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Tag Archives: politics

Reflection on ‘Blood Pressure’!

04 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by Tahereh Barati, PhD in Articles, Reflection

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'Blood Pressure', culture, empowerment, false empowerment, film, grenerations., guns, marital conflicts, marital relationship, men, movies, politics, positive changes, possibilities, practice violence, relationships, social discourse, strengths, strong women, violence, Women

I went to a theater to see the movie, Blood Pressure, the other day. The theater was full. I don’t usually read the film reviews prior to seeing a movie; I read them after; just for comparing my thoughts with other interpretations …

It is an intriguing and beautifully filmed movie.  It is about a woman, named Nicole (played by Michelle Giroux), who lives with her husband (Mike), who has no time for vacation, and her two children who boss her around. Nicole receives letters from an anonymous person who encourages her to enjoy her life and taking care of herself.  This new relationship has some positive impact on Nicole. She gains confidence and becomes more participant in her home/ work life. Other people in Nicole’s life notice and get surprised by the positive change in her life.

As a result of the positive changes in her life, her husband (played by Judah Katz) becomes more interested in repairing their marital relationship and her children become more interested in learning and respecting more about their mother. The movie continues and takes you to a very unexpected pathway…

The movie got me thinking about the way ’empowerment’ is defined and portrayed in the movie and in our society; it seems violence and aggression are signs of ’empowerment’. It felt as if women need to become violent and aggressive to be known as a strong person.

There is a social discourse that ‘women are not strong unless they practice violence and aggression’. This makes me wonder why violence and aggression has been glorified in our society?  Why do you think ‘being strong’ is equivalent with the practice of violence or aggression in relationship with others?  Why is it that other forms of strengths are overlooked, unrecognized and deliberately denied in our society?

When we look at the history of humankind, there were many strong women who didn’t need to learn any methods of violence and aggression to be called and known as ‘strong women’.  Why is it that practice of violence and guns are promoted so greatly? Who do you think defines ‘strength’ and ’empowerment’ for men and women?

What would happen if our definitions of ‘strengths and empowerment’ for women and men change? Would our next generations become peacemakers/ negotiators or soldiers/ fighters? What would we want to see our sons and daughters doing in years to come?

It seems that ‘culture of guns and violence’ is promoted globally. We need to revise our definitions of ‘strengths, empowerment and power’ and step out of individualistic definitions of these concepts.

Happy Possibilities!

Tahereh Barati, M.A, RMFT

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Inclusion as Solution!

01 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by Tahereh Barati, PhD in Articles, Reflection

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human rights, leadership, politics, society

We live in a world that is constantly dividing people into categories; categories that put people against each other.  The most prevailing category that has had detrimental effects on human relationships is ‘us vs. them’.   This category has become a defining characteristic of human interactions. People with similar beliefs/ideas/views stick together and take positions against those who have different beliefs/ideas/views.

The ‘us vs. them’ approach has led human -beings to war, abuse and violence in history of man- kind.  This approach has been practiced in many various levels; including international, national, social, personal and relational relationships for many ages. It feels as if this approach is part of the fabrication of our culture and nature. It is so embedded in our social cultural contexts that manifests itself in every interaction we make with one another.

The ‘us vs them’ approach has brought exclusion, separation, suffering and isolation to human relationships.  It has made us experience further misery, resentment and trauma generations after generations.

I am wondering about moments of connection between opposite parties/groups when we felt and had experiences of deeper understanding of one another. Do you recall those moments in your life?  I believe that experiences of connection and inclusion lead to further innovation, creativity and growth in human relationships.

Undoing the effects of the ‘us vs them’ approach on human beings requires awareness, reflection and collaboration. It needs our persistence and patience.   Reconstructing human relationships, in any scale, needs our collective efforts to create and seize possibilities/ opportunities to become more inclusive and practice ‘Inclusion’ in relationships.

Our political, cultural, social views/ beliefs/ideas are to remain in our lives and they will be part of our daily conversational discourses. Our differences will get wider and further escalated when we apply the ‘us vs them’ approach in every situation of conflict.

Being open to ‘others’ and understanding ‘different ideas/views/ beliefs may help us become more engaged with one another in a more inclusive fashion.  Making efforts in seeing matters from different angles/points of views may invite us to acknowledge contribution made and it would deepen our understanding of situations.  Staying away from ‘the us vs them approach’ will allow us to hear each other differently and discover more common grounds with others.

Inclusion brings everyone together, invites everyone from all walks of life to join the conversation. Inclusion is The only way!

Happy Possibilities!

Tahereh Barati, M.A, RMFT

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