Iran Feature: "We Have Restricted the Wishes and Ideals of the Nation To Worrying About Chicken" (Mousavi)

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Sayed Abduljawad Mousavi --- Iranian poet, journalist, author, and cultural critic --- has posted the following commentary on Khabar Online, the website linked to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani . The English translation is provided by Iran Watching:

A nation that was supposed to be a role model for all the World --- and be a messenger of peace, friendship, justice,compassion and human dignity for all the people --- is , today, most worried about Chicken.

Waking up every morning, he is worried that, God forbid, a kilo of chicken priced at 7,000 Toman has become 8,000 Toman, and [consequently] this fruit of the Earth gets further away from his reach daily, and every night he goes to bed wishing for a miracle to happen so chicken becomes cheaper.

Can a Nation that spends its days and nights obsessed with poultry possess "human dignity" and be a decent role model for the people of the World? Of course the public is not so guilty, the guilty are those that have restricted the wishes and ideals of a nation to a chicken, and have made them busy thinking from dawn to dust about such matters.

Have you seen the pictures of the poultry & meat exhibition? Have you seen how the brave and epic-maker nation formed long lines --- as if to break the enemy's front --- to purchase meat priced at 4,500 Toman? Interestingly, the poultry & meat exhibition was held in Tehran's Mosalla. That's a place for prayer, and ceremonies such as Eid el Fitr Prayer. Such a place is supposed to be the gathering place of the collective soul of a nation that has fled the chains of the material world and is on its way to salvation and redemption. A little zeal and good taste is not bad.

Wasn't there a more appropriate venue to hold this exhibition --- which should have been befittingly called a market instead of an exhibition? Does it mean it [Mosalla] is a just a place where prayers can be held, book exhibitions be held too, and sell chicken and meat too? 

Still, the comment of one of the high officials [Iran's Chief of Police Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam] who said,"TV should not show chicken," was the most interesting of all. What does it mean? It means images of chicken broadcasted by state-owned media corporation of the Islamic Republic of Iran would arouse greed and avarice in the public, and since buying chicken [priced] at seven, or eight thousand [Toman per kilo] is not affordable by all, it is possible that, God forbid, a nation that was supposed to be the symbol of human dignity falls from the apex of glory to the perigee of humiliation, and sighs and whines as it yearns for something [that is] not even very precious.

What a wise plan! All kinds of cars and other appliances which are financially out of reach of most people of this land are advertised 24 hours a day on TV channels and no one speaks out against it, but "chicken" must not be shown on TV! What if bread gets expensive? Shall we ban bread on TV too?

I say, now that the price of real estate is touching the sky, we demand State TV to stop showing any house. How about all the characters in the domestic films and soap operas living under a tent? This way nobody will be hurt seeing other people's houses. Moreover, poor people will also thank God because seeing their compatriots under the tent will make them believe what a comfortable life they are having. I am not joking, but believe me high prices of chicken is not as troubling as these sort of wise comments. 

I have also heard that in Gilan [Province], a coupon is given to the journalists so they can buy chicken up to five kilos at the state subsidised price. It is as if the Iranian human has no goal or aim [in life] but chicken. However,It is not a problem. As the poet says,this will pass too. But talking of spirituality and dignity of humans at current conditions is laughable. It makes everyone laugh, even the chickens priced at four thousands and five hundred Tomans