The Hollywoodian "happy ending" is as American and anticipated by world cinema-goers as the Indian Bollywoodian "dance ending" when cast members break out into dance--as seen at the end of "The Slumdog Millionaire" movie. Having grown up on a century of often corny and even sometimes completely unrealistic endings to Hollywood films, the psyche of America has been transformed: we always expect things to turn out for the best.
And, really, thank God! Or, more precisely, thank the founding fathers of Hollywood for this small and relatively little-noticed-at-the-time transformation of a entire nation's subconscious forever. Yes, we Americans always expect things to turn out for the better. Be it through the good graces of an ever just God. Be it through our own, "pulling ourselves up by our boot straps," somehow, after a little bit of complaining and whining, we manage to get it done.
We are not a cynical nation. We don't expect government to step in and solve problems that we can solve by ourselves. Our demand for action from government tends to be for the resolution of problems and issues on a more macro-level: health care, for instance, military, space exploration and most recently the solving of the global warming issues (despite the fantasy of conservatives/republicans that this is NOT a problem).
Europeans expect their governtment ministers to wallow in bureaucratic infighting. The British regularly make such fun of their elected officials that all one need do is add that "Benny-Hill"-music to a meeting of Parliament and hysterics are guaranteed. The Russians simply don't have government, thugs, corrupt officials and lying ministers, fill that void.
The GE Theater
Ronald Reagan, one of the most popular presidents in our lifetime, was a master of the Hollywood setting. He was a studio-created creature whose role during WWII was to make propaganda films for increasing support for the war. Such propaganda was a needed and good thing for the war effort.
Afterwards, he hosted The General Electric Theater, mastering the ability to sell barely real benefits from GE products; persuading listeners that these new appliances and services were magical and born of American genius--certainly some truth was present but a real lot of "salesmanship" was layered in amongst the facts.
Reagan's magic for the rhetorical flair was at its best when he challenged Gorbachev to "tear down this wall;" these words, as spoken, echoed off the Berlin Wall with East German boarder guards standing less than a football field away. The world was awed and a few short years later, that Wall was torn down by inspired East Germans.
Reality check: despite Reagan's child-like belief that American "democracy" was the pancea for all ailments (despite the dogma of Reagan-worshippers that all that is good was created by his hands and molded by his words), the Soviet Union collapsed under the weight not of Reagan's obviously heavy words. It collapsed from decades of incompetence; it collapsed as a result of a near century of massive misdevelopment of its entire infrastructure; it collapsed because oil prices had again sunk to then record lows and the nation. Physically falling apart, the vast nation needed repairs and there just was no money left because the Communist Party members had stolen everything they could get their hands on--and that had been going on for at least 30 years prior to Reagan's speech in Berlin.
But, we live in a movie and we needed a John-Wayne moment: "tear down this wall." Cut to the wall being pulled apart several years later and guess what, when watching on Youtube, it really seems like Reagan was the most powerful man to walk the earth in the past century. Jump to W and his wonderfully B-movie-esque comment: "bring it on." Jaws across the world dropped in shock. Terrorist HR directors in caves throughout Afghanistan-Pakistan high-fived each other. W had done more for their recruiting cause than 9/11 had done.
Do you speak "Iranian"? Hungarian?
Iran is not a nation the average American can understand, let alone find on a map! In the same way that "democracy" didn't break out in Russia after their collapse in 1991; in the same way Ukraine is a basket-case today despite their "democratic" revolution; in the same way that pretty much every nation that has acquired "freedom" and "democracy" since that Reagan moment in Berlin is struggling today. With the bitter experience of the W catastrope when he "freed" the Iraqi people from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, we can now safely say that an Iranian internal conflict, stoked by rhetoric from Obama will not result in a "morning for Iran."
President Obama is doing exactly what he is supposed to be doing: almost nothing. Conservatives/republicans are criticizing him for not speaking out with 16-year-old-boy-like words of "yo, Iran, I'll kick your ass if you don't let that vote stand." "Go ahead, I dare you to not let that election stand, try me, man, COME ON!"
In 1956, the Hungarians, egged on by Voice of America with words "if you rise up against your communist oppressors, we will come to your aid", rebelled. A week later, after countless thousands has been killed and run down by Soviet tanks, Ike's complete failure to back up Voice of America's words bridged their struggle to tragedy. Ask a 65-year old Hungarian what they recall from that moment and they will not tell of the Soviet tanks, they will tell of being "instructed" to rise up by America and then being slaughtered: pawns in a big chess opening.
Ike did nothing because he couldn't. He was not going to risk WWIII for the sake of tiny little Hungary. WWII was "started" when the British and French went to the defense of Poland, Ike would not fall into this trap, too.
The Trap
Should Obama fall into the childish and irresponsible trap that is being laid by the conservatives, the same ones who loved W's "bring it on" comments; the same ones who have thrown our military into every conflagration across the globe so that today we are more overstretched and as a result weaker than we have been in decades; Iranians, emboldened by the rhetoric of a popular American President, could start to rebell enmasse and guess what? We won't be able to do anything but watch.
And then, as thousands will be slaughtered by the Iranian military, Obama, not having the money or the military power to respond, will sit quietely, aghast, and then he will be hung by world opinion. And, his brave attempts at rebuilding our own society will come to a terribly Hollywoodian "un-happy ending."
What is going on in Iran is about the Iranians and not what some preacher in a small Church in Kansas thinks--"let us pray for our brothers, the Iranians, as they struggle for their democracy, and for our President so that he will know what to do to support their fight." It is not about Limbaugh or Cheney or the other fascists seeking power while manipulating such lofty words like "freedom", "democracy" (everything they were against), it is about Iran and Iran alone.
While the Iranians struggle for their freedom, I say, good luck. Call us when it is over. In the meantime, in case no one has noticed, our nation is economically depressed for the most part, right-wing conservatives are calling nuts with guns to arms and the killings are increasing because the lunatics think they will soon lose their weapons--the NRA is espousing these lies; we struggle to pass a universal health care act.
The nation's plate is full. Yet, the conservatives don't want America to get better. They want to draw attention from the problems with some good old-fashioned swagger and rhetoric so that just maybe, we can get ourselves another war. Why? Because today, as is in America, the worst off we are, the more money those America-haters make.
President Obama, keep leaving Iran alone, for the sake of America's future.
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