Written by Marcia Inhorn, one of my University of Michigan advisors and mentors, I think this short editoral is a wonderful example of how narrowly viewing ‘the Middle East’ as monolithic, rigid, and singularly defined leads to lost opportunities for science, culture, and technology — and fuel dangerous social and cultural misunderstandings.
“… I came away with a new appreciation of the country’s long history, rich culture, and bright, motivated scientists and professionals. Unfortunately, few Americans know anything about science or technology in Iran except in the context of nuclear weapons. What our government tells us about Iran is that it is a member of the “axis of evil.”
Such fear-mongering is very unwise. It leads to closed minds, closed embassies, restricted visas, and other limitations on travel — even the possibility of war. Although the American and Iranian governments may never see eye to eye about most issues, surely it is possible for our two peoples to have peaceful exchanges of views …”
Plastic Mile | 17-Jul-06 at 7:19 pm | Permalink
I found the article interesting. I think many Americans do have an overly simplistic view of Iran. I think it is extremely foolish to view the Middle East in overly simplistic terms — especially since the average American doesn’t understand that Iranians are Persians, not Arabs, and that there is a major difference.
Having said that, it seems a little pollyannish. If Iran efficiently weaponizes its nuclear technology, we will see how eager they are to be friends with everyone.
Holly | 18-Jul-06 at 2:45 pm | Permalink
Hmmm… Pollyann-ish? I don’t know. I think this nicely tells us to pull our heads out of our asses and understand that one needs not speak English, eat apple pie, or love Jesus in order to produce good science, have a happy life, and be a valuable part of humankind.
Plastic Mile | 20-Jul-06 at 6:40 am | Permalink
But that’s not the point. Everyone who’s neck doesn’t burn in the afternoon because they sat out on John Willy’s porch dranking Natural Lights knows that. The context of the blog is, do scientific and cultural exchanges promote cultural understandings that help to bring our countries closer together. My point is, these exchanges are useful in bringing civilans closer together, but governments are going to do whatever they want, be it the totalitarian regime in Tehran, or the nominally totalitarian one here in Washington. There are all the cultural exchanges possible between the US and China, for instance, but the government in Beijing won’t suddenly stop the pirating of our intellectual property just because a few US students learned to speak Mandarin. It takes more than that.