I’m really sorry to hear about your uncle — having someone you trust on the ground always makes the picture clearer. You’re absolutely right: at the end of the day, people everywhere just want to “people” — to raise families, share meals, create, love, and live in peace.
What makes it tragic is that psychopaths, as you put it, are the ones steering states and defining borders. In Iran it’s the same: ordinary Iranians aren’t thinking about geopolitics, they’re thinking about how to put food on the table, how to keep their kids safe, how to find joy in spite of fear.
That’s why I always try to remind others — the real story of any nation isn’t the rulers, it’s the people. And across all these divides, we have far more in common than those in power would ever want us to realize.
