September 1 2009

EVERYBODY HAS AN OPINION

LET US HEAR YOURS

And it's really women and children, in addition to the political prisoners, who are the most vulnerable.

Yes. We say that the strength of the chain lies in the smallest and weakest part of the chain, so you must always protect that so that the chain does not fall apart. Yes, women and children and political prisoners are the weakest members of our society and need our protection.

It must be very hard to raise children in this context. When I read your book I was reminded of another guest, Natan Sharansky, talking about his growing up in the then Soviet Union, where on the one hand is dogma that children have to understand, but at the same time you're giving them knowledge that transcends the conventional wisdom of the state.

Yes, it is difficult but in order to succeed you have to speak honestly with the children. I give you one example of how I went about doing it. One day, my younger daughter came home from school and asked me, "Mom, was Dr. Mohammad Mossadeq a good person or a bad person?" And I said, "Well, how come?" She said, "Well, in our last year's textbook they said that he was a good person because he had nationalized Iranian oil, but in this year's text they're saying that he was a bad person because he disagreed to make the coalition with the clergy. I don't understand." I told her the story of Dr. Mohammad Mossadeq and the CIA coup. I said, "You really have to [pass] this class and this grade and move up to a grade higher. Tell your teacher [what he wants to hear]. Just remember, when something doesn't make logic to you, just read it enough to pass that course, and then once you've passed it, forget about it."