Yesterday on NPR, I learned that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was going to try to release the jailed American hiker Sarah Shourd to some kind of grand fanfare, and try and turn it into bit positive propaganda for himself, hopefully earning him some credit with the West. Fat chance, but…Unfortunately for him, the far more conservatives Clerics, unhappy with the “progressive” Ahmadinejad (WTF?!) and the reforms he’s proposed, undermined his efforts and sent Shourd back in the dead of night, to as little fanfare as possible.
Now… calling Ahmadinejad “progressive” is purely the opinion of the Neolithic Clerics that rule that country, NOT my own. But the fact that the Clerics in Iran are actually that much farther to the Right of (or that much more conservative than) Ahmadinejad got me thinking…
In the past (frequently on MMFA) I’ve made the statement that all of the best Republicans(Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower) were Progressives and all the worst Democrats (Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson) were Conservatives. I’d like to expand on that logic and point out that the Iranians who most resemble Americans are Progressives, and the Americans who most resemble Iranians are Conservatives. Funny how that works, no?
Take away the two groups’ religious and national Brand Names, and tell me how the Conservatives in this country don’t want to make us MORE LIKE Iran, in terms of PUBLIC POLICY. Now, we’re not there yet and it could be argued that it’s an exaggeration to say that the American Right wants to take us quite that far. I’m not so sure about that myself, but the question still stands: If Iran is so terrible, why are the Conservatives trying so hard to make us MORE LIKE THEM?
BTW… One of my ex-Bosses is Iranian. He was an asshole, but it was interesting to hear his opinion that even though he’s pretty Conservative, in the American sense of the word, (neither of which were the reason I thought he was an asshole, BTW!) that the biggest failure of the Bush administration, the REAL REASON that the Iraq War was such a bad idea and our foreign policy under Bush was so disastrous, was that it killed the Progressive movement in IRAN, and gave the Hard-Liners (that's what we call "Conservatives" when they live in other countries) all the ammo they needed to whip up Anti-American sentiment (which had been declining during the Clinton years), crush the Progressives (who were gaining prominence), stifle (and repeal) reforms and bring Iran back to squarely being our arch-enemy in the region. And neither Conservatives in America and Conservatives in Iran have any intention of ever changing that dynamic, becuase they both benefit from it politically. And both Conservatives in America and Conservatives in Iran totally SUCK because they think that way.
So just remember:
1) The best Republicans were all Progressives and the worst Democrats were all Conservatives.
2) The Iranians who most resemble Americans are Progressives, and the Americans who most resemble Iranians are Conservatives.
Who IS this guy?!
Political Talk Show Host and Internet Radio Personality. My show, In My Humble Opinion, aired on RainbowRadio from 2015-2017, and has returned for 2021! Feel free to contact me at niceguy9418@usa.com. You can also friend me on Facebook.
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"And neither Conservatives in America and Conservatives in Iran have any intention of ever changing that dynamic, because they both benefit from it politically."
ReplyDeleteCorrect. So correct, in fact, that it's a misrepresentation amounting to a lie to portray the two as enemies. Much is written on the lunatic fringe right about how liberals are "pro-terrorist" or "anti-American" or some variation, but it is, in fact, the American conservatives who have always enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with terrorists and dictators. Bush and Osama bin Laden formed such a tight alliance, in this regard, that they may as well have headed to one of the states that allowed it and married. They were so tight, in fact, that bin Laden released that infamous tape, only days before the 2004 election, on which he denounced Bush and all his works--the CIA concluded this was done in order to help Bush's reelection effort (Bush obligingly disbanded the special CIA unit tasked with locating bin Laden).
Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and so many of the others designated as "official enemies" by the American right are, of course, creations of the American right (or of actions backed by it). It's little remembered that terrorism, prior to Bush declaring "war" on it, had been declining for years, and had, in fact, hit an historical low. Sept. 11th wasn't some bold new offensive--it was the last gasp of a dying way of doing business. Bush's response brought terrorism back to life in more ways than can be listed.
It really is amazing to what extent they so totally suck, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteKind of gives now meaning to the old cliche that they're aren't any problems, only opportunities, huh? (Well, maybe not. I guess this is EXACTLY what it means.)
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Only two flavors: Evil and Stupid - either lyin' or buyin'.
Thanks for your comment.