(As I am writing this post fast due to limited time at a hotel Internet cafe, please forgive any spelling errors)
This morning, me and my family took off from Tehran Airport at 7am toward Esfahan.
The flight was pleasant and the pilot was very cool (before take-off he said "Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, just relax, and let us fly up high into God's sky"... the prose was very poetic in Farsi, and had no intonation of religious forcefulness).
When we arrived in Esfehan, we took a taxi (an Iran Khodro Samand) toward the City Centre.
My father sat in the front passenger seat, with me, my mother and my sister sitting in the backseat. Father started talking to the driver, and they entered a conversation. It was a pleasure hearing their conversation about Esfehan and the state of Iran, not least because of the peculiar and rather sweet Esfehani accent.
I am very curious about Iran. I am especially interested in why such an ancient nation with such great wisdom borne throughout the ages and contemporary high-achieving people (at home and abroad), has chosen an autocratic regime that most Iranians themselves are not pleased with (one proof of that is President Khatami's overwhelming popularity prior to Ahmadinejad).
So I asked the driver: "I would like to ask you a very general question and I know that it may not be easy to answer: what do you think about the current Iranian regime?".
He answered (and I will highlight the main points of his response): "the current government is kind of like a mafia... especially economically... we Iranians are a wonderful people, the warmth and sense of humanity we have is unparalleled... during the Iran-Iraq war we treated our POWs with unparalleled respect (this is verified), we passed an important test as a nation... Iran is a wealthy nation... the people are most capable... but our current government is taking advantage of its own people."
Then I asked: "what do you think about Khatami?" Khatami represents a period of reform and movement away from autocracy toward democracy, rule of law and greater individual liberty.
He said: "Khatami was a great man... he brought dignity and pride to Iran, and worked at restoring our reputation within the international community... but Ahmadinejad has destroyed all the hard work that Khatami did."
I asked him a final question: "well, why do you think the autocratic mullah regime has been able to maintain power for so long?"
He answered (and his last sentence finished exactly as soon as we arrived at the hotel!): "no government can stay in power without the support of the people... so a segment of Iranians are supporting them, and that is simple why they are still in power."
Even though the time I had with him was short, I really liked this man's realistic perception of Iran. It is the people that ultimately uphold leaders in their political positions. When people are unaware of their power, then it will seem as if they have no power.
Next question I have (but didn't have time to ask him): why do the people support a theocratic government in a country where a substantial portion of the population (including many of the youth baby boomers born after the revolution) aspire toward democracy, separation of religion and state, free enterprise, the rule of law, and equal rights for men and women?
I am not yet sure about the answer to this complex question. However, my personal opinion beyond this question is that Iran is evolving... it is in process... it is moving - slowly but surely -towards its glorious destiny (where spiritually is ingrained in the fabric of society, yet not forced upon anyone). There are dark depths to move through before reaching blessed shores.
(Note to self: next time, I will get email addresses from interesting Iranians I meet on the way)
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