US vs Them

The United States (US) is superior to all other countries because of the economic, political, and religious freedom its citizens enjoy. Yet many people and groups of the leftist persuasion are trying to create a reality in which the US is evil. My use of the word "create" is intentional. No such reality exists, but they hope that through their language, by talking about America in terms normally applied to true totalitarian regimes, they will create the desired reality. They want to assign evil motives and intentions to government policies or actions despite evidence to the contrary (see Dick Durbin). Facts don't seem to dent their determination. From their denunciations it appears that they would prefer a reality in which America is crippled, in which America really is on par with Mao's China.

My US vs Them posts are my attempt to highlight the disparities between the United States and other countries that do not enjoy the same freedoms we do. It's my wee antidote to all the "America is evil" talk that passes for intelligent conversation in some circles. Please note that in no way am I suggesting that the US is superior culturally or spiritually to all other countries /or cultures. It may be, or it may not be, but that's not the point of these specific posts.

In the ring today: US vs. Iran:

"An Iranian court has sentenced a man to have his eyes surgically removed for a crime he committed as a teenager 12 years ago. Amnesty International has condemned the sentence, reported in the Iranian daily Etemaad, but local human rights groups say these unusual punishments are hardly ever executed."

"Etemaad says the accused, identified only as Vahid, was 16 when he threw a bottle of acid at another man during a fight in a vegetable market in 1993. The top opened - Vahid insists accidentally - and blinded his victim in both eyes. A court said the crime should be judged as qisas, a category for which the Koran stipulates specific punishments, in this case an eye for an eye. The paper said the sentence was to pour acid on Vahid's eyes, but an appeals court ruled it should be done surgically so as not to harm other parts of his face."

Regardless if they go through with this punishment, the fact remains that this is an acceptable punishment according to the Koran and the law courts of Iran.