Rescue at Sea: The U.S., Iran, and Basic Human Decency

Hi everybody!

I was going to keep it light today as it is Friday but I changed my mind after I started going through the afternoon's news. Earlier today, the U.S. aircraft carrier John C. Stennis rescued a crew of Iranian fishermen that had been detained since November by pirates somewhere in the North Arabian Sea. This is the same aircraft carrier that the Iranian government had indirectly warned on Tuesday not to dare enter the Persian Gulf on threat of a presumed military strike. The Stennis is on a return voyage from transporting aircraft for use in Afghanistan.

While initial reports are pretty vague, it seems the Iranian fishermen were rescued without incident and are on their way back to Iran, though how they are getting there is not publicly known. The pirates, whose nationality has not yet been released though we can probably assume they are Somalian or in the very least are backed by el-Shabab, are currently being detained on the aircraft carrier awaiting further action.

If nothing else, this is a good example of human decency on the high seas. It is common practice in sailing that when one encounters a sailing vessel in trouble one offers assistance if reasonably possible, regardless of nationality. I suppose it is more than a little ironic that in this particular case, the rescuer is American and the rescued is Iranian given the two countries' acrimonious history, especially recently. But there you have it.

I saw the initial report on CNN while I was in the gym this afternoon and then afterwards went to my trusty New York Times website to find out a little more. What set me off are the tone and content of many of the comments posted in response to the article by other readers. I know and appreciate the fact that relations with Iran aren't good and that there is still a lot of resentment toward Iran for the taking of hostages at the American Embassy in Tehran in 1979. I get that. But haven't we moved on just a little bit since then? Obviously, I can't speak for Iran but I will venture a guess that perhaps the majority of Iranian citizens don't necessarily harbor the government-perpetuated belief that America is "The Great Satan." They may chant "Death to America" in their government-sanctioned demonstrations and burn effigies of our presidents and secretaries of state but I'm inclined to think that most Iranians today don't hate the U.S. with the fervidity of the 1979 revolutionaries. I read that something close to 50% of the Iranian population is under the age of 30 which would mean that half of all Iranians weren't even born or were just out of their mothers' wombs when the Shah was overthrown and the country became the world's first true theocracy. (On a side note, for an insightful and revealing look at the lives of a group of pretty extraordinary Iranian women at the time of and just after the revolution, read Azar Nafisi's brilliant memoir "Reading Lolita in Tehran.")

Okay, it is dubious that President Ahmedinajad or Ayotallah Khamenei will issue a public outpouring of gratitude to the U.S. for the rescuing of the sailors. And if the roles had been reversed, it probably isn't too much of a stretch to imagine that Iran would detain the rescued sailors and parade them in front of the media for some sort of political purpose or use them as pawns in a ploy to alleviate or negotiate the easing of recent U.S. and European sanctions. But is it really necessary to use this as a platform for Stars and Stripes Forever posturing? One person even commented: "Take that, Iran!" Really? What purpose does that serve other than to make the average American look like a petty redneck, which pretty much confirms what most of the rest of the world already thinks.

I realize this may sound like I'm the one being petty, and that isn't my intention. I just think that many Americans have a tendency to jump on the opportunity to shove the patriotic thing down the world's throat and tell everyone how morally superior we are, which ultimately does nothing to help our standing on the international stage.

The crew of the John C. Stennis did a good and decent thing today. The Iranian sailors are appreciative even if their government is not. Let's not make this into something more than it is: an example of basic human kindness. Some things are what they are and aren't meant to be used as props for needless patriotic muscle-flexing.

Ciao.