As one of the co-creators of Conflict Kitchen I could not help but comment on this blog. Our current Iranian version of the project has given us the opportunity to talk with many Iranians both in Pittsburgh and currently living in Iran. What several of you might be surprised to find out is that many Iranians respect and admire Americans and American culture. Many also do not agree with their governments policies and don't feel that they represent all of their interests or values (I think many Americans could say the same). The hope of the project is to present the daily life and culture of the people of each country we focus on and in so doing open up a more nuanced conversation about similarity and difference. I'm sure many of you, whether from the right or left, do not want to be represented in the most simplified, two-dimensional fashion based on the grossest stereotypes of your race, religion, or ethnicity. I think at the end of the day we all lie in bed and imagine ourselves as being quite complex, our feelings sometime contradictory, our beliefs evolving, our selves as something bigger than our circumstances. Why would this not be true of someone living in another country regardless of their government's policies. Do you, as an individual, want your identity to be defined only with the worst attributes of your country or religion? It would be troubling to most Catholics certainly to be be labeled child molesters without ever meeting them. The issues we are facing globally are very similar to the race issues we faced and continue to face internally. Certainly there are real injustices being perpetrated in the world, and dealing with these injustices is an incredibly complicated task. But what is the byproduct of calling an entire country, and an entire people our enemy? And is it any different when you are a misrepresented and when you misrepresent someone else?

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