In May, my wife and I were privileged to be able to be able to spend two weeks in the Islamic Republic of Iran. We were able to have conversations with ordinary Iranians at a school, a 
madrassa, in a home, in parks and on the street. The one thing that you realize right away upon arriving in Iran is that “you are not in the Arab World anymore Dorothy”. Iranians make it very clear that they are Persians with a long history of advanced civilization. This is immediately apparent when one engages with the women. In the Arab World women tend to be very conservative in their dress and reticent in their behavior. This is true even in Israel, Palestine and Jordan where there is no government dress mandate but where behavior is more influenced by religious, family and cultural norms. In Iran, although the government mandates “Islamic dress”, the women “push the envelope” in terms of dress, readily initiate discussions with men and make up more than half of university students and more than half of the work force. They are leaders of organizations involved with human rights, women’s rights and freedom of the press and expression.
This is a very young society with more than 70% of the population under the age of 35. This segment of the population is restless under the strictures of the authoritarian Islamic government of the mullahs. Although the Islamic government spawned by the
revolution has changed a lot in the past 30 years, the young population is pushing for still more change. It is clear, however, that this change must originate from Iranians. As one person said to me, “The last thing that we need is another revolution. It would set us back thirty years. Change will come, but it must come from within Iran”. Iran has a long sad history of exploitation by western countries. Any government that is seen as a creation or puppet of the west would have no legitimacy and would not be accepted by Iranians.
Most Iranians that I talked with were concerned about the current regime’s “totalitarian tendencies”. Complaining about the regime seems to be a national pastime engaged in by everyone from the elites to the man on the street. Everywhere we went we were welcomed by Iranians of all ages, surprised and happy to see Americans in their country. In general Iranians admire and respect America for all that it has accomplished and for the values that it advocates. They do comment that in recent years America seems to have lost its way. In a discussion that I had with an Iranian about how Iranians seem to separate their disagreement with the American government’s Middle East policies from their feelings about ordinary Americans. He said “That is true, but it may change. You are a democracy and in a democracy the people are responsible for their government”.
In my opinion and experience, the US has much more in common with Iran, an historic ally in the region, than we do with many of the other authoritarian regimes in the region that we currently support. Our experience may be best described by a quote from Tony Wheeler’s book Badlands after his visit to Iran. “Wander through any park full of picnicking Persians, endure another barrage of welcomes and accept another glass or two of tea and you begin to realize that these are not the rabid extremists some segments of the Western media would have us believe.”
madrassa, in a home, in parks and on the street. The one thing that you realize right away upon arriving in Iran is that “you are not in the Arab World anymore Dorothy”. Iranians make it very clear that they are Persians with a long history of advanced civilization. This is immediately apparent when one engages with the women. In the Arab World women tend to be very conservative in their dress and reticent in their behavior. This is true even in Israel, Palestine and Jordan where there is no government dress mandate but where behavior is more influenced by religious, family and cultural norms. In Iran, although the government mandates “Islamic dress”, the women “push the envelope” in terms of dress, readily initiate discussions with men and make up more than half of university students and more than half of the work force. They are leaders of organizations involved with human rights, women’s rights and freedom of the press and expression.This is a very young society with more than 70% of the population under the age of 35. This segment of the population is restless under the strictures of the authoritarian Islamic government of the mullahs. Although the Islamic government spawned by the
revolution has changed a lot in the past 30 years, the young population is pushing for still more change. It is clear, however, that this change must originate from Iranians. As one person said to me, “The last thing that we need is another revolution. It would set us back thirty years. Change will come, but it must come from within Iran”. Iran has a long sad history of exploitation by western countries. Any government that is seen as a creation or puppet of the west would have no legitimacy and would not be accepted by Iranians.Most Iranians that I talked with were concerned about the current regime’s “totalitarian tendencies”. Complaining about the regime seems to be a national pastime engaged in by everyone from the elites to the man on the street. Everywhere we went we were welcomed by Iranians of all ages, surprised and happy to see Americans in their country. In general Iranians admire and respect America for all that it has accomplished and for the values that it advocates. They do comment that in recent years America seems to have lost its way. In a discussion that I had with an Iranian about how Iranians seem to separate their disagreement with the American government’s Middle East policies from their feelings about ordinary Americans. He said “That is true, but it may change. You are a democracy and in a democracy the people are responsible for their government”.
In my opinion and experience, the US has much more in common with Iran, an historic ally in the region, than we do with many of the other authoritarian regimes in the region that we currently support. Our experience may be best described by a quote from Tony Wheeler’s book Badlands after his visit to Iran. “Wander through any park full of picnicking Persians, endure another barrage of welcomes and accept another glass or two of tea and you begin to realize that these are not the rabid extremists some segments of the Western media would have us believe.”
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