World has faced three decades of deception since 1979.
Many scholars define “deception” as the act of misleading or the art of misrepresentation. People, as consumers, love to be promised great things by buying products that they may not necessarily need. While in advertising it is considered acceptable to deceive, most people do not feel the same when others deceive them. In fact, they are often hurt by being led to believe something that is not true. It seems that the main difference in advertising deceit and day to day deceit is that it stings more when you have actually met the person. This makes it more personal and, therefore, more painful.
That type of deception is a typical form of moral deception, which can be also called as public deception. There are other examples of moral or public deception that we hear or see in our normal daily lives. The deceits attributed to some organizations or various figures in the fields of business (Enron and Bernie Madoff in the USA, and Earl Jones in Canada), sport (Tiger Woods), entertainment (David Litterman), and the hoax of Mr and Mrs Heens (the parents of the Balloon Boy) are among those examples which are rather difficult to forget.
Those were possibly the most memorable public deceptions of the last decade. Iraq War and the story of Weapons of Mass Destruction which became an excuse to occupy Iraq on 20 March 2003 were the most important political deceptions of the same decade. And amazingly George W. Bush became as invisible as it is possible to be for a man who was president of the United States almost a year ago!
The climax of political deception actually traces back to 1979 when the so-called Islamic Republic took power in Iran. In June 2009 a disputed presidential election provided another political deception in Iran where people are still fighting back and the fight goes on and on. Today, a significant percentage of Iranians agree that over the last three decades, the country’s leaders have consistently lied to the people of Iran and the world.
Well, the next decade or any other decade to come be better for the whole world? Who knows? So just be careful and watch out. And for now, have a happy and a very joyful New Year!
Manouchehr Saadat Noury, PhD
Read more about Historical Moments on the MISSING MOMENTS
