(Continuing
with the developments in Iran since their revolution)
Hooman Majd
is an expatriate Iranian. His father was
serving as a diplomat under the late Shah.
When the Shah’s regime was toppled, Majd’s family found itself stranded
in the West. Majd, himself, became a journalist/author
who is willing to analyze Iranian politics from an insider as well as outsider
viewpoint. Once in a while, he risks
returning to his homeland temporarily so that he can write about it. This does not endear him to their current
regime, hence the tongue in cheek title of his book: The
Ministry of Guidance Invites You to Not Stay.
What Majd
documents are the multiple versions of reality and denial that describe Iran. Like Nafisi in Reading Lolita in Tehran, he questions whether the current
situation promotes the expression of Islamic ideals or, conversely, invalidates
Islamic expression because of coercion. Was
the time of the Shah the good old days or the bad old days?
Obviously, Iranians
don’t control the market on multiple realities and denial. We see it on a smaller scale in the “age in
place” versus “retirement community” mindsets.
People have their preferences, but rigid thinking can lead to
problems. It can be nice to be in a safe
environment surrounded by peers you can socialize with – until you notice how
regularly they tend to die off and be replaced.
It can be comforting to stay in familiar surroundings, forget safety –
until you find yourself trapped there alone.
Or maybe you’re the kind who doesn’t even notice these things when they
happen. That’s a problem in itself.
We can’t
really solve this dilemma for our seniors, just as Majd can’t solve the Iranian
dilemma. Still, activity professionals
are in the position to mitigate some of the negative aspects of senior community/institutional
settings. We can make things better in
the places where we work.
p.s. Majd proudly described the colorful Yazidi
cultural group, as well as the increasing popularity of pet dogs in Iran. Since I began reading his book, however, ISIS reportedly targeted the Yazidis for genocide. And Iran’s
Revolutionary Guard pushed through a new law allowing them to give 74 lashes to
anyone they catch with a pet dog.
© Donna
Stuart, ADPC March 24, 2015
Majd, Hooman. The
Ministry Of Guidance Invites You To Not Stay. New York: Doubleday, 2013.
Nafisi, Azar. Reading
Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books. New York: Random House Trade
Paperbacks, 2003.
