Sometimes when I’m making a point about something or someone, my mother will nod her head and say casually “these are the true things.” This has become a common saying in our family, bringing home the fact that the things we say, what we do, our interpretations of others and our own selves, and our conveying of news (akhbar as the Persians say) or gossip (another form of akhbar) are not Truth but true things. I like that a lot.
I am an historian of the Middle East, particularly Iran. I spend a lot of time thinking, wondering, and sometimes writing about the region’s past and present. Once in while, I may even speculate about its future.
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