View From The Side: Droppin’ Bombs And Killin’ It

In the dance music world, for a certain camp it is all about "dropping bombs" and "killing it." The same goes for politics really. Republicans are conservative when it comes to everything except spending on military and blowing shit up in deserts – hence Grover Norquist's attendance of Burning Man really shouldn't be much of a surprise. 

Its official. Samah and I are off to "Burning Man" this year. Scratch one from the Bucket List.

— Grover Norquist (@GroverNorquist) July 28, 2014

Republicans aren't only so war and oil-hungry that they'd purposefully lie to drag the American people into conflict, they also absolutely hate Obama and would fight with him over dental floss if they could – despite what the dentists (experts) say. As Nicholas Burns stated in the New York Times: "With geopolitical stakes as high as they are, we had a right to hope for a more genuine, sober debate." Nope, as the vote fast approaches it's time to once again tell the entire Republican Senate and House members in opposition: go home, you're drunk. They even entertained Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Capitol Hill in both houses of congress before going behind the President's back and writing an open letter to the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

Apart from these red-affiliated (and consistently faced) conservative politicians, the only opposition coming from any nation is Israel – perhaps rightfully so with Iran's stance on their sovereignty. But the Jewish state is totally Ten Walls on homosexuality right now; they stand alone. Whereas the larger dance community has said sexual prejudice is not accepted, on Iran, the rest of the world powers have noted that accepting the deal is better than its alternatives: the instability of not having one at all and nuclear armament just within reach for an unstable regime.

The other option, besides a deal, is an inevitable war. Obama addressed this alternative in his speech explaining the deal: “It is probable that it would drive Iran’s program deeper underground.” No, DJs and house heads, this is one instance where deeper and underground are not a good thing. It's akin to taking your ear off the mix and letting your hand go lax in control of the pitch with two unmatched tracks – by the time you return it's an indiscernible train wreck where you don't know when one kick begins and the other ends. Besides, you know you're an asshole when you stand in opposition while even a former hostage approves of the deal, saying it gives less incentive for the regime to hold American citizens as pawns. 

Still, some representatives of the people would rather continue playing a chess match than acknowledge that allowing tensions to remain opens the possibilities of the Ayatollah at any moment saying "fuck this" and completely wiping out the board in a tantrum. The deal says there are rules to this game and they will be enforced for a decade, until the time comes to revisit them again. It's a major setback for any nuclear aspirations Iran would have and a sign that they're finally choosing the future of their people over stubborn hostilities, thanks to years of crippling sanctions they want to see removed. Back to the dance world reference from before, who doesn't think Ten Walls would do anything to have his career back after festivals and promoters placed him under complete embargo, even if it means kissing our 'browny' for a decade?

Much tougher would be to get him to completely renege on the underlying beliefs that lead to his pining for a time when the homosexual "breed" was deemed fixable, just as Iran still refuses to recognise Israel's right to exist. That is a more deeply-engrained belief, one people have the freedom to hold no matter how disagreeable to the largely – albeit slowly – enlightened world it may be. The point is, Ten Walls has been defused. He's no longer fueling bombs for the dancefloor and much of his supporters have (hopefully!) backed down on dropping them. Shouldn't we do the same with Iran? The closer to peace we are, the more likely we can close the divide and see each other's side, a necessary vantage point in order to finally enact some real, long-lasting and positive change – rather than shouting each other down.