First Baptist Church of Pittsburgh

 نگفتمت مرو آنجا که آشنات منم

Fragile Tranquility

A sense of security and tranquillity can signify being in despair; precisely this sense of security and tranquillity can be the despair, and yet it can signify having conquered despair and having won peace.

Kierkegaard, Søren. Kierkegaard's Writings, XIX, Volume 19: 21 (p. 42). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition. 

 On that Day people will proceed in separate groups to be shown the consequences of their deeds.

So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it.

And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.

Al-Zalzalah, 6-8

Viewing Immigration Through a New Lens

Nicolò Filippo Rosso and Jose Munian, City of Aylum, 4/15/2023

It's no secret that I highly rate brave, independent, and conscientious journalism. Saturday was an opportunity to see the works of a photographer firsthand.  Nicolò Filippo Rosso's works were presented in the format of a photodocumentary directed by Jose Muniain. This exhibition was focused on a project titled Exodus. Rosso's worked extensively in South, Central, and North America. He tells the story of mass migration and the ordeal tens of thousands of these underprivileged communities face. 

I found the pictures moving and the innovative narrative and sharp direction of Munian helped make the message more poignant. I could see among the audience, individuals who shared my sensation of grief and shock by watching this documentary. The story itself is a humanitarian crisis that has been poorly handled globally. But I want to pay tribute to Mr. Russo for the dedicated effort he has put in. That was an example of why in the free world, journalism is considered a key pillar for progress.

Pedram
4/15/2023

 

Great jazz performance from the Dan Pugach Nonet hosted by City of Asylum (April 3rd, 2023)

True Wretchedness (Excerpt from Sickness unto Death)

There is so much talk about human distress and wretchedness—I try to understand it and have also had some intimate acquaintance with it—there is so much talk about wasting a life, but only that person’s life was wasted who went on living so deceived by life’s joys or its sorrows that he never became decisively and eternally conscious as spirit, as self, or, what amounts to the same thing, never became aware and in the deepest sense never gained the impression that there is a God and that “he,” he himself, his self, exists before this God—an infinite benefaction that is never gained except through despair. 

What wretchedness that so many go on living this way, cheated of this most blessed of thoughts! What wretchedness that we are engrossed in or encourage the human throng to be engrossed in everything else, using them to supply the energy for the drama of life but never reminding them of this blessedness. What wretchedness that they are lumped together and deceived instead of being split apart so that each individual may gain the highest, the only thing worth living for and enough to live in for an eternity. 

I think that I could weep an eternity over the existence of such wretchedness! And to me an even more horrible expression of this most terrible sickness and misery is that it is hidden—not only that the person suffering from it may wish to hide it and may succeed, not only that it can so live in a man that no one, no one detects it, no, but also that it can be so hidden in a man that he himself is not aware of it! 

Kierkegaard, Søren. Kierkegaard's Writings, XIX, Volume 19: 21 (pp. 44-45). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition. 

ماندگار

 به شما رشک می ورزم. به شما که دست روی قلبتان می گذارید و پول در جیبتان می شمارید. با غم مردمان ضجه  می زنید و بر آستان قاتلان پیشانی می سایید. به شما رشک می ورزم. 

در دنیای شما غم، ماتم و بی خوابی وجود ندارد. در دنیای شا مادری دنبال گور فرزندش نمی گردد. پدری در سوگ فرزندش هر روز آرزوی مرگ نمی کند. در دنیای شما ملانکولی هم ژست سانتی مانتال و کالای امروز است. همه ی ما   کالای دنیای شما هستیم: ابزاری برای  گذران خوش اوقات شما هستیم.  ما سوخت ماشین ایدیولوژی سازی شما هستیم. منتظر قضا و قدر و خوابی هستیم که شما برای ما دیده اید. 

  با همه ی این اوصاف چه عجیب است که شما می روید و ما می مانیم.

Exploiting History and Engineering Hatred: Lesson from Balkan War

 This was my take on a fascinating essay by Farangis Bayat on the Balkan war and how nationalism led to one of the most heinous acts of genocide in modern Europe.

This is a dive into Yugoslavia's contemporary history post-world war II. How Tito's relatively benevolent dictatorship provided a shift from Stalinist ideas and a ground for nationalism.

The new-age nationalism was not the result of a single party's ideology and movements. Actually, a group of social groups including intellectuals, academics, artists, and religious figures collectively helped promote nationalism. To this end, they invested heavily in pseudo-narratives of history, a fabricated image of Serbians throughout history. Secondly, they exploited these narratives against non-Serbian ethnic groups (i.e. Croats, Albanians, Bosnians, and Slovenians). 

The role of intellectuals should be cautiously interpreted as the social class in Yugoslavia was oppressed under Tito's regime. This oppression was more pronounced for nationalist intellectuals and pushed them toward a more militant approach instead of targeting existential questions that you'd e expect an intellectual to be engaged with.

On the other hand, Marxist intellectuals were more adherent to social and philosophical methodology and attempted to tackle social issues. However, the complexity of their language cost them healthy communication with the public and the bond with the populace. The other aspect surrounding the political milieu ending in the Balkan war is the distance from Stalinism which provided a relatively free space for various groups to confront traditional Marxist ideas. Marxists were struggling with their communication with citizens and liberals were gradually getting closer to nationalists. The resultant vacuum proved to be an ominous political end-product wisely exploited by Serbian nationalists. 

One key component of nationalism in the build-up of their argument is the need for the "Other" party: an ever-present, threatening existence that always stands at odds with your existence. They theorize, organize, create and operate in antagonism with the "Other". In other words, the "Threat" created by "Them" unites "Us". Nationalist arts and literature produced by scientists, artists, and intellectuals such as Radovan Karadžić and Mića Popović are examples of how all social domains were recruited to fulfill the nationalist goals. That's where the machiavellian narrative of history comes into effect. A picture of victimized ethnicity unfairly forced to live under atrocious conditions. 

Pedram

January 2023