Koyaanisqatsi

I've been lurking (and posting) in these fora now for a while and noticed that the word "conspiracy" has been childishly marginallized in the minds of a few in the same Limbaugh-way that the word "left" has been.

Considering that the histories of all of the various branches of our gov have been proved conclusively to have engaged in multiple conspiracies of many sundry and variable kinds throughout our relatively short time as a nation, why does anyone still trust anything that comes with an official seal of approval?

Pigheaded ignorance? The inculcation of "innocent until proven guilty?" Denial? Case-by-case not adding up to a whole? What?

I'm seriously asking all sides to chime in.

Zar

First, we have to understand what a conspiracy is. I think it is basically any goal aimed for by a concerted group of two or more people for hidden reasons, which often (though not always) involves morally questionable or criminal acts. Certainly conspiracies are deceptive in nature. These methods are used presumably because the public at large would not "sign on" to the goal any other way. One such conspiracy is Operation Northwoods, a Pentagon plan during the Kennedy presidency to terrorize and kill Americans and blame it on Cuba so they could launch a war against it. (Sound familiar?) Fortunately, President Kennedy didn't sign off on it, but the fact that military high command promoted it should give us pause.

What do we make of this going forward? I don't think it is productive or healthy to think of literally everything as a conspiracy. This is where the pejorative form of the word comes in. There are indeed people who wear tinfoil hats and interpret every little thing as being part of a big plan. I agree with conspiracy critics who think that these trigger-happy conspiracy theorists discredit themselves. On the other hand, the critics discredit themselves by bringing up the "tinfoil hat" every time someone wonders if an ulterior motive is at play. These "overactive" conspiracy deniers are just as neurotic as the tinfoil hat wearers and are just as useless. The tinfoil hat wearers and those who hold their government in an inviolate worshipful regard are both equally delusional.

Every day you read in the newspapers about how this or that government official is cutting this or that deal in order to serve some deeper motive or obscure plan. Often they come in the form of promises kept to donors or political alliances, or they are strategic compromises. Analyzing political speech to "read between the lines" as it were is no fringe activity. It is the lifeblood of the average political commentator and editorialist. No one calls them "tinfoil hat" wearers, but savvy journalists. In Chicago, where I live, it is common knowledge that city officials sometimes take liberties with their positions, or are influenced by nefarious under the table causes. Sometimes they are exposed and run out of town. This is a form of entertainment for some Chicagoans. Take the highly connected Mike �Mickey� Segal, head of Near North National Group who has been indicted for accounting fraud and who everyone knows has many palms greased in the city. Or, take the Governor, George Ryan, with whom his checkered past of abusing of his office has caught up. No one cries �tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist� when someone brings one of these guys down.

What is interesting is when we get to national government; people seem less equipped to handle the idea that our leaders are doing us wrong. The same people who grumble about local government corruption (something they have a better chance of understanding) have a hard time admitting to themselves certain corruption in federal government. Perhaps the issues are too broad and esoteric to grasp. After all, international politics isn�t usually an American forte. Also, national government is so vast and complex, people can�t really fathom what it does, and its activities are hard to track personally. People don�t have a lot of time to find out what�s happening in Oregon when they live it Vermont; let alone what is happening in Afghanistan. The issues at the national and world scale are by no means easy to understand, even for people who dedicate themselves to the task. Much can happen that goes right over our heads.

Besides these issues I think there is a peculiar fear that the federal government instills in people that makes it harder to accept that there may be corruption or conspiracy. Something prevents them from accepting the real possibility for being misled or seriously hurt. Is the �nation� such a powerful symbol that it causes unshakeable faith in its elected leaders? Does a man who was once just an ordinary mayor or governor take on a �divine� status once he ascends to the national throne? Is it that the horrors national government is capable of are so vast that they outstrip the imagination? Does the sheer size of a crime make it ridiculous? In other words, is this the principle of the �Big Lie� at work?

I�m not entirely sure. Perhaps the �scale� question is a big part of it. People just don�t think that things on a large scale like this can happen. But then, isn�t it true that national government is, by definition, not petty and small, but large? Look at corrupt governments around the world. Look at the carnage that is possible for humankind to engage in. Few have difficulty believing there are nefarious ends in mind when those national governments make moves. Why the doublethink for ourselves? Our own estimates of the wrong we would personally be capable of is no measuring stick. There are people who dedicate their lives to the art and science of manipulation of people and opinion. There are people in positions of great power who generally like to stay there, so they use the methods they deem necessary -- and hire the experts -- to work against the teeming millions to meet their ends. Be it the CIA, a PR corporation...whatever, the postion, power, motivation and expertise is there. These are no small potatoes. The best and brightest work at the national level � the pinnacle. They fancy themselves as being quite extraordinary and assume their right to rule over the dumbfounded hordes. Shouldn't we think these people are smart enough to fool most of the people most of the time, which is all that is required?

TMA68

I address this question in my latest article:

http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/tma68/iraq.htm

Todd

Bebbo

Good article. It never ceases to amaze me that soon as war breaks out patriotism becomes merely tantamount to agreeing with the government of the day's policies.

Maybe patriotism is the first -- rather than last -- refuge of a scoundrel.

--
Dene

Jinto

:notworthy :notworthy :notworthy

Blixy Sticks

Koyaanisqatsi,

My experience has been that the majority of folks cannot mentally or emotionally handle the implications of conspiracy. Merely entertaining the notion creates imbalance in their "ordinary" lives.

Disconfirming information makes the cattle uncomfortable and the cattle have been programmed to consider the source of such disconfirming information, illegitimate in the least, and pure lunacy in the extreme.

I cannot fathom what my life would be like if I blindly believed those in positions of authority truly had my best interests at heart and were always on the up and up. Most likely, I would be a successful corporate sycophant with a bloated salary and undeserved bonus adhering rigorously to the conservative right ideology and never once considering the value of personal reflection.

Obviously, I am the antithesis of the aforementioned "tin soldier" and as such have paid a dear price.

York

wow thanks for that link. when i have time i will definitly read all of the info you provide. it will be great knowledge to have in debates. thank you very much :-)

elwoodblues

Mostly on the basis of there being a thousand conspiracy theories that don't pan out for every one that does. Bring me compelling evidence, and I'll probably buy it, even if it pains me. But a few tenuously connected incidents plus a truckload of conjecture does not compelling evidence make.

The defense against this is generally "Well, it's a conspiracy; of course they're covering their tracks!". As if the lack of evidence was in itself a kind of evidence. With that kind of logic, you can believe just about anything you set your mind to. It's like saying God, 6,000 years ago, made the world look like it was billions of years old. It's way too neat for me to be comfortable with it.

Proxima Centauri

If you don't trust your government, whichever one that is, you're considered, unpatriotic!
And its especially bad at times of war.

Zar

B. Shack,

You have made a statement as if it were a fact, though it looks more like a valuation to me. But at any rate, are you advocating that point of view or criticizing it? Your wording is somewhat ambiguous and I want to be sure.