Time to move on

Iranians must understand that times have changed


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Time to move on
by Ben Madadi
02-Jan-2008
 

There is a common fallacy, or obsession, among many Iranians that Iran is, and definitely is supposed to be, a powerful country, actually a world power. This is not exclusive to Iranians. Many nations have such ideas. Why is it so? What does actually one gain from having the passport, or being part, of a powerful nation? It is indeed more like a mental problem than anything else. Isn't it better to have the passport of a rich independent obscure island than the passport of a huge and well-known dictatorial and relatively poor country, like IRAN?

Of course power does not refer to GDP per capita, in which case a weak and very small country would have been considered the most powerful, i.e. Luxembourg! What I mean from powerful is the world view that one country, or more arguably a nation, is more powerful than other countries, in its immediate region or in the whole world. Iran is one of the countries where both the state and the people have the pretense to belonging to the world's powerful nations. Of course this is not the case and it has not been the case for a very long time.

Maybe the last time there was a truly powerful Iran (or Persian Empire as it was known to the West) was the time of Nadir shah, or maybe even during the first years of the Qajar rule. Iran was indeed a world power to reckon with during the time of the Safavid, especially during the reign of Shah Abbas. But Iran has been an insignificant world player, and an almost absent one, for more than 150 years, even with the advantage of oil money. But Iranians still have imperial dreams, dreams of belonging to the preferred nation within a glorious vast empire in which they have one or more idols, kings or prophets, who are also powerful worldly figures, if not the most powerful, who walk with arrogance amongst non-Iranians, who are adorned, respected and feared.

The picture of Imam Ali has replaced that of Zarathustra for some Iranians, almost forgery-like, while Cyrus "the Great" has been replaced by Reza Shah "the Great" for other Iranians. However these are not exclusive for Iranians either and resemblances can be found among other nations, their history and their faith. But why is all this obsession for greatness? Of course, it is nice to be great and admired. Everyone would like to be admired and respected. However the fact of the matter is that wishing to be huge and powerful is one things, and being obsessed with it quite another.

Men, individuals and groups, usually achieve success by hard work and perseverance. Very often those who become great are actually those who care less, who become great due to their inner abilities and virtues, without them actually wanting to be, or caring much to be, great. Those who WANT to be great, usually do nothing but to copy others who have already become great, copy their manner of reaching greatness, without caring to go through the realities, the hard work, the sweat and the pain those great ones have been through. And failure and frustration ensues. Rockefeller once said "If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success."

One can follow Rockefeller and TRY (and most probably fail) to build a huge oil company or he can follow Rockefeller and strike out on a new path, be original and do something that can bear fruits in TODAY's realities. What Iranians want is to be great and they, on individual bases, sometimes succeed in doing so by hard work and typical Iranian (more, or less, decent) entrepreneurship, but on a national basis, they act miserably and they have so far failed miserably. Of course other countries, especially world powers such as Russia, Britain and the US have also had their shares in Iran's current miseries, but Khomeini for instance was an Iranian product and the catastrophic outcome of this odious domestic product has yet to be thoroughly revealed.

Looking at Iranians of today we can also see worldly ambitions. They want to follow, and copy, other world powers, their mistakes too, and develop nuclear weapons with an extremely stupid desire of becoming GREAT. Not great in science, humanity, democracy or maybe even literacy, life expectancy or economy, but in something vague simply called national PRIDE and power!

The same was the desire of the Pahlavis who ignored both Iran's realities in the world and also the realities, needs and desires of ordinary Iranian, to achieve NATIONAL or INTERNATIONAL greatness, or even to prove it to themselves and to the rest of the world. It goes back to all the talk that started in the late 19th century, mostly by Western archaeologists and historians, about pre-Islamic great and powerful Iran. And it is definitely NOT only the regime which has imperial and worldly extraordinary wild desires but also the people who are still naive enough to believe that Iran genuinely stands any chance of copying Western powers and become another world power to be taken seriously, just like it used to be.

The only chance Iran does stand, and has so far achieved, is to be ridiculed for such attempts. Iranians must understand that times have changed, the world has moved on, and in today's realities, Iran, even with most numerous atomic bombs, or even with the greatest reserves of oil and gas, cannot match the technological, military or financial prowess of the US, Japan, Germany, Britain, China, India or even Russia. Not for now! The society is not there yet.

