The head of State both under IRI and before that under the Shahanshahi regiem were the unelected and absolute power in Iran.  These two attributes describe only one thing, dictatorship.

Mehrdad

Of course they are dictatorship; now that the reality is acknowledged, which do you think you can live with?

COP,

چه چوب تری فروختیم که

we should have to live with either or?

why not demand and strive for a non-dictatorship system to live under?

Mehrdad

Mehrdad, I am a simple guy. I tend to see (some) things as black and white. Non-dictatorship amounts to a representative government, i.e., ALL represented!

Given the track record of the society, the wishy washiness, the animosity that is endemic and prevalent in our psyche towards those who are not like us (religiously speaking) and most of all, the fact that we have allowed 34 years of akhondism (also a deadly disease), do you really believe that such uphoric state is possible for Iran?

Oh...you say "demand"? How many of our people do you think will demand anything other than what's in it for them?

As long as we are the way we are, systems will remain what they are - and have been.

There are dictators, and then there are dictators. Ataturk was a dictator, and so were Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. Now, only a moron (or dishonest person) would say "they were all dictators" and try to equate them. Same thing goes for trying to equate the Pahlavis (with all their undeniable flaws) with the current batch of Khomeinist animals who have been ruling Iran for the past 34 years.

COP,

"How many of our people do you think will demand anything other than what's in it for them?"

Not enough and that is why I say and believe

از ماست که بر ماست

Until there are enough people to demand and not satisfied with the milder version of the dictator

Mehrdad

Oh....we are dreaming again... we have had  our enchilada and are dreaming again... the weekend is coming up and we want watch our college football matches and are dreaming again...

we are leaving it to our good people inside iran who are leaving the country gor o gor (in the thousands) and we think that they will finally, hopefully sometime in this century will take this noble task of doing something about this whole misery...

No man. 34 years is not enough. We have to go a lot longer than that. This is gonna be a metamorphysis live we have never seen before. 

Chuck...can you give me another 300 years on that clock? thanks buddy.