Salar Abdoh - Ideas Concerning Identity

Ideas Concerning Identity

After years of living in the US, Abdoh has observed several differences between American culture and the cultures of the rest of the world’s nations; “In places like Iran, people are aware they are living in an unjust society. In America, people are given to believe they are living in the greatest country on earth” (question 7). Having lived in both Iran and America, Abdoh finds American unity to be somewhat of a joke; how is it that most Americans can feel proud of their country when there are still a plethora of problems such as poverty, unemployment, foreclosure, and countless other social injustices (question 7)? In socially contrasting countries such as Iran people are faced with the same issues to a more severe degree, but they do not find a need to buy into the Iranian Nationalistic Trap. In Iran, false propaganda is given to its people on a consistent basis; it is interesting that Americans, who do not have false and extremely nationalistic propaganda spoon-fed to them, would be far more extreme in their love for their country. Americans have reason to believe in their country, however, because the sociological system that currently exists in America allows for freedom of expression and press where as in Iran, outside information cannot be accessed by the Iranian people (T, A, p. 1).