I watched as Iranians took to the streets to protest their government’s lies about shooting down the Ukranian airliner and killing everyone onboard. The outrage was a visible sign that the fabrications concocted by the government were an affront to the citizens and confirmation that anything the government said was suspect.
As I watched the demonstrations, I couldn’t help wondering where was the outrage in a country in which a democratically elected government persistently lies to its citizens in matters both great and small. According to the Washington Post, Donald Trump has lied to the public over 15,000 times since taking office three years ago, most recently claiming that Qasem Soleimani had planned to bomb four U.S. embassies.
No one should mourn Soleimani’s death except for the potential geopolitical consequences, but Trump’s justification for the assassination was debunked by his own acting secretary of defense. Mark Esper admitted that he had seen no evidence to support Trump’s claim. And yet the American electorate has become so inured to the president’s fabrications that, as a recent Ohio rally showed, his most recent lies produced not so much as a yawn among his supporters.
Whatever his shortcomings as a moral paragon, Trump has demonstrated a master’s ability to manipulate people and events to his advantage. As the country waits for his impeachment trial to begin, I can’t help wondering what the Iranian people must be thinking. Perhaps they have something to teach us about the appropriate response to institutionalized dishonesty.
CHARLES HUCKELBURY
Henniker