Shorts

To Rosie

I agree with you

It is a complex problem and something likes "Egg and Hen first existing" dilema !

Unfortunately Iranians don't want consider this main problem and looking for other easy reasons like : Americans, English, Clergy, Arabes, Oil ... the list is so long.

Take Care.

It cuts both ways

The home and the individual shape governments, and governments shape the home and the individual.

Nature and nurture do not work in isolation.  They work in tandem.  Consider the rapid mutation of white moths to soot black in the glory days of Industrial Coal Capitalism in 19th century England.

It can happen almost as fast with humans. Consider the Hitler Yourth and the Maoist children turning in their own parents to certain imprisonment and possible execution for the most idiotic reasons.  If children can be so quickly indoctrinated to totalitariian evil, surely they can also be taught freedom and good.

The family cannot change alone on a societal scale without the support of that society at large, and vice versa.  Itt cuts both ways. And sometimes, it's a Catch-22.

I know, I know, Maybe that's what you meant.  I just wanted to formulate it in my own way. 

our nature

I agree with Ali P.

It is our nature and I've a personal theory. I think it becomes from our familly structure. Family are "atomes" which build a society.  

When the Father is the boss and Mother accept it as a God willing. When nobody can tell him he is wrong, children grow up with this nature : Accepting a Dictature.

When you discuss with Iranians, they are convinced that only one man can save a country in west even the most populare has some people against them.

We should start changing our relationship at home.

Clergy, Reza Shah and Qajars

This is a nice news article.  Notice Agha Mohammad Khan's brutality and how he was killed.

I recommend this book entitled Sayee Az Sardar.  This one is $18 but I bought mine in a book sale for $2.  When I started reading it I couldn't put it down and finished it in 3 days.  It has a lot of copies of historical documents but the best part for me was the historical analysis that he did. I learned a lot from it and realized I really didn't know much about that era, even though I had listened to plenty of stories from that era from my own family members who lived it. 

For me, the whole history behind Reza Shah, Qajar and Clergy is really fascinating, it is like a novel and back in those days you can imagine how things were simple and how they were changed.

Ali P. There is nothing wrong with following a leader.  After all leaders are people too and they are someone's child.  Hard to imagine but Khomeini was a toddler one day when his mom named him Ruhollah! In democracies people elect leaders.  Some people are actually good at inspiring others.  History is about men/women who made history itself, for the good or the bad.  Look for the good.  Our future depends on it!

Shia clergy wanted to stay in power.

Shia clergy were the force behind the corrupt Quajar rulers, so that's why they wanted monarchy, to be able  to exert their influence.They were the reason for our country staying behind the civilized world, they still are.

May God ,make them a faint and scary memory!

Tahirih

Not sure...

 Our frame of mind was far from democracy, and to certain extend, still is. Not just the head of the state, but citizens have to realize it, appreciate it, and live it. 

 For centuries, we set up a King, sat him up there, and asked him to rule us. When it went bad, we helped someone pull him down, kill him and his family, and help the second guy get up there, and stay there. That's the way it had always been done throughout the Middle-east.

 I am not sure had a republic been founded by Reza Shah, it would have been much different than those we later saw in Lybia, Syria, or Iraq.

 Our culture creates dictators, even if the person does not want to be one.

Clergy

Reza Shah wanted to model Iran after Turkey. Since Ata Turk turned Turkey in to a republic in its drive to modernization, Reza Shah wanted to follow suit as he saw the monarchy being to prone to corruption and decline. The Shia clergy obviously did not see eye to eye with him on this matter because Shia hierarchy is based on direct descendency. Modarres was in fact quite instrumental in making sure Iran remained a monarchy. Oddly enough after the revolution the 1000 rial bill which traditionally had Reza Shah's picture was replaced with Modarres.

Read last line

After the overthrow of the ghajars we could have had a republic instead of the Pahlavi monarchy -- if the clergy had not objected.

The clergy... gotta love'm :o)

Don't tell John Carpenter!

He'll get very depressed.