The best comparison, to be achieved in the years to come, in a hypothetical world of an ideal leadership, would either be Turkey (no present world power, and no near-future world power) or even better, United Arab Emirates (some of the same Arabs who are so often belittled by many Iranians). And our Iran is actually FAR behind these two countries, both socially and economically, while wasting so much precious energy, money and time, arguing with WORLD powers, while it is not even a true regional power (Turkey to the west is more powerful, Pakistan and India to the east are more powerful and Russia to the north is much more powerful).


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O people Of Iran

by Mona 19 (not verified) on

O people of Persia! How long will you wander? How long must your confusion last? How long will it go on, this conflict of opinions, this useless antagonism, this ignorance, this refusal to think? Others are alert, and we sleep our dreamless sleep. Other nations are making every effort to improve their condition; we are trapped in our desires and self-indulgences, and at every step we stumble into a new snare. This fairest of lands was once a lamp, streaming with the rays of Divine knowledge, of science and art, of nobility and high achievement, of wisdom and valor.

Open your eyes! Pay heed! Release yourselves from this blind following of the bigots, this senseless imitation which is the principal reason why men fall away into paths of ignorance and degradation. See the true state of things. Rise up; seize hold of such means as will bring you life and happiness and greatness and glory among all the nations of the world.

Choose noble ends; how long this lethargy, how long this negligence! Despair, both here and hereafter, is all you will gain from self-indulgence; abomination and misery are all you will harvest from fanaticism, from believing the foolish and the mindless. The confirmations of God are supporting you, the succor of God is at hand: why do you not cry out and exult with all your heart, and strive with all your soul!

regard,
Mona


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You are truly stuck in the past. Its very sad :(

by Medad Taraash (not verified) on

Dear Ben,
.
Thank you for yet another of your "articles" on what is wrong with Iran and Iranians.
.
The Pahlavi Shah (khoda beeaamorz!) was indeed mistaken about the realities of the world. He actually believed in his allies and bought the whole cold war scam. Naturally he was in for a wee surprise when Mr. Rockefeller decided his friend the Shah has to go. (He was a nationalist, you see. A crime in the eyes of the NWO whores, such as Ben, here.)
.
Iran is 'Destined' for Greatness, in spite of herself. Is she Rich? Nature has been very kind to her, indeed. Her character? Is She charming? *Everyone* wants to be just like her. She sings, she dances, she draws, she paints, she builds, she philosophises. Watch her Spin on her own axis. She does the Cha cha. She does the Mawlawna. Wooh. (Is there any like her in the East or the West? No. A Resounding cry from the ages says: No. This is a Special One, indeed.)
.
All eyes are on Her. That's because Iran, she is tres tres hot.
.
Everyone is looking to this Beauty to make her Mark. To Stand. To Dance. To Lead the Party.
.
There are some skulking around in the corners, writing mean little tracts saying she is a hag, or she is past her prime.
.
But that's just 'cause they are jealous.
.
Our Beauty is Rising. She is Resplendent, Glorious and Basking in the Light of The One GOD, who Loves her Very Much, indeed. (A Favorite amongst the favorites, of The Great King ;)
.
Don't you just Love her?


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Mr. Madadi, great article as

by Farhad Kashani (not verified) on

Mr. Madadi, great article as always. Keep up the good work. Let me just add that problem with lot of Iranians is that they view Iran as the same Hakhamaneshi or Sassani Iran, not 2008 Iran ! We have a problem of always, and constantly, looking back and never look ahead. That’s the root of many of our problems. We love to live in history and because we do that, we can never see the present or the future.


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hope is all we got

by MRX (not verified) on

look all you said here is correct. however hope is the only thing that we got going for us. we need hope and aspiration that at least one day we can crawl out of backwardness and khorafat that gave a rise to mosters like khomeini and to pursue some thing better. As for technologically being behind, yes we were behind and we still are and most likely we will be in the near future. the world is not waiting for us to catch up.


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A Real Joke!

by Naazokbin (not verified) on

Are you kidding me? Iran as a great power?
A great joke perhaps, but not a great power. Someone must have started this as a joke and now it is being repeated by some IRI supporters.

Seriously, what is great about Iran?

All Iranians have to do is kick the mullahs out and take control of their country. There's no any other way to gain International respect. How can Iranians accept a bunch of mullahs as their leaders. It is humiliating to be represented by them. Can't Iranians see that?

It is funny that Iranians want respect from the International community when they can't get it in their own country.


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you can move on, it is not

by babak123 (not verified) on

you can move on, it is not your business to tell us to move on.