Loose Change 2

Protests are mounting in the streets of Iran against the recent “reelection” of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, despite governmental bans on such disturbances. The arrest of dissents, the long arm of the incumbent power slapping down the opposition, are now part of a global perception of Iranian election irregularities. Half a million strong gathered in Tehran to voice their disaffection for the vote. The government continued to disrupt texting capacities and even some cell phone service (a policy pursued even during the last stages of the voting process itself). It got so bad that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has called for a high level inquiry into the claimed voting irregularities – funny, think they’ll really look?! Don’t hold your breath! A reelected Ahmadinejad makes the U.S. nuclear policy in the region infinitely more difficult.

In Pakistan, with popular support, the military has begun a long-avoided press against the most powerful segments of Taliban militancy, both in the northern regions of Swat and Dir, and now in the southernmost area of Pakistan, South Waziristan, along the border with Afghanistan. The rising tide of Taliban militancy has been liberally unchecked as both Pakistani leaders and voters perceived that attacking this fundamentalist group was responding to American pressures to fight “terrorism,” an exceptionally unpopular theme in the region. When the Taliban finally overplayed their hand and threatened the incumbent government and popular control of the nation state, the people understood that this was not their problem, and the U.S. had little to do with it.

In Israel, hardliners have finally voiced a willing, if not extremely limited, acceptance of the possibility of a separate, but completely demilitarized, Palestinian state. The June 14^th New York Times quotes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “In this small land of ours, two peoples live freely, side-by-side, in amity and mutual respect. Each will have its own flag, its own national anthem, its own government. Neither will threaten the security or survival of the other.” Of course, Palestinian authorities quickly rejected this conditional solution.

North Korea is witnessing a transition from the rule of the 67-year-old Kim Jong-il to his very mysterious younger son, Kim Jong-un, in his mid-twenties. Seemingly the result of a compromise with its military hierarchy, which may explain the recent spate of nuclear tests, this impending change is yet another indication of regional instability.

What does all of this mean for us? Well, I can remember in years past how Americans feared the malevolent forces of communism in Russia and China and how we looked at Japanese manufactures are cheap and poorly-made substitutes for American manufacturers. Picture all those “captains of industry” long since gone, replaced by the kids you went to school with. I remember rapidly and continually rising housing prices and a stock market that just couldn’t quit.

Change. It’s the only thing that doesn’t. And people inherently form their opinions at one critical stage in their lives, many refusing to alter their perceptions even after decades of evidence to a completely contrary world. They even pass on such outmoded opinions to their children, often fostering inaccurate and even dangerous perceptions from generation to generation. They live in the past and project that vision to govern future conduct.

In a world of rapid and often crushing change, it is very interesting to ask yourself what you think about each material segment of the world, the economy, the varying political systems around us and your vision of the future. Those who fall back on simple labels (we are too “socialist” or “free market”) are most likely to cling to past perceptions without making the necessary adjustment to a world that defies simplistic labeling. Look at the world through eyes as fresh as you can make them. It is indeed a scary place, but at least we need to look at it for what it really is… and know that what it “really is” may be very different tomorrow.

I’m Peter Dekom, and I approve this message.