It’s a tale as old as the cultural revolution — you remember, when Mao decided to destroy everyone in China who dared to think for themselves, and his reaction was to beat them until they thought right. You know. Like him.
But people continue to show that spark that was put in them by their Creator, and that spark shows up in the darnedest ways. Like through blue jeans.
Remember, back in the ‘60s, when the Soviets were announcing they’d bury us, their kids were sneaking around finding ways to get their hands on Beatles records and jeans.
The newest example came in the past few days as the Iranian cops attacked western influence in the dens of perdition of the capital city of Tehran — the toy stores.
As the Associated Press reported: ““Police have closed down dozens of toy shops for selling Barbie dolls, part of a decades-long crackdown on signs of Western culture in Iran, the semiofficial Mehr news agency reported Friday.
“Mehr quoted an unnamed police official as saying police confiscated Barbie dolls from toy shops in Tehran in a ‘new phase’ of its crackdown against ‘manifestations of Western culture.’
“Barbie dolls are sold wearing swimsuits and miniskirts in a society where women must wear head scarves in public, and men and women are not allowed to swim together.
“A ban on the sale of Barbie dolls, designed to look like young Western women, was imposed in the mid-1990s.
“In 1996, a government-backed children’s agency called Barbie a ‘Trojan horse’ sneaking in Western influences like makeup and revealing clothes.
“Authorities launched a campaign of confiscating Barbie dolls from toy shops in 2002, denouncing what they called the un-Islamic characteristics of the uniquely American doll.”
But, dog-gone-it, people keep thinking for themselves, no matter how hard the despots work to make them stop it.
“Despite bans on many Western books, movies, satellite TV channels, music, haircuts and fashions, young people maintain their interest in Western culture.
“Iranian markets have been full of Western toys aimed at Iranian children. One-third of Iran’s population of 75 million is under 15 years old.
“Even channels of Iran’s state TV broadcast several Western and Hollywood films every week.”
Today it’s Barbie, tomorrow it’s watching “Mr. Ed” on the secret shortwave TV under a blanket.
What the totalitarians have always learned, eventually, is that people keep thinking and that they react to such shut downs.
You may shut Barbie out today, but she’ll be back, her stripey leg warmers and Malibu play set as examples of freedom in a dark and closeted world.
— Chuck Smith