I think helplessness is the most prevalent emotional state in societies subjected to authoritarianism over more than one generation. When I’ve visited Iran I felt it — an almost invisible deadening of public spaces apart from the bazaars. A feeling that all that was sustaining happened behind closed doors in private spaces. And yet, at times, in the lonely shrines to Sufi saints, among humble artifacts, and the few silent visitors, I felt something that felt like the glowing heart of Iran — its enshrining of poetry, of love, of dance, or that ineffable essence which can never be crushed. I believe that Iran may rise, may overthrow its sadistic leaders, and while Israel and Trump have no knowledge of this innermost core of Iranian life, and may thwart the swiftness of its coming, they can’t bomb it away either, because it is not a place, it’s an unseen beauty.
Thank you Naghmeh
Merci 🙏🏾
I think helplessness is the most prevalent emotional state in societies subjected to authoritarianism over more than one generation. When I’ve visited Iran I felt it — an almost invisible deadening of public spaces apart from the bazaars. A feeling that all that was sustaining happened behind closed doors in private spaces. And yet, at times, in the lonely shrines to Sufi saints, among humble artifacts, and the few silent visitors, I felt something that felt like the glowing heart of Iran — its enshrining of poetry, of love, of dance, or that ineffable essence which can never be crushed. I believe that Iran may rise, may overthrow its sadistic leaders, and while Israel and Trump have no knowledge of this innermost core of Iranian life, and may thwart the swiftness of its coming, they can’t bomb it away either, because it is not a place, it’s an unseen beauty.