Thoughts on Iran

Since I've been home, I've gotten into several political discussions. Some have lead to debates, then heated arguments, like the one I had with my Dad over Obama Barrack the other day. I love politics, I love to argue; two things that I am very passionate about. Just before I left Turkey I had been in several heated discussions to Troy, a good friend of mine. He loves politics and arguing, so we often have very lively conversations. I enjoy it, I know it's not for everyone. My brother was telling a story at lunch the other day about my father and me. Apparently we got on such a heated discussion one night at dinner over the apostle Paul that Courtney and my mom finally left the dinner table. But that's just me and my dad.

Back to Troy, our last argument was about Iran and Israel; which I'd be happy to discuss my stance with you if you are interested. It got me to thinking about Rick Steves. I have mentioned him before, he is the travel guide, or at least his guide book, that I use when I travel. They are great. Well he was invited to visit Iran. He has been writing a blog about his visit. I find them very interesting. It really shows how the politics of a country and their people are often different. And that really, we are all just people. (Of course it could also be very interesting since I have lots of free time on my hands today!)
*Disclaimer, not saying that I agree with Rick Steves' religious views.

Here was part of his summary: "What do I conclude from this experience? If I were to make any judgment on their theocracy, it would be to point out the irony of a society that is aggressively theocratic, yet actually seems less spiritual than a neighboring, secular Muslim nation — Turkey, where five times a day it’s hard to walk down the sidewalk because mosques are overflowing with people praying.

All the “death to America” and "death to Israel" posters Westerners fixate on are impossible to defend. But I will say they seemed very incongruous with the people I met. It made me wonder if the penchant for Iranians to declare “death” to so many things is not so different from Westerners who exclaim “damn those French” or “damn those cowboys” or “damn this traffic jam.” Even though this actually means “die and then burn in hell”...of course we don’t mean it literally.

There's a lot of debate between our two nations about who's right and who's wrong. Many who comment on this blog seem to know. Some issues (such as the wrongness of denying the holocaust) seem clear-cut. But, as I leave Iran, I'm not convinced that everything is so straightforward. Politicians come and go...but people are here to stay. I leave thankful that I don’t live in Iran. Yet I believe the vast majority of Iranians — regardless of what they think of their current government — would choose to live nowhere else.

After this experience, I’m reminded of the fundamental value as well as the simple fun of travel. When we travel — whether to a land our president has declared part of an “Axis of Evil,” or just to a place where people yodel when they’re happy or fight bulls to impress the girls or can’t serve breakfast until today’s croissants arrive — we enrich our lives and better understand our place on this planet. It’s my hope that with people-to-people connections, we can overcome our fear and mistrust of each other, and, at a minimum, learn to co-exist peacefully. And that gives me and my partners here at ETBD meaning in our work. Thanks for traveling with me via this blog through Iran. I hope you enjoyed the journey."

Mission: Understand Iran
http://www.ricksteves.com/blog/index.cfm?fuseaction=entry&entryID=238
(You can start here, then click next at the bottom)

*Found the next two really interesting.
Friday:Go to Prayer
http://www.ricksteves.com/blog/index.cfm?fuseaction=entry&entryID=243

Death to Traffic...Death to Israel
http://www.ricksteves.com/blog/index.cfm?fuseaction=entry&entryID=244