Khatami Is A Symptom And Not The

This Is A Good Time To Ask Apologists For The Islamic Regime, Who Degrades Islam? Who Imposes Stoning, Forced Marriage Of Underage Girls And Flogging For Not Wearing The Veil? Do Such Practices Represent Iran's Ancient History And Culture, Its Ethnic And Religious Diversity? Its Centuries Of Sensual And Subversive Poetry?

Only Curiosity About The Fate Of Others, The Ability To Put Ourselves In Their Shoes, And The Will To Enter Their World Through The Magic Of Imagination, Creates This Shock Of Recognition. Without This Empathy There Can Be No Genuine Dialogue, And We As Individuals And Nations Will Remain Isolated And Alien, Segregated And Fragmented.

Empathy Lies At The Heart Of Gatsby, Like So Many Other Great Novels-the Biggest Sin Is To Be Blind To Others Problems And Pains. Not Seeing Them Means Denying Their Existence.

It Is Amazing How, When All Possibilities Seem To Be Taken Away From You, The Minutest Opening Can Become A Great Freedom.

Visa For Avalon Is A Testament To The Power Of Fiction. It Illuminates The Truth At The Heart Of What Is Commonly Called Reality. This Account Of Lives Transformed And Ruined By The Triumph Of A Totalitarian Rule Is A Timely Reminder Of How Moral And Intellectual Laziness And Apathy Can Pave The Road To The Reign Of Terror Brought On By Such A System.