Friday, May 23, 2008
Rick Steves in Iran
Europe Through the Back Door expert traveler Rick Steves is in Iran for 10 days filming a TV show. Rick is an incredible travel writer,and I always read his books before traveling to Europe and take them as guidebooks as well. He was recently asked by the Washington State chapter of the United Nations Association to help build understanding between Iran and the US. I highly recommend reading this blog about his travels in Iran. It's a great read, and he's really finding the Iranian people warm and gracious.
I can't say I'm surprised. If ever there are menacing things being said about another country and its people it is typically coming from the U.S. government or being repeated verbatim by the American media. (And for my international blog readers, I am an American.) Sadly, most of my fellow Americans, the majority of which never travel outside their own country (with the exception of Caribbean cruise ships), never know any different. They hate whomever they're told to hate as being responsible for all their problems, or any problems they may yet to have experienced, instead of seeking out the truth themselves.
Every time I hear our government war rallying about Iran building nuclear weapons it makes me cringe. Oil production in Iran has already peaked and has been declining steadily. Just last year their government started gas rationing. However, you will never hear the U.S. government mention any of those facts. Iran is smart for wanting to build nuclear power plants. It is America who hasn't seen the light concerning peak oil yet. (Please read this if you don't know what peak oil is.) If a side-effect of nuclear power plants is material sufficient for building a nuclear bomb; well, I can't blame them for that either. After all, America voted George Bush into office twice! If I was a world leader I would want some protection from the U.S. government too.
To all of my blog readers, and especially incompetent American politicians, please read Rick Steves blog.
I can't say I'm surprised. If ever there are menacing things being said about another country and its people it is typically coming from the U.S. government or being repeated verbatim by the American media. (And for my international blog readers, I am an American.) Sadly, most of my fellow Americans, the majority of which never travel outside their own country (with the exception of Caribbean cruise ships), never know any different. They hate whomever they're told to hate as being responsible for all their problems, or any problems they may yet to have experienced, instead of seeking out the truth themselves.
Every time I hear our government war rallying about Iran building nuclear weapons it makes me cringe. Oil production in Iran has already peaked and has been declining steadily. Just last year their government started gas rationing. However, you will never hear the U.S. government mention any of those facts. Iran is smart for wanting to build nuclear power plants. It is America who hasn't seen the light concerning peak oil yet. (Please read this if you don't know what peak oil is.) If a side-effect of nuclear power plants is material sufficient for building a nuclear bomb; well, I can't blame them for that either. After all, America voted George Bush into office twice! If I was a world leader I would want some protection from the U.S. government too.
To all of my blog readers, and especially incompetent American politicians, please read Rick Steves blog.
Labels: Iran, Rick Steves, travel
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2 Comments:
Of course everyone loves us without qualification - or at least wants to get along on equal terms. No country, group, or individual (including Iran) would ever want to harm us unilaterally, but if they did (very hypothetical, of course), we are so much better than them by not responding. N'est pas?
No, I never said everyone loves America without qualification. Iran's government absolutely hates us, and there is no denying that. Plenty of evidence exists, however, that the Iranian people do not and in fact are very interested in Americans and American culture. Many other travelers within Iran have expressed this view. Obviously, this is not always the case when their government gets involved. Americans have been held captive in Iran as suspected spys, and I am not dismissing that. America should not view itself as being any better however. How many people did we hold in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba without any evidence and without trial? Over 700, the majority of which have since been released.
Further, I never expressed any view that "we are so much better than them by not responding". That is clearly you're own view. I don't agree with the Bush strategy of attacking anyone who might potentially attack us in the future (but hasn't yet), but I have no problems with retaliation. I do have a problem with losing thousands of American soldier's lives and wasting billions of dollars in the process. Afghanistan is a perfect example. Immediately after 9/11 when everyone in the world believed that the majority of the terrorist leadership was holed up in the mountains of Afghanistan, we should have dropped tactical nuclear weapons on the mountain ranges and have been done with it. There was no reason at that point to play nicely or to lose more American lives.
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