Trump and Hegseth threatened to send Iran back to the “Stone Age.” However, in the Stone Age (to 4,500 BC), Iranians had a thriving civilization; and by the Bronze Age (3,300—1,200 BC), had empires that predated Greece by 2,000 years and Rome by 2,500 years. Ancient Greece and Rome, which are touted as “founts” of western civilization, emerged in the Iron Age (1,200 BC—550 BC). By then Iranians had transitioned to the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550—330 BC).
Iranians built resplendent palaces, edifices, and engineering marvels like subterranean channels (kariz) to transport water to distant settlements; windcatchers (badgir) for “natural air-conditioning” in the torrid Iranian Plateau; the refrigerator (yakhchal); and the first windmill (asbad). Iranians devised the first postal system (chapar khanah), and wrote the first charter on human rights: the Cyrus Cylinder—a replica of which adorns the entrance to the UN in New York. Meanwhile Trump’s and Hegseth’s European ancestors were living like wild animals into early Christendom.
World is Seeing the Real Iran
Iran has been portrayed in western media as a nation captured by religious fanatics who transformed the country from a pro-western paradise into a primitive terror-sponsoring hellhole. The truth has exploded into media.
- The “brutal regime” we should fear and loathe is the Trump Regime;
- The “mad mullahs” are erudite and rational, but Iran’s enemies are insane;
- Iran is not a theocracy; it is a hierocracy;
- Iran has a democratically-elected government led by soldier-scholars: erudite, articulate, cultured, charming, and humorous (cf. Iran’s enemies: inarticulate, moronic, and boorish);
- The spirit of the Iranian people: millions outside every night despite the danger of terror bombings, showing love and loyalty to nation and neighbor;
- Iranian soldiers valiantly sacrifice while waging an ethical campaign (cf. USAF, USN & IDF: bombing Minab, schools, hospitals, ambulances, universities, Pasteur Institute, bridges, homes, etc. from the safety of 30,000ft.);
- Iran is a nation with 1000s of years of science, history, and culture. Non-Iranian observers have marveled at the magnificence of Iranian architecture, and have been appalled by the deliberate targeting of 120 cultural heritage sites, including three UNESCO World Heritage sites;
- Iran is nation with high literacy, a superlative education system, and the intellectual capital to produce weapons that continue to outsmart trillions of dollars in American and Israeli R&D (THAAD, Patriots, F-35, F-15, F-16, Arrow/Hetz, David’s Sling, etc.);
- Iran is nation which, despite “maximum pressure” sanctions, provides (near) universal healthcare for 93 million citizens and Afghan and Iraqi refugees; mandatory and free K-12 education for boys and girls (including refugee kids); free university education (based on various criteria: merit, status as child of war veteran, program of study, etc.); subsidies for natural gas, fuel, electricity, and food; and affordable housing for low-income families.
Closing
The world has discovered that the Iranians are civilized while savages are running the United States. No POTUS or Sec. of Defense or Sec. of State in my memory—and probably in 250 years of American history—has been as unqualified, unpleasant, and unskilled as “Trumpanzee,” “Whiskey Pete,” and “Narco Marco.” They have destroyed the vestiges of international law that remained after Biden facilitated war crimes by Israel. They killed international law. The “shining city on a hill” that Ronald Reagan spoke eloquently about no longer exists.
If one compares tweets/statements by Trump, et al. to those of Iranian officials—Abbas Araghchi (FM), Muhammad Baqir Qalibaf (Speaker), late Ali Larijani (Sec., National Defense Council), et al.; and Iranian military officers who speak to media (Gen. Mohsen Rezaee, et al.), the contrast embarrasses America. The spokesman for Iran’s central military HQ, Colonel Ibrahim Zolfaqari, is a social media rock star. He has a Ph.D. in mathematics and charms and trolls fluently in Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, and English. Trump, Hegseth, et al. can barely speak English.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry promptly tweeted: “is this the best and finest of you as POTUS? Is this how you want to be represented in the world?” Indeed.
Perspectives 