Rick Steves: Iranians are agitating for change on their own without American intervention

[tuvor]

Iranians are freedom-loving people making do under a repressive regime, writes Rick Steves, who recently produced a PBS documentary about Iran. "I believe Iranians want to protect their culture even more than they want to gain their freedom. Today we are witnessing a country evolving on its terms without Western influence as it strives to have both."

By Rick Steves
Special to The Times

LAST year, while in Iran producing a documentary for public television, I observed freedom-loving people patiently making do under a repressive regime.

I was troubled by the notion that the United States could radicalize the Iranian people in a moment if we tried, and hoped that we wouldn't attempt to "shock and awe" Iran to bring about regime change. It was clear to me the people of Iran could ultimately win their freedom, but only if it was organic and on their own terms.

Today, the relatively peaceful Iran I experienced is in turmoil. And it's not America that's radicalizing its population, but its own government. While it's far too early to speculate about the causes and effects of the current unrest, my recent travel to Iran has inspired a few hunches.

Asking permission to film in a great mosque, I dealt with interchangeable clerks in Ahmadinejad-style jackets, wearing Ahmadinejad-style beards, who reminded me of Soviet apparatchiks back in the Cold War days. Nondemocratic governments keep their populace in line by exploiting that element of society that will sell its soul and snitch on its neighbor just to be cozy with power. But as the Soviets learned, those flimsy measures of control only succeed for so long.

...

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2009389491_guest28steves.html

[MADem]

1. Ahmadinejad-style jackets....

The "Members Only" look? With the Don "Miami Vice" Johnson beard? A bit of stubble at the minimum, it's "Islamic" to some.

[timeforpeace]

2. So much for worrying about the US instead of the repressive regime. New glasses, Rick.