All The More Reason

My cabbie tonight was from Iran. I know this because he was speaking on his cell phone and I asked him what language he was speaking. He dared me to guess. I refused. It was Persian. We ended up discussing Iran and politics. Sure enough, no one has more distaste for the Iranian government than someone that has moved halfway across the world to escape them. This, above all else, is what will continually surprise and disappoint me about current Western life. Instead of welcoming allies who encourage the same values as our own such as democracy, women’s rights and reason we choose to let the loudest thugs from these regimes rule discourse in our communities. It was no surprise to him or me that individuals from the Iranian government are paid to try and encourage the hijab in communities in the West.

Jonathan Smith