Iran – and now, the learning for what’s next.

I wrote this as, the hopefully last ever, American bombs have fallen on the country. A scary time for my wife’s family. I have visited the country on many an occasion and experienced first-hand the immense cultural depth, phenomenal food, and the strengths of its resource-rich location.

Most countries, like most people, have their struggles. The Iranian plight however is a profound tragedy. I am reminded of the book French Revolution (Volume 1, The Bastille) by Thomas Carlyle. He opens the book with a quote from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:

Diesem Ambos vergleich’ ich das Land, den Hammer dem Herrscher;
Und dem Volke das Blech, das in der Mitte sich krümmt.
Wehe dem armen Blech, wenn nur willkürliche Schläge
Ungewiß treffen, und nie fertig der Kessel erscheint!

Goethe’s metaphor is devastatingly relevant. The current regime is a hammer striking arbitrarily on its “Blech” (the people). There is no skilled work being done to forge a strong, functional society—a “finished kettle.” There is only the ceaseless, painful bending of the people. A nation’s foreign policy reflects its internal state; it’s no wonder its interactions with neighbors veer between too timid and, at times, too aggressive.

Building a balanced society that doesn’t solely rely on a single person or dogma requires foresight and the skills of societal management. These vital skills are incredibly difficult to foster under oppression, but they are not foreign to Iran’s history. While the current regime does not work on creating a “functional kettle”, let alone do the hard work to create a well-polished one to be proud of, the Iranian people should remain proud and use their historic skills & treasures to enrich the world.

To the Iranian people & diaspora, I plead you to look deep into the culture & history of Iran – how were communities managed throughout the ages? What mechanisms existed to resolve conflicting viewpoints and balance competing interests? The key lies in rediscovering these traditions, teaching them, and practicing them, starting in your families, in your communities, and at the local level – to begin forging the Iranian kettle anew.

The most powerful stance is not simply to be against a regime, but to be actively for a well-managed society. A country gets the leaders it deserves. Build leadership from the ground up!

PS: As a personal commitment, my life’s work is focused on helping invent and implement tools to facilitate bottom-up democracy (in stark contrast to the current top-down Western democracy).