I’ve long contended that conspiracy theories are a substitute-religion for the disillusioned; it gives them the opportunity to believe in a Greater Power, even if it’s just a power for evil. I think this ties into that Orwell passage I quoted a few weeks ago.
Brendan O’Neill at Spiked has a great piece on the mainstreaming of paranoia:
The rise of the conspiracy theory points to an important shift in journalism and public debate. There has been a move from debating the substance of someone’s beliefs or behaviour to focusing myopically on the motivations behind them; from challenging individuals over their words or actions to trying to uncover some deep, dark ulterior motive. This has had a deadening effect on public debate. It replaces a critical engagement with political developments with a destructive neverending search for the secret agenda. And it means that no one is ever truly held to account for what they say or do. After all, if Blair is merely the puppet of dark neocons forces when it comes to Iraq, then how can we hold him up to public ridicule for what has happened there?
This is not investigative journalism; it is gossip.
Read more, if you dare.
One thing about conspiracy theories: sometimes, it seems, they turn out to be true. So, to put conspiracy theory up there with there’s a Guy up there Minding the store seems a bit off. to take an example. My neo-con, flag-waving, don’t-fuck-with country or my religion, I’m a Catholic–friend, Steve Mckay, went to Japan, came back and said you know why we dropped the a-bomb on two cities. I said, “To end the war and save lives?” He said, “No. I went to the museum in Hiroshima. The reason we annihilated H. and Nagasaki is because the Japanese were going to surrender to the Russians.” I said, I never heard anything like that. Japanese propaganda I said. He said, go do some research. So I did. Looks like he was right. Now 30 years ago, that would just be a crackpot conspiracy theory. it turns out now, so it seems, to be the case. Pretty awful.
the fact that the government will not open files pertaining to JFKs assassination till … what? 2020? Seems to indicate what they have to say may not be entirely pleasant.
It seems just as unlikely to say conspiracies are NEVER true as it is to say they are usually right.
VC