Discovering Iran

My ancestor, Karim Khan Zand
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Imagine there's a wall, and everyone is on one side or the other.  There's the west side and the east side.  If you're on the west side of the wall, you deplore the east-siders.  You don't know what they look like because the wall is very high and nobody can see over it, but let's just say you saw on Fox News that these east-side guys want to rip the X-Boxes out of the hands of your children and smash them into pieces.  They don't like action movies and they never listen to any musical instrument that's been plugged into an amp.  And you know this also because your political representative (who can't see over the wall either) told you that's how it is.  And you better be afraid of what these east siders can do to you.  Be very afraid.  Because we don't know what they're up to on the other side of that wall.  They might just be building a bomb ....

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Sound too much like an oversimplification?  So let's not call it reality.  Let's call it something like, oh, US foreign policy.

Prior to departure to Iran, and just wanted to write a short intro about why I'm going back.  When I tell people I'm traveling to Iran, they often respond with, "Isn't this a bad time?  Isn't it dangerous?"

Actually, I think this is a perfect time to visit Iran, if for no other reason than to dispel misconceptions about this unique country with its rich history and culture, and warm, engaging people.  There are no terrorists roaming the streets with AK-47s.   And is their government more dangerous than ours?  Debatable, given events of the last six years.  I can tell you that there is almost no crime rate.  You can walk the streets of Esfahan or Tehran at any hour of the night more safely than you could in an American city.  You may even find families picnicking well into the late hours.

Fellowship of Reconciliation www.forusa.org
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Is Iran Disneyland?  Not by any stretch. But are they our worst enemy since Nazi Germany?  Are they the catalysts of WWIII?

As the war drum beats against Iran, this seems a good time to head out there, meet folks, and let them know that there are those of us who aim for higher American ideals which value diplomacy and human rights.

I'll be traveling as part of a Fellowship of Reconciliation delegation.  I have a couple of relevant links, including theirs, listed below.  I hope you'll check in on my travels, and please post a question or comment!

www.forusa.org

www.enoughfear.org