing contests (your way sucks) starts.  As a result, we tend to forget why we started talking in the first place.  So again, we need to gather around a set of constitutional agreements rather than a flag, faction or a person.