What's there to be proud of if you are an Iranian?

Comments by an anguished Iranian from The Iranian

Exactly why should anyone be proud of the fact that Iran has produced people like Hafez and Avicena? On the contrary, it is deplorable that a country that has produced prominent figures is now ruled by a group of ruthless, uneducated clerics. We Iranians are a nation fixated with the past. We had Hafez thousands of years ago, what do we have now? Certainly not respect.

A recent survey revealed that regardless of the type of government, 40% of Iranians want the future government in Iran to be a religious one. When the West is making technological breakthroughs, our people are still hooked on the actions of fictitious religious figures like Mohamamad, Ali and Hossein who lived two centuries ago.

Let's not let our emotions dictate our judgments. Being Iranian these days is nothing to be proud. May be if we hit rock bottom will we wake up one day and try to fix our country and its image.