quote: From a students perspective, being able to hear from the horses mouth what government officials in Iran believe, think, feel, would be an AMAZING opportunity. America right now has VERY direct contact with Iran, and we are concerned about where their country is going. Students in the audience that day will go on to become tomorrows leaders, they will have gleaned important info from that speech, and they will understand what Iran is much better then from never hearing it.
What makes you think he's going to be saying anything other than propaganda?
Do you REALLY think he thinks killing gay people is debatable or do you think he was softening his position for an american audience?
Posts: 7085 | Registered: Apr 2001
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"What makes you think he's going to be saying anything other than propaganda?"
Propaganda is damned useful. It is also often the only thing you get. History is the study of conflicting propagandas.
Posts: 1332 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Just reading the report of the interview taught me new things about him. I had no idea that he was open to the idea of Israel AND Palestine both existing. The current president of Iran is ALL FOR the elimination of Israel. I was under the impression everyone in the government felt this way.
I also know that alot of people were replaced with stricter conservatives when Khatami left office. But still his comments challenged my notion that things in Iran were a certain way.
I am loath to assumed I know somebodies motives when they say something and I only have 2nd hand sources reporting it.
It is my OPINION that Khatami most likely is not so concerned with the rights of homosexuals, as he is of empowering Iran and making it a force to be reckoned with. I think he was genuinely interested in speaking without reserve to learned Americans and saying what was on his mind.
As for propaganda, in Political Science you can often glean important information from propaganda. In fact in China its COMMON KNOWLEDGE that you can learn important inside information by reading between the lines of the propaganda. Their newspapers are practically ALL propaganda, but you can still learn alot from it by not reading whats on the surface.
Pixiest I agree with you that its terrible that homosexuals are executed in Iran, that the government sends assasins to kill the liberal Iranian thinkers even after they have fled the country. I am NOT arguing about Khatami's moral codes. I am arguing 2 things.
1: Khatami is a product of his generation and culture, we can learn about what that culture/philosophy is by observing his words/actions.
2: We lose out if we refuse to allow even the most radical people to speak as we can still learn from their words very relevant and useful ideas pertaining to many fields.
I am quite confident harvard asked Khatami to come as an educational exercise in politics. Not as a way to instruct its students on why we should be more like the Iranians.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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