Two Years Is the Best Timeframe for Collapse?
“Conspiracy” is a word used both too little and too often. Many things are called conspiracy that are not, and many plots among men should be considered conspiracy but are not. Of course, today a conspiracy theorist is someone who believes crazy things, for example “the Titanic was sunk by a German submarine instead of an iceberg.” Fine. Believe whatever you want. But truth is, many Americans now relate as historic fact events that at one time were conspiracy theories. Many can be found in history, but most notably things like the Gulf of Tonkin Incident; purported motives for invading Iraq (WMDs never existed in the first place, and the higher-ups knew it); MKUltra (CIA program attempting to find some basis for mind control); the creation of the SR-71, U-2, F-117, etc.; the founding of the Federal Reserve on Jekyll Island; and many others. Historically, many so-called conspiracies have panned out to be true. Interesting? Absolutely. What I am here to talk about? Nope.
A recent conspiracy theory video about the Sandy Hook massacre supposedly shows that the media narrative was a sham. Of course it was. Media stories are always a sham, a speculative attempt to root out a story that makes coherent sense to a set of facts that may have none. But that is not what the conspiracists mean by “sham.” They mean that there was some architect that designed the shooting such that the government could come in and take our guns. Now don’t doubt that I think the 2nd Amendment is inalienable and every person is entitled to own any weapon that has the ability to discern between targets (a different discussion for another day, but as examples, you are not entitled to have a nuke nor even perhaps a bomb, but you can have as high-powered a machine gun as you wish) and that I think any attempt to regulate that right is invalid. But Obama’s executive orders were not as extreme as most expected. That is not to say I think they are good (the way the mentally ill are treated in this country is atrocious, for example), but it wasn’t an order to turn in your guns or face death. Not as the conspiracy people were thinking, anyway…
Perhaps it is because I spend too much time on the internet, but it is clear to me that conspiracy theory is becoming more and more prevalent among people, including some I know. I even have people sending me conspiracy videos asking me if I think it is legitimate or accurate. I am not big on conspiracy. I simply don’t think our government is competent enough to pull something very big off. Hell, they can’t even reign in spending. But I can see why a growing number of people are turning to alternative explanations for big political events. When a people feels that they are not being told the truth, the powers that be are big enough to hide it, and that the government is too opaque to glean much truth from, conspiracy claims will increase. We all know not to trust the president’s words, or our representatives, or really anyone in government (Some still believe the media is a truth-telling entity. I think the media is a puppet of the state – there’s a conspiracy for you). When the power of government grows big enough, you can expect that people will come out of the woodwork to provide alternative explanations for events. The willingness of people to defy Ockham’s Razor to shout down the state is a sign all of us should heed. Our consciousness is fraying from the constant force of a government that believes it can claim your property, your liberty, your life.
To me conspiracy theorists give a bit of hope. I would much rather speak to a conspiracy theorist who thinks outside the box than someone who thinks it is perfectly normal and moral for the government to take 1/3rd of your paycheck just because it can and “‘we’ must pay for things somehow!” How typical. How banal. Conspiracy speaks volumes about the level of trust in our society, the search for meaning outside of hierarchies of power, and the silent hope that government and media overreach just once so we can take back all of the rights that have been taken from us. Crazy? Perhaps in this world. But look at what sane is…
A bit ramble-y, but you get the picture. Time to get to work…
