Dr. Annahita Mahdavi West, beloved professor, highly respected scholar and psychologist, originally from Iran, recently penned a piercing essay, “The Iranian Women’s Movement Is a Fire That Has Never Been Experienced,”
Her stirring, achingly personal essay resonates universally – here is a link to it that was posted on Twitter by her soulmate, husband,, kindred spirit and fellow freedom fighter, the imminent public intellectual, author, educator and scholar, Dr. Cornel West —
Dr. Mahdavi West’s piece springs from what compelling evidence indicates was the brutal murder of the young Kurdish-Iranian, Mahsa Amini, on September 16, 2022, after being arrested by Iran’s ‘Morality Police’ in Tehran for wearing a loose hijab, or traditional head covering. News of the young woman’s tragic death while imprisoned has fomented a powerful uprising in Iran spearheaded by valiant women who have put their very lives on the line. Many have been slaughtered by Iranian authorities, who have opened fire on them indiscriminately, for daring to demand justice, and yet they continue to protest publicly, with extraordinary courage.
My wife Cecilia Chapa Phillips and I spoke with Dr. Mahdavi West, and her husband, Dr. Cornel West, who is on our nonprofit SocratesCafe.com board, and who wrote the gorgeous foreword to my newest book, ‘Soul of Goodness.’ Cornel West’s ‘Democracy Matters’ provides keen insight and context to the state and straits of open societies in decline, and how this is the moment that we must all rise up as one, if human civilization itself is to continue on an upward trajectory.
In our exchange, Dr. Mahdavi West makes moving mention of the 13th century Iranian poet Bani Adam when she tells us, “An Iranian ancient poet said, we’re all from the same race, and if one is in pain, the other will be in pain.” So, we should feel the pain of those being degraded, humiliated and demeaned, and do all we can to create kinds of awareness that lead to greater autonomy and dignity for one and all.
Dr. Cornel West generously says that our 27-year labor of love with Socrates Cafe is the epitome of “the call for justice, fairness, empathy, kindness, generosity,” and he calls for a resurgence of the great American democratic/Socratic tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, exhorting each and every one of us to do all we can, and must, to make, to ensure that everyone can live with decency, dignity, and hope. Listen in.
[Our nonprofit website is DemocracyCafe.org Our Instagram is @TheSocratesCafe Our Twitter is @ChristopherCafe and @GetDemocratic
And here is the GoodReads link to Christopher’s book ‘Soul of Goodness’ for which Dr. Cornel West wrote such a stirring, gorgeous foreword:
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