Readers React: Iran, take a music lesson from us

In an Islamic republic like Iran, where an ayatollah heads its judiciary, it’s no great surprise that young people might be arrested for joyously dancing to a pop music hit. (“Video of Iranians dancing to Pharrell’s ‘Happy’ leads to arrests,” May 21)

But we shouldn’t be so smug. Our own country’s history is replete with inane religiously motivated attempts to suppress musical expression.

With rock ‘n’ roll’s emergence in the early 1950s, fundamentalist American church leaders strove to counter the youthful appeal of what many denounced as “the devil’s music.” Over the next three decades, they did so rather dramatically at times, by burning or smashing vinyl records in public.

That was all for naught, fortunately. Perhaps Iran can learn from the historic follies of our own religious leaders.

Devra Mindell

Santa Monica