The Burnt Generation: A Young Iranian's Letter to National Review Online

I am a young Iranian. Like most of my friends, I am a student. A little after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, I read an article whose sentences have not left my mind since. It stated: "It is impossible for someone to live comfortably in one corner of the world when in another corner, tyrants and reactionaries are plotting against humanity and civilization..." When my friends and I gather in our secret meetings, we often bring up that article. Remembering it helps us better understand our next steps against the plague that has afflicted our country for 24 years. The impact of that article on me was not because I suddenly lost my security after September 11. My generation in Iran has never seen security nor knows true happiness. Many of my peers have perished in the torture chambers of the Islamic Republic or in its solitary confinement prisons. Although September 11 was a horrific event for the world, it gave me hope that perhaps it would be the beginning of significant changes. I felt that perhaps the world would finally address the disease known as clerical fundamentalism and tyranny. My generation, which consists of 32 million people born around the time of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, has heard that in America we are called "Generation X"; however, in Iran, we are called "the burnt generation." Our political life began early. We were still in kindergarten when we were taken to rallies and told to shout, "Death to America, Death to Israel." No one bothered to explain why we should cultivate such a malevolent feeling towards the "Great Satan." And eight years of the nightmare of war with Iraq... We knew Saddam Hussein long before you did... Can you imagine what it feels like for a six-year-old child to see his father's charred body? I can imagine because I am that child. We also want to be free in our choice of clothing. We want to be free to speak, to gather, to love, and to dream. And this is our right. We do not need you to intervene militarily in Iran. We do not need your covert operations. We only need your resolve. We can accomplish this ourselves. You ask how? It is simple, as long as you do not compromise with the clerics.