A reason to ride

Iran is a state run by a radical government victimizing its citizens and its neighbours. How do we change that? Any regime change that repeats the mistakes of the past is not a solution.

What went wrong in the past which led to the current regime? One answer is the U.K. and American aided coup which led to the ouster in 1953 of a democratically elected government headed at the time by Mohammad Mossadegh and its replacement with an American friendly autocrat, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

The Shah imposed his rule through the Iranian National Intelligence and Security Organization — SAVAK, the acronym of its Persian name. SAVAK systematically inflicted torture, arbitrary killings and extra-judicial killings on perceived opponents of the regime. It was only a matter of time before repression of a regime directed to serving foreign interests would be overthrown.

What replaced the regime of the Shah, in 1979, the current regime of the mullahs, is a regime as intolerant and violent as the regime of the Shah and then some. That was not inevitable. But neither was it surprising. The vicious nature of the current regime, following the example set by the Shah, and its hatred for the United States, reacting to the U.S. aided imposition of the Shah, both echoes and reacts to the past. In 1979, the U.S. reaped what it sowed in 1953.

I Built a Rocket Ship (Kids Can Press, 32 pages, hardcover, $22) by Winnipegger Anna Lazowski is a tender story for children ages 4-8 about a little girl trying to make sense of her mother’s death. The child engages in conversation with her late mom, agreeing and disagreeing about things said as she carries objects (and of course, the cat) to the backyard. There, she is building a rocket ship she will pilot into the skies to find her mom again.

Jennica Lounsbury’s varied perspectives show the range of emotions the little girl experiences.

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Northwoods Lullaby by Mary Casanova (University of Minnesota Press, 32 pages, hardover, $25) is a bedtime book for readers up to age eight, perfect to bring a busy, happy day to a close. Just like children who are listening to adults reading the book, all the animal babies are being tucked into their nests and burrows by loving parents: “Thump and scamper,/nimble clover./ Soon it’s time to rest. Baby loon/ nestles in/as Papa floats along.”