(Written March 2, 2026)

I do not want to turn this into a political discussion, but world events over the last several weeks have only served to underscore how we are watching history unfold daily at this point.  First, Venezuela.  A young Venezuelan business student became one of the first students I met in the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State.  In fact, I may have met her at the Broad Business Student Camp I attended the summer before my senior year of high school.  Sadly, after all of these decades, I cannot remember her name.  Prior to meeting her, I didn’t know or realize that in the late 1990s, Venezuela had one of the most developed economies in all of Latin America.  All thanks to oil, of course.  I do remember that she was about to graduate and head home.  As Venezuela fell under Chavez’s dictatorship and became a Communist country, I often thought of her and the Venezuelan people.  What happened to the future she planned during her time at Michigan State?

After Maduro’s downfall a few weeks ago, I can’t help but continue to watch Facebook Reels and Tiktoks of the Venezuelan people celebrating and praying for a bright future for Venezuela.  So many left years ago.  So many families separated for decades.  I can’t begin to understand what they have been through the last 25 years.  I pray that it will soon come to an end.

And now, Iran.  To put things into perspective, Iran has been under the control of Ayatollah Khomeini since before I was born.  Even though the hostages were taken nearly a year before I was born, they were still in the news when I finally arrived.  It would take another month for them to finally be freed.  Most people don’t realize what Iran was like before it became a brutal theocracy oppressing all until its control, especially women.  Research it for yourself. It is eye-opening. Some seem to forget this, but A Handmaid’s Tale is partly inspired by the oppression of women in Iran (much more to come on that topic at a later date).  Prior to the revolution, women were not segregated from men in public.  They were not in theory or legally property of their husbands or nearest male relatives.  There were no requirements to wear a hijab or simply fade into the background of society.  Women fully participated in society.

Over the last couple of days, I’ve been watching Reels and TikToks, impassioned pleas from Iranian-Americans, extremely grateful for the fall of Kholmeini.  The descriptions of what their relatives have endured in recent history, particularly over the last few months, is heart wrenching.  I’ve watched an Iranian-American woman describe how their mom group chats here in the US detail the logistics of school and sporting events, while their sister mothers in Iran debate the risk and daily terror of sending their children to school at all.  Another woman described how she wished her grandmother was alive to see this.  In 1980, her grandmother was jailed, raped, and tortured by the regime, all for being an artist. I never dreamed that I would see the day when Iranian-Americans would take to the streets of Los Angeles to celebrate the fall of the Iranian government. Think about that and what a powerful statement that is.

I will never understand how people can condemn these actions.  Do they not see the decades of suffering?  Do they not see the oppression? Do they not see how governments such as Iran destabilize everything?  If you don’t believe me, take a look at how much support the US has from other countries in the Middle East.  This isn’t Vietnam.  This isn’t Iraq.