Born for freedom

A haven of beauty and art of living. This is the image I keep of Shiraz, the historical and cultural capital of ancient Persia, in the southwest of Iran. A few years ago, the young people ended the day there with a walk in the garden of the pavilion under which rests a famous poet, Hafiz (1325-1389), who in his time had trouble with certain influential religious people… Just like Saadi (v. 1184-1280), buried four kilometers further north, Hafiz enjoys real popular veneration.

In June, I already mentioned here the trip that took me to Iran with readers of Pilgrim. The outbreak of war against Tehran by Israel and the United States last weekend brings him back to my memory. Before the summer, the “twelve-day war” aimed to neutralize nuclear installations. The objective, this time, is more radical: to put an end to the mullahs’ regime.

Who will regret the annihilation of a dictatorship which, in the name of an instrumentalized faith, imposed its criminal law? Who would not wish the Iranian people the granting of freedoms for which their youth, in particular, have already paid such a heavy price? But eliminating a handful of dignitaries, however eminent they may be, does not put an end to a system that is entangled in social and political life. Forty-seven years of despotic exercise of power have left their mark on bodies and consciences. Young Saudis, women in particular, could tell their counterparts in Shiraz, Tehran or Yazd about the difficulty in emancipating themselves, even when the law allows it.

“Being free, nothing is more serious,” warned Victor Hugo, who was an ardent defender of freedoms. Seizing the essential on the fly, such is the grace of poets. Making them heard by everyone while touching everyone is the genius of great actors. Fabrice Luchini is one of them. This intimacy of literary texts, those of Victor Hugo this season, bears witness to this: letting yourself be penetrated by words elevates and broadens the horizon.

This month of March, the Spring of Poets invites us to celebrate freedom, this “living, deployed force”. This is a great opportunity to remember that “Nothing is ever acquired by man, Neither his strength / Nor his weakness nor his heart” (Louis Aragon) and to rejoice in belonging to a free world. A privilege and a responsibility that it is up to us to take seriously.