Don,

The Internet news lead story announced the U.S. had agreed to face-to-face talks with Iran and went on to quote Condoleezza Rice, “the United States will come to the negotiating table as soon as Iran fully and verifiably suspends its enrichment and reprocessing activities.” What silliness! What arrogance! What naivete! And with a straight face, no less.

It reminds me of the time when the growers publicly announced they would sit down and talk with Cesar Chavez if he called off the strike and stopped the boycott of California grapes. And our reaction? Pour it on, stoke up the coals, all stops out, these guys are really feeling the heat!

The entire world community understands the U.S. would not even be making this lame overture unless the Iranians were developing nuclear power – and now Iran will agree to give up the very leverage that forced us to come this far? I think not.

Part of our government collective mind-set is that Iran, and other Middle East countries, are so inept, so corrupt, so lacking in modernity they need not be taken seriously; they barely rise to our contempt level. This was the same mentality embraced by growers about Mexican-American farmworkers – manana lazy, illiterate therefore stupid, culturally backward, disorganized and powerless.

The fact the Iranians have been a viable civilization for more than a 1,000 years before Christ seems to mean as much to Condoleezza Rice as the fact that Mexicans were civilized more than 800 years ago meant to the growers.

Without doubt, the worldly ignorance of our modern-day rich and powerful government will be the cause of our undoing. You can count on it.

Have a nice Friday,

LeRoy