Overview of my Biases in this Conflict
I have an American mother and an Iranian father. Growing
up, fools would ask me: "Which do you like better,
America or Iran?" which made me feel I had to choose between my Mom or my Dad and turned me into an equivocating gibbering fool.
Not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings I can best be represented as that little alien on the right side of this website's banner, with
alternating flags behind me. For me it comes down
to "Which place has made you more of who you are today?"
Luckily, I've pretty much resolved that issue, or at least resolved to have fun with that issue.
There are broad stereotypes about the US vs. Iran, "West" vs. "East," of which one is that the "West" is more secular and the "East" religious, but in my family things were reversed. American Mom was the religious
one (Born Again, having found Jesus in
Persia, and currently awaiting the Apocalypse
and return of our Messiah, Amen) and Iranian
Dad was the post-enlightenment technocratic
imp. So whenever we were in America, the
TV was often tuned into the 700 Club and I got a feeling that Americans were fundamentally religious and that Christianity
especially was a doomsday oriented affair
(don't get me started on that experience
at Christian summer camp), while in Iran,
I got the feeling that other than being
excessively sexist and a bit boring, Islam
was mostly harmless.
Obviously the actual religions are much more complex and interesting than this
childhood impression. I'm just trying
to explain why I have a bias in my perception
that that the "West" is steeped in religious superstition and the "East" is more mystical and playful. Of course, recent events are shaking my confirmation
bias, and making me realize that the "East" is also apocalyptically driven. But still I maintain the suspicion that the "West" and especially the US, even in the secular sectors, is fundamentally drawn to
the Apocalypse Myth and many of its policies are driven by the myth.
Anyway, growing up, people would ask this 5 year old child which country WAS
better, America or Iran.
It boggles the mind, this question. The diplomatic skills I developed in order
to avoid answering it have spilled over
into all areas of my life, making me a
weak, equivocating, feeble person. At
least that's my excuse. I also feel alarmed
by acts of comparison, competition and
hierarchy and become righteous in the
face of jingoism and other forms of elitism.
Or so I pretend. Actually, I've gone through
this equal opportunity "bashing of each" stage, and I'm entering this much more pleasant "appreciation of each" phase now. The delights of this new phase abound.
