Friday, June 7, 2013

Conspiracy Theory 101


            No matter who you are, there is somebody somewhere conspiring to take away what’s yours and bring about your dismal undoing.  In fact, I’m a little bit concerned with what I don’t know about you.  But you would never….
            Anyway, we all know there are people plotting things we can only suspect because they are so cunning.  Like compromising the great rugged individualist spirit of the American West, limiting religious freedom, undermining our government, infiltrating our lives, spying on individuals, verifying the truth of our words, or helping women do things some think the government should prevent them from doing.  Plotting things like cheating us out of our tax deductions, covering up the real purposes and consequences of foreign policy, and trying to make us believe we live in a free market society.  Plotting to steal our guns and steal God from our lives.  One only has to remember Wounded Knee, Philadelphia Mississippi, and the Crusades for egregious examples.
            Conspiracy theories are popular because they require only greed, fear and hate—verified facts are annoying distractions.  Skillful charlatans prey on trusting victims who have forgotten the old rule: “Trust, but verify.”  The real conspiracy is the emotional manipulation that relieves you of your civility, your grasp on reality, your cash and your responsibility for informed citizenship.  Around here, we call it the piracy that you do to yourself.  If there IS a conspiracy out there, it can only succeed in the presence of greed, and/or fear and hate.

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