Saturday, June 20, 2009
Persia without the poetry
I know I come across as lukewarm on support of the Iranian demonstrators. I've signed so many online petitions protesting the lack of women's rights, the persecution of Baha'is, the oppression of homosexuals, capital punishment & Iranian "justice," the harsh application of Shia law in rural Iran to justify lynchings. Expatriate Iranian intelligentsia tell us what the Iranian middle class really wants (but apparently is too fearful to demand). Iran & parts of the United States are warped reflections. Unfortunately, Iran wants to be Persia without the poetry. But Iran tempts us with the potential for mild reform. Saudi Arabia, a far more oppressive regime, does not.
When the Patriarchs of the Evangelical Right made their alliances of convenience (they were fierce competitors), didn't they have in mind a Council of Cultural Guardians? - a dream of making America like the campus of a Christian college. Sure, there's plenty of respectable culture, sports, entertainment, & good clean fun on those campuses; so much that you might not notice at first what isn't there. Like free academic inquiry, authentic science, courses in feminist lit, professors who aren't born again Christians, nude models in life drawing classes, freedom to question & dissent, & "immodest" clothing on warm, sunny afternoons. A "Christian Republic" would have much in common with an Islamic Republic. They'd agree on just about everything except the Messiah & which Holy Books ought to be obeyed & proselytized. The constitutional setup would be about the same, sans the Supreme Leader. As per Glenn Beck's "9 Principles & 12 Values, " all children would have to belong to the Boy or Girl Scouts. Thomas Jefferson would be highly honored, the Jefferson Bible proclaimed a forgery.
Mousavi has more spunk than Al Gore had, although what's at stake in terms of executive power & policy is far less than America in 2000, & an honest recount would likely verify that Mousavi lost the election by a slimmer margin. Even the Repugs knew Al Gore had fairly won. Al could have tried to lead millions into the streets here to protest a coup d'etat attempt, with a Democratic president watching his back rather than a screwball incumbent seeking reelection. We paid for it.
When the Patriarchs of the Evangelical Right made their alliances of convenience (they were fierce competitors), didn't they have in mind a Council of Cultural Guardians? - a dream of making America like the campus of a Christian college. Sure, there's plenty of respectable culture, sports, entertainment, & good clean fun on those campuses; so much that you might not notice at first what isn't there. Like free academic inquiry, authentic science, courses in feminist lit, professors who aren't born again Christians, nude models in life drawing classes, freedom to question & dissent, & "immodest" clothing on warm, sunny afternoons. A "Christian Republic" would have much in common with an Islamic Republic. They'd agree on just about everything except the Messiah & which Holy Books ought to be obeyed & proselytized. The constitutional setup would be about the same, sans the Supreme Leader. As per Glenn Beck's "9 Principles & 12 Values, " all children would have to belong to the Boy or Girl Scouts. Thomas Jefferson would be highly honored, the Jefferson Bible proclaimed a forgery.
Mousavi has more spunk than Al Gore had, although what's at stake in terms of executive power & policy is far less than America in 2000, & an honest recount would likely verify that Mousavi lost the election by a slimmer margin. Even the Repugs knew Al Gore had fairly won. Al could have tried to lead millions into the streets here to protest a coup d'etat attempt, with a Democratic president watching his back rather than a screwball incumbent seeking reelection. We paid for it.
Labels: blogging against theocracy, culture, in the news, religion
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"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
And we are still paying for it, damn it. It's like WTF where is America's spine? And I don't mean interferring with Iranian politics, but with the comparison you make, that Americans have lost their spine in their ability to challenge the status quo and say, as I quote, "What The Fuck?"
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