IDEAS

More than 30 years ago parents, brothers and sisters, cousins and nephews, and even grandparents of the present Internet and tweeter savvy Sabz generation of Iranians crowded streets of the cities in Iran and by raising their clinched fists into the air ,with the highest decibel that they could produce, shouted “Alaa-ho Akbar, Alaa-ho Akbar” rhyme it with selected adjectives and attributes such as “Rahbar, Akhtar, …” They listened to the BBC broadcasts in Farsi on their shortwave radios, carried their Sony Walkman and tape recorders in their pockets and purses and listened to the taped messages in France, giving them the manual of how to find your way to promise land خوش بختی ، آزادی، اعدالت و سر انجام بهشت موعود.

Soon afterward the sign of affirmation of divine intervention salvaging whatever was left of humanity was discovered somewhere on the moon, it was long strings of bloody beard solidly frozen in the moon-space on the edge of a crater. The true believers, in herds of millions flocked together again and raised the decibel a notch higher and said again “Alaa-ho Akbar”—the miracle is real, but not the last one and there were others to come. The spirit of God created a shield, a barrier that could not be penetrated. امت was saved from the satanic world plunderers, moon plunderers, rapacious infidels, and all other evils. The paragon and panacea finally arrived, millenniums of بدبختی ، بیچارگی ، حقارت، نابرابری و ظلمwas over almost overnight, or at least it was believed to be. This was thought to be the greatest gift that generation of revolutionaries packaged and bestowed their children and generations. Did they ever know what is really in that package and what is waiting for them?

A classic Forest Gump moment did occurred, “mama always said life was like a box of chocolate, you never know what you’re gonna get.” The spirit of God observed the opening of the box of happiness and prosperity with a sardonic grin, box was opened and Ebrahim Yazdi; Bani Sadr; Khal-Khali; Reyshahri; Chamran; Refughdoust; Lajevardi; Refsanjany; Behesti; Rajavi and the gang; Montazeri; ….. all jumped out! The jubilant masses embraced their protectors and saviors’. The flagitious gang of Aakhond started one tenebrous period in Iranian history that is beyond reason and a direct assault and onslaught on the dignity and reverence of any human being.

Revolutionaries of the time celebrated the abstract notion of their freedom, welcomed the illusion of a “democracy,” they had no clue of what it was, how it works, or what it means and takes to be a “democrat.” Living in freedom and democracy requires a mind-set of its own, it is the process of “learning by doing”, and self-government by definition is a sine qua non for a democratic and civil society. Iran is a Third World and Islamic country. More than 14 centuries ago, we allowed and accepted an Islamic characterization of our society and culture. Our longer history is characterized by chaos and despotism; we take our ethnocentricity dangerously close to the frontier of racism, our pretentious pseudo-modernism of the 20th century, and who does not believe in some version of a conspiracy theory! We have lived a life of crisis and calamity through ages and that has made us who we were and who we are now. We are so much afraid of what we may see that we refuse to look at the mirror, we are nonplussed by what we see, what is happening? What has happened to us? We keep asking questions and refuse to gaze further into the mirror and have the courage and honesty to say yes it is me.

Thirty some years ago was an emotional and passionate times, it is hard to say if revolutionaries of the time—the people in the streets, had time or even took time to cogitate. They wanted Shah to go and freedom to come, a severely simple demand with dire and ominous consequences. No one know or even thought what may be in that freedom box being “gifted” to the Iranian nation. Who could imagine that the leader and “absolute ruler” of a “free” nation is directly hand-picked by God and his people are bunch of buffoons who must respond to his knell of death on his wish.

The Behrangis , Aal-e Ahmads, and Shariatis and other Iranian intellectuals of the earlier years fanned the flames of passion and hysteria particularly among the university students and emerging educated middle class. The “Potemkin Village” created by our intellectuals, particularly Shariati, cleared the way for supremacy of thug theology and sophistry of nefarious, flagitious morbid creatures who arrogantly announced their self-ascribed monopoly on God.

A deity was manufactured, a spurious theatrics was set up and abysmal ignorance of newly freed people did not allow them to see the very avatar of cunning, hate and revenge, destruction and inscrutable treacheries. Even in a black hole and parallel universe such draconian system of government in the name of God, freedom, and independent cannot go unchallenged. But who is to challenge the word of God, the machinations worked perfectly and the Iranian sans-culottes embarrassed the message with an open arm. A place in heavens was guaranteed for resigned and submissive masses. The minatory and dictatorial régime of Shah and his lackeys, those years of repression, and decades of suppression disappeared altogether, this was a monumental achievement indeed. The elegance of the ideal, paragon, and promise of utopia mesmerized the masses, detached from the outcome of their actions they celebrated the first بهارآزادی , alas an ephemeral one.

God is ubiquitous, he is not fatuous and his word must be obeyed—no question asked! A polemical person, those who have any doubt, or even dare to think that the eldritch obsession of the hoi polloi with divine intervention through the spirit, at least until روز موعود , is farcical and not a deity of preternatural eminence and power are bunch of bumpkins and hicks! These are skullduggery and trickery of non-believers, non-committed, enemies of the revolution, foreign agents, elites, news reporters, استکبار جهانی‌ , westoxicated people, particularly those affected by Americatoxication “disease,” and all other heretics that do not believe in اسلام ناب محمدی و آمدن آقای غیب زده as characterized by the spirit of God and his hand-picked personal assistant, et al. More than 14 century of accumulated hear-say and scuttlebutt, outright lies and mendacity gives enough ammunition to meld their flock and herd and keep them silent.

More than 30 years later now Sabbz crowd, aka, ESLAH-TALAB, are out in droves and almost following the footsteps of their forefathers, this time they have computers, Internet, and their smart-phones are in their pockets and purses. History is repeating itself and the colossal mistakes and miss-calculations of the past horrific experience that brought the nation more than 30 years of disaster and destruction is being made again. Thirty years of denial of the most elementary rights that any human being is entitled to; right to free speech and opinion, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, right to life, liberty and security of a person; AND inhuman punishment and torture, arbitrary arrest and detention was unbearable enough to bring this NEW generation of intrepid and disillusioned Iranians in to the streets again, their turning point and moment of truth did arrive one more time!

The historical question at this juncture is that do they, the Green leaders and flag bearers, know the immense and monumental responsibility that they have toward the Iranian nation and future generations? Their forefathers, by the account of any reasonable, decent, and free thinking man or woman, have failed and the record and history of more than 30 years is a blatant and undeniable evidence of this failure. What do they want to change? More civil liberties so boys and girls can hold hand in the parks? Wear more color and shorter sleeve? Allow more press freedom via their own filters albeit with larger holes?! ? Promise for a transparent and open government? Promise to stop corruption, and more of the same goodies?!

Which one of the front runners or spoke-persons of the Sabz crowd have gone one step further to point to the nature and real cause of this cancer and plague called IR? In particular the ISLAMIC part of it. Reform and gradual change, and substituting the “Yellow Dog” for his brother “The Jackal” is a revolting and nauseating recipe for the same thing. With some luck a lighter, kinder, and softer version of the same fanatical Dark Age mentality of the 7th century, i.e. an ENGINEERED ISLAM, and the laws of SHRIA, with some modification of course, WILL BE the law of the land. Is this perhaps another 30 years that awakened and free thinking Iranian want for themselves and their children? It is beyond belief and any reasonable expectation that the existing power structure will change or modify any of its core guiding principles and tenets. To do so they must challenge the word of God and by their own definition become a “Mohareb”—the enemy of God. There is an unbreakable bond and chain between the “Yellow Dog” and his brother “The Jackal,” both are of the same cloth.