The Changing Face of Iran

I lived in Iran as an American from 1976-1979 as a child. We lived in a small town on the coast of the Caspian Sea. We lived, worked and played with Iranians day in and day out. Most of the people we dealt with on a day to day basis had the same dreams and expectations that we have. The media portrays the country as fanatics, crazy jihad ready to blow anyone up. However, this is a distortion of the way of life for 95% of the population. Iran is a beautiful country, steeped in tradition and wonderful history and culture. The majority of the people just want to life their lives in a peaceful and respectful manner. They want their children to grow up healthy and educated and do better than the generation before. Do these dreams sound familiar?

Picture 11 is of me, but that is not my wife... we are only friends.

I'm really glad for these photos. Hopefully it will make people in the US see what people from that area of the world are truly like, rather than what's typically portrayed in the media, which is a terrible and completely inaccurate stereotype. They're just like all of us here in the US, different in their tastes and styles and ways of life, and just trying to live peacefully in the world and practice their beliefs as they see fit. I was born and raised in the heartland of the US, but I have an extremely open mind and love to learn about different cultures, countries, religions, etc., and I believe that these photos will (hopefully) be enlightening for people in the US who stereotype people from other countries, particularly countries with mostly Muslim populations. Thanks to the photographer. :)

Look at these photos carefully. These are the people that Cheney, McCain, and the GOP want to wipe off the planet. These are also reasons that I voted for Obama. Only Obama understands that bombs will not solve our problems. We need to have the strength and courage to find other ways to solve our problems. If we are really serious about "liberating" Iran, Obama's decision to raise the mpg requirement to 35 mpg by 2016 is a good start. But notice, I used the word "start."We need to do a lot more.