Posted on 08/06/2007 10:00:29 AM PDT by bensam
August 05 2007 The Persian Abyss: Iranian ennui and the bitter stillness by Reza Zarabi
The streets of Persia’s metropolis have become awkwardly silent.
The recent rationing of gasoline, the economic woes that are gripping the nation with unprecedented asperity, and this summer’s crackdown on “moral vices” by Iran’s mercenaries of thought and conscience have left Teheranis in a state of restive limbo. The city’s once bustling coffee shops and restaurants, the only solace where an average Iranian could find some respite from the imposed autocracy, are now quiescent and empty.
With uncertainty that abounds and stability a forgotten concept, Iranians are being newly reminded of how weak and powerless they truly are. Everyday has become more convoluted than the next. Two years ago, an average Iranian still lived under skyrocketing inflation, constant threats of war by the American government, and with dismissal hopes about their future yet, medieval norms such as the moral police and Islamic dress enforcement was thought to be a thing of the past.
Usually, the fashion police make their presence felt on Iranian streets a few weeks into the spring. Teheran’s sweltering days and pleasant summer nights bring about a vast array of worldly temptations, not to mention a fervent uptake in communication amongst Iran’s hormone-driven 20-somethings. In the malls, the public parks, the city streets, the outside bazaars, and even on Teheran’s usually congested highways, the Persian hoards are notorious for openly flirting with the opposite sex, blaring the latest pop music smuggled in from Los Angeles, and breaking every tenant of Sharia law before the day’s end. However, the recent zeal that the clerical regime has shown in their attempts to “protect” Islamic norms has subdued the normally festive Iranian mood.
This summer has seen elapsed mores being resurrected like zombies by the reactionary wing of I.R.I. This, in turn, has brought upon a new sense of unneeded paranoia upon Iranians, especially the youth. After weeks of constant harassment, citations, and even confinement for trivial matters such as the color of one’s apparel, the length of a man’s hair, or the certain shade of lipstick that a woman might use, the average Iranian has come to the realization that it is better just to stay at home.
The current “gas” crisis has also added to Teheran’s humiliation. It has been a long Persian custom, especially since the revolution, to escape to the friendly shores of the Caspian. It’s arid climate, caviar, and the irresistible wine that is made by the locals makes one quickly forget that they are living in a police state. However, the gas rationing has dramatically curtailed this long-held ritual. Since the average Iranian can now only consume a finite amount of gasoline per month, a weekend getaway to a Caspian villa has become much more difficult.
Waiting has become the national pastime.
The current actions of the I.R.I. are nothing new; even so it has never lasted this long- not in recent memory. Crackdowns by the moral police usually last a few weeks and have seldom been of the intensity that Iranians are currently experiencing. However, Iranians sense that this time is different. Opposition to the regime, both vocal and demonstrative, is more overt than ever before. The government, as in times past, responds in kind. The intensity of this opposition, for the government at least, justifies their response.
The characteristics of Ahmadinejad’s administration are emblematic of a regime that is drastically hemorrhaging. With no valid excuse for such gross economic incompetence and with no substantial vision for the next 2 years of his presidency, the government has made the calculated decision to further encroach upon the tenuous social liberties that were attained during the Khatami years. This strategy is by no means innovative but very effective. The average Iranian is far less likely to grumble about their egregious financial standings when facing daily harassment and intimidation by the uneducated, uncouth miscreants that make up the Tehran P.D.
In addition, instead of reconciling his failed policies with the current economic free-fall that Iran is experiencing, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is once again playing the religious card to quell the surprising discontent that is coming from his own base. In attempting to assure his nation that their current financial hardships will somehow experience some divine intervention, he has made himself the object of Iran’s eclectic national jokes. Iranians have become accustomed to dictators, yet an incompetent despot that bases his economic policies on the future benevolence of the coming Islamic Messiah is another thing altogether.
Throughout Iran’s public programming, there is no shortage of clerics and government cronies pontificating about the superiority of Islamic society, the glory of the revolution, or Iran’s inalienable right for research in the nuclear field. However, the regime is consistently at a loss for words when confronted by pragmatic questions posed by its citizens. Endless lectures are often made on the corruption of Western cultural infiltration, the evils of the “Great Satan”, or the human rights abuses by the Zionist Entity, yet when prodded about practical matters such as the state of the economy, the high level of unemployment, or Teheran’s pollution, the mullahs quickly spout off some esoteric surrah, usually to the bewilderment of the masses. Judging by the drastic deterioration of their quality of life, the devaluing of their currency, and the national anxiety about their future, Iranians are now asking what function does their government really perform?
700 days.
It is quite remarkable for such economic damage and global ridicule to be heaped upon a nation in such short of a time. Yet, the policies of the current Iranian administration have left nothing for the imagination.
Please do not alter headlines.
Iran is ripe for another revolution - an anti-mullah, pro-Western one this time.
It'd be such a shame if there was an "accident" at the Iranian gasoline refinery(ies?). Terrible, terrible shame - I mean, people would be in the streets demanding an effective government, maybe even a change in the existing, very much ineffective government.
Yeah, I'd sure hate to see something happen to any Iranian refineries.
I went to the link and that was the headline.
Give them MTV. That brought down the Berlin wall!
That’s funny. So did I.
I didn’t understand. Was it posted under a different headline and changed?
Yes. And this is not the first offense by the op. Thus, the warning.
Ah, I see... (said the blind man)
Look how she uses all these 25-cent words and then uses ‘tenent’ instead of ‘tenet’.
The first objective of a despotic government is to remain in power. The second is to enrich its membership. There is no third.
Oh sorry about that...I didn’t know that I couldn’t do that.
It really is mystifying. With Iran's oil wealth, educated and industrious citizenry, burgeoning trade relations despite western attempts at sanctions, one would expect an economic powerhouse. Instead they produce yet one more stagnant, squalid socialist/moslem backwater. Go figger.
I’m not calling them all ‘farm boys’ but that’s probably a fair summation of most of the population. Semi-literate and not very avant guard at best. The gasoline shortage is the only thing that's changed in their lives, and I'm not sure that's enough to trigger a revolution.
“Judging by the drastic deterioration of their quality of life, the devaluing of their currency, and the national anxiety about their future, Iranians are now asking what function does their government really perform? “
They are preparing to perform the attempted destruction of Israel. Aljmahanajeed has publically stated that Israel should be wiped off the map. Their entire economic assets have gone into proxy war against Israel & the USA. Further, they have pumped vast quantities of money into their air defense system and nuclear program in preparation for thier big day. When they begin this war, they will be decimated for their initial attack will use WMD delivered via Syrian/Hezbollah proxy and the response from Israel will be nuclear. Most people I talk to in the know say this scenerio will unfold in September. If an when it does you will certainly not be happy about the news at home, oil will spike above $100 a barrel and start deep recession at home, never mind the possibility of millions of lives instantly snuffed out over there.
The oil money is all spoken for. They don't keep the people in slavery because they want to be constrained by a need to be popular...
They are not "farm boys"...
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