Take a good look at the picture above. A really, really good look. That was taken in Iran during the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi during the years leading up to the Iranian Revolution. I am going to place a link for more images here. Despite the brutality of the Shah, he was responsible for attempting to westernize Iran and introduce secular modernity to the country. All this would change in 1977 when several leftist and Islamic groups led a series of strikes and demonstrations that would soon cripple the country, eventually leading to the ousting of the Shah and his family. You may know this as the Iranian Revolution.

Now let us fast forward to 2016. Iran is ultra-religious and ultra-conservative political wasteland run by a dictator, where elections are handpicked by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Not the best place to call home. And that is why this year's election frightens the ever living shit out of me. Allow me to explain; if I were to compare a typical Tea Party member and a jihadist, there would be a shit ton of similarities.

Jihadism stems from the repressed religious conservative groups that gained more rights when the Shah was overthrown. So religious freedom (as long as its theirs) is a big thing for Jihadists. Same goes for American conservatives, as many of them bitch and moan about "being a repressed religious group that have no rights." Jihadism also has political dislikes; anything considered liberal, socialist, or flat-out communist is a no-no. We all know how much conservatives LOVE liberals, socialists, and communists! Add this to the suppression of women's rights and and blatant anti-science from both Radical Islam and Conservatism and they are pretty much interchangeable.

But Juan, I hear you rebutting. Isn't Radical Islam more dangerous for us Americans? The answer is an understand yet firm "No." While Radical Islam is a serious threat, we have homegrown terrorists here in the United States that we must contend with.