All Shook Up

Steven Vincent, author of "Into The Red Zone" (in which he toured Iraq, solo, for several fascinating months) continues to write the wonderful In The Red Zone" blog.

He notes a number of new memes in the Middle East:

We are witnessing the genesis of two momentous memes. The first is women + eroticism + sexual freedom = democracy. This was one of the daemons that infused rock and roll (before Sgt. Pepper killed it) with such infernal energy and exploded into the Sexual Revolution 40 years ago. Message to the Middle East: hold on tight, folks. You're on the edge of something deep and wild.

Until the Arab Beatles ruin it all?

OK, seriously; although victorian society did pretty well, all in all (economically and socially), that was within the context of a West that was already liberal and largely democratic to at least some extent.

The fact that this is going on at all in the Arab world is a wonder.

And there's more:

The other is the end of the Iraq War. I know I'm anticipating, and there are certain to be disappointments to come. But a meme is not a prediction. It is in part the formulation of a general consensus--ijma', for you Islamic scholars out there--that, if adopted, germinates, spreads, infects and inspires, eventually forming the way we view reality. Does the way we view reality determine reality? I'll leave that to better minds than mine to hash out. I should add, though, that meme-wise, not only is the Iraq War ending--but, Juan Cole and Daily Kos and Moveon and CODEPINK notwithstanding, the good guys evidently won.

The meme to push now: Islamofascism is ludicrous, pathetic, contemptible and worse, no fun. It's so, like, yesterday, so looo-ser. Why follow the teachings of some bearded boogeyman who looks like his face would crack if he laughed, when you can party in downtown Beirut with the "Babes of Democracy"? Perhaps we should break out the old slogans and offer them to the Middle East - you know: "Make love, not war" and "War is not good for children and other living things"? How about: "Make a World at Peace, not a World in Pieces?" Just a thought.

Haven't the Arabs suffered enough?

Democracy (not to mention babes): Good.

Regurgitated sixties: Bad.

But really, you have to ask yourself, how can your basic theocratic regime run by sexually repressed and repressive mujtahids survive when it faces problems like these acts of widespread sinfulness taking place at Iranian celebrations of Ashura? Doesn't anyone recall that Mohammad maintained at least 14 wives and innumerable slave girls (at least one of whom he "visited" each night)--and that beautiful women and perfume were the Prophet's (pbuh) particular passions? And doesn't the situation in Iran today seem like America in, oh, say, 1954? (Having been in Iran in 2000, I vouch for that observation.) Yes, yes! I see him now! Striding across the plains of Persepolis, oud in one hand, a copy of Rumi in the other, curling that insouciant lip and swiveling them slender hips--ladies and gentlemen, the Persian Elvis!

Read the whole thing.

Posted by Mitch at March 29, 2005 04:38 AM | TrackBack