10.26.2006

The 2 Faces of Iran

Getting to the library occasionally, I've fallen back in love with the Wall Street Journal's editorial page. Not so much their own editors' opinions (I tend to agree, though they are sometimes jaundiced and amoral). More with their invited outside writers. Presidents of foreign countries, historical pieces, etc.

Today an Iranian journalist, banned from publishing in Iran, wrote this:

"The well-to-do Iranian drinks and reads and watches what he wishes. He does as he pleases behind the walls of his private mansions and villas. In return for his private comforts, the affluent Iranian is happy to sacrifice freedom of speech, most of his civil rights, and his freedom of association. The upper-middle class has been bought off by this pact, which makes a virtue of hypocrisy....

A friend who sells banned books at a street booth says, "The authorities act impulsively based on whimsical assessments of risk. Their actions defy common sense and logic, so are completely unpredictable. It is that unpredictability that leads to panic and intellectual paralysis. That's the secret of the current Iranian despotism."

The anonymous author concludes: "The well-to-do are paying a price for their comforts, and I wonder sometimes if they understand what it is. How can you have a revolution when everyone is watching TV?"

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