Culture War within Iran...
The recent protests in Iran over the disputed election is becoming a major culture war in Iran. The younger generations are challenging the Iranian political system. It was discussed in a report on Iran's elections on CBS' Up to the Minute on Monday that the Iranians younger generations seem to have failed to understand or appreciate the principles the generation before them fought so passionately for in the Iranian Revolution. And it appears to me that the report actually is true, however there are allot of other causes that is much more prominent. Particularly the stalled Iranian economy, which has been stagnant for years, even before the revolution. Also corruption has plagued Iran since the revolution as well, as many of those who operate the government do so at the whim of the Islamic Clerics and Supreme Leader who (most likely) is unaware of the scope and dismiss the claims or (less likely, but possible) is somehow complicit in the corruption, including having fully knowledge of corruption and ignoring it.
Reforming Iran's political system is extremely difficult as its rigid by design, intended to consolidate power into the clerics and no candidate would ever risk their candidacy to any office on a platform to challenge the religious control over the Iranian government.
The Iranian Revolution in 1979 was and still is an unusal event as the political upheaval was not caused by traditional catalysts (those being war, economic collapse, military disatisfaction, and class warfare). Instead caused by anti-Western backlash and religious nationalism looking to improve both the nation's "religious health" in observing Islam and bring a government that had become to viewed as corrupt, extravagant, and controlled by foreign interests into one that was designed to be virtuous to the principles of Islam. While it has achieved its goal of being virtuous to Islam and overthrowing the perceived threat of Western culture, it is by no means a free society, instead the freedoms slowly being gained from the monarchy were replaced with rigid Islamic law that is often interpreted at will.
This will be the beginning of a major political shift in Iran that will last for a considerable amount of time. A new revolution in the near future is unlikely, but given enough time and enough reason to revolt, the Iranians will eventually revolt. How the current Iranian government handles the situation will determine how soon Iran will experience a possible revolution.
-- John O.
Reforming Iran's political system is extremely difficult as its rigid by design, intended to consolidate power into the clerics and no candidate would ever risk their candidacy to any office on a platform to challenge the religious control over the Iranian government.
The Iranian Revolution in 1979 was and still is an unusal event as the political upheaval was not caused by traditional catalysts (those being war, economic collapse, military disatisfaction, and class warfare). Instead caused by anti-Western backlash and religious nationalism looking to improve both the nation's "religious health" in observing Islam and bring a government that had become to viewed as corrupt, extravagant, and controlled by foreign interests into one that was designed to be virtuous to the principles of Islam. While it has achieved its goal of being virtuous to Islam and overthrowing the perceived threat of Western culture, it is by no means a free society, instead the freedoms slowly being gained from the monarchy were replaced with rigid Islamic law that is often interpreted at will.
This will be the beginning of a major political shift in Iran that will last for a considerable amount of time. A new revolution in the near future is unlikely, but given enough time and enough reason to revolt, the Iranians will eventually revolt. How the current Iranian government handles the situation will determine how soon Iran will experience a possible revolution.
-- John O.