Do you guys want to have your say regarding how Iran was durin the late Shah era?
I loved Ahwaz and Tehran.
LOL, that's probably the strangest social service I've ever heard of. Which part of Tehran? Halabi Abad? As I recall, the Shah cleaned the streets of Halabi Abad with a golden shower...
The Shah's reflex was typical of all despots: Strike first and suppress, then think it over: What next? First display muscle, make a show of strength, and later perhaps demonstrate you also have a brain. Despotic authority attaches great importance to being considered strong, and much less to being admired for its wisdom. Besides, what does wisdom mean to a despot? It means skill in the use of power. The wise despot knows when and how to strike. This continual display of power is necessary because, at root, any dictatorship appeals to the lowest instincts of the governed: fear, aggressiveness toward one's neighbors, bootlicking. Terror most effectively excites such instincts, and fear of strength is the wellspring of terror.