Behind The Veil

These are crazy times we are living in, and nothing illustrates that more than looking at events happening around the world.  There is a maniacal midget running South Korea, American forces are locked in a war that’s philosophically unwinnable, and pirates are terrorizing the high seas like its 1492.  One of the stories that has intrigued me the most over the past few weeks is the civil unrest in Iran, which is a result of the country’s tenth presidential election. 

Just a little background – Incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the June 12th election by securing 63% of the votes cast, his Independent/Reformist opponent Mir-Hossein Mousavi received 33%.  Many onlookers expressed concern over the results due to several irregularities, the most obvious of which was the final voting numbers.  According to The Guardian (a British newspaper), 30 polling sites reported a turnout of over 100% & 200 sites with over 95%.  This perceived (and probably correct) feeling of an unjust election culminated in an outbreak of protests and clashes on the streets of Iran.

Not surprisingly, many Americans don’t care because: 1)we are inheritantly ethnocentric, and 2)we think of Iran as a country full of terrorists. In what can only be described as great timing, The Daily Show‘s Jason Jones was in Iran before the election doing a piece called “Behind the Veil”.  This four part series was originally intended to provide a farcical take on Iranian culture through the eyes of a “dumb American” - but given the events that ensued, it accomplished much more than that.  What you see is a country in transition/turmoil, and Iranian people with whom we share more similarities than differences.

  Here is the final installment, titled ”The Kids are Allah Right” (links to the first three are listed below):

Part I: “Minarets of Menace“

Part II: “Persians of Interest“

Part III: “Ayatollah So“