Happy New Day (Nowruz) to All!

by petey.

I have to say. I really really like President Obama. That is not a surprise to many of you.

Every week he does something that makes me proud that he is our president. Every week he does something new, important, or innovative. He has set out to do all of the things he promised he would. His critics say this is a bad thing. I think it is perfect.

The latest evidence of this is his New Day video message to the people and leaders in Iran. Iran is turning out to be way more important in our foreign policy in the last years than you would suspect given the tiny size of their economy, army, or real clout among major world players. They have, however, been quite a conundrum ever since the Islamic Republic took charge in 1978-79. The U.S. has had strained relationships since. It about time we ended that. The more and more marginalized Iran and countries like it feel on the international stage, the more and more radical their rhetoric and actions become.

My in-laws gave me a book for Christmas called "The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran" (by Hooman Majd ). This book was exactly what I wanted to help me start to get a feel for a country that 1) I knew nothing about and 2) I felt was becoming increasingly more important to understand. It was written by a son of a diplomat who was raised both in the West and in the Mid-East. He speaks perfect Farsi and perfect English (often a sign of culture chameleon abilities) which allows him to flow in and out of both cultures/people/etc making for a fascinating book. He writes, simultaneously, as a westerner and an Iranian which lends to an incredibly informative book that westerns can pick up, read, relate to, and begin to understand the psyche of Iranians in a way that would not be possible from any other writer.



Anyway. Back to the Obama video message. In his book, Mr Majd mentions Iranian pride: its origins as the cradle of civilization, its poetry, its legitimacy against its majority Sunni neighbors, etc. In Obama's address, he perfects, crafts and captures all the right things to speak to the Iranian people, their pride and their customs. It's almost as if Hooman Majd directly advised and wrote the message for him. The message (below) speaks to the Iranians in a respectful manner, cites Iranian poetry (again, huge in their country/culture), adds some Farsi, and begins the ever important dialogue with this ever increasingly important country.



I think this message will go far. Much of the legitimacy of Mahmoud Ahmidinejad comes from wailing against the West. President Bush was the perfect foil for him as he came to power in 2005. If he doesn't have an arrogant, domineering caricature to paint of our American president, he loses much of the thrust of his message. There is an election coming up this year in Iran and the former, much more moderate leader Mohammad Khatami will stand against Ahmidinejad in the election. If Khatami could knock off Ahmidinejad, it too could be crucial for the further corrections in our relationship with Iran. Thus, also strengthening the timing aspect to the importance of the Presidential message to the Iranian people.

There is a lot to be optimistic about. Many critiques will call Obama green or naive, but I think he is just the opposite: intelligent and ready, especially to begin putting America back where it belongs: the forefront of moral leadership/authority in the world. When I hear him speak, I get so excited, proud, patriotic, and amazed. We truly have an amazing president.