Rick Steves' Travel as a Political Act Blog

Living in a Theocracy

Like our children start each school day pledging “allegiance to one nation, under God,” Iranian kids are taught their nation's values. Rather than marketing products to consume, billboards sell an ideology. Some are uplifting (Shia scripture reminding people there is wisdom in compassion). Many others glorify heroes who died as martyrs, taunt the US, cheer for Hezbollah, trumpet “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” and so on. These murals mix fear, religion, patriotism, and a heritage of dealing with foreign intervention.

In my hotel room one night, I saw a short documentary about the Palestinians on the Al-Jazeera news network. Coming from a fiercely pro-Israel country, I have my own opinions about this issue. But the Islamic “spin” made it possible for me to grasp the other side's argument; even without understanding the language, the images spoke powerfully. They showed a towering, American-funded wall being built in the Palestinian territories, concrete block by concrete block...literally blacking out the sunshine from the Palestinians and making them look and feel like corralled animals. It occurred to me that anyone watching this with empathy for Palestinians (i.e., 1.3 billion people in the Muslim world) would be charged with angry emotions against the people paying for this wall (you and me). Traveling to this faraway land, whose propaganda forced me to see another perspective, helped me to think in a more sophisticated way about how America is perceived in the Muslim world.

Many things I experienced in Iran fit the negative image that I'd seen back home. But the more I traveled there, the more apparent it became that the standard, media-created image of Iran in the USA was not the whole story. I simply couldn't reconcile the fear-mongering and hate-filled billboards with the huge smiles and genuine hospitality we received on the ground.

About This Entry

You are reading "Living in a Theocracy", an entry posted on 10 March 2010 by Rick Steves.

8 replies to this entry. Add your comment below.

Previous Entry, Bombast and the Axis of Evil, posted Mar 08 2010

Next Entry, Tehran's Crazy Traffic , posted Mar 15 2010

Comments [ top ]

I'm glad Rick recycled his observations of Iran's people because his readers may have become better informed. I know Israel has been attacked ever since it became a tiny nation. You tend to react pretty violently when you are threatened, and use every means at your disposal to protect yourself. But then, sometimes, the pendulum swings the other way and you may begin to overreact. So the more info that's out there, the better able you are to make informed decisions. The job of the U.S. citizen is not to overreact or be slavish to any ideology but to study, learn, question, challenge. I won't forget too quickly the reaction by some highly informed, self-proclaimed patriot acquaintances when I said: but the Muslim media says, amerika cannot just go 'round shouting "Democratize or we'll shoot you." The reaction was embarrassed silence. Still, we cannot have militant fanatics killing innocents to make a political or religious point. For every action there is a reaction. It helps keep politicians in office.

Posted by: Bill Kester - Mar 10, 2010 3:02 PM

It says something about Rick's sources of information in this country that he has to go to Iran in order to get a balanced view of the Israeli-Palestinian situation. There are many sources of balanced news coverage here in the States-he should try reading or listening to some of them.

Posted by: louisa - Mar 10, 2010 4:14 PM

I was disappointed to learn that Israel says it will continue to expand its settlements. This militates against any progress in peace talks with Palestinians who fear the increasing number of settlers will lessen Israel's interest in a two state solution (one for Israel, one for Palestinians). Ironically, without 2 states, the burgeoning Palestinian birth rate will soon cause Israel to be governing a population in which (largely disenfranchised)Palestinians vastly outnumber Israelis. Remember how aparteit worked out in South Africa? Meanwhile, Iran's govt. will continue to meddle using its proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza plus its alliance with Shiite Syria. I don't think the Iranian people are going to have much to say about all this intrigue and the pot continues to boil in the tumultuous Middle East. Since Iran's citizens can't dictate policy, U.S. citizens better let their representatives know that we want diplomatic solutions and we will not let Israel dictate U.S. foreign policy by refusing to cooperate with legitimate, fairly balanced peace initiatives.

Posted by: w - Mar 11, 2010 7:46 AM

This post reminds me of Mark Twain's post: Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. - Innocents Abroad

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