What did Jesus Christ, Galileo Galilei, and Martin Luther King, Jr. have in common? They were all attacked for questioning authority. Lately, it seems a new group of people have been the target for questioning authority- people who endorse, consider, or even just talk about conspiracy theories.
Why is it when one comes up with a theory she is respected and praised and when one comes up with a conspiracy theory she is called a lunatic? Critics of conspiracy theories have been so successful that now celebrities risk their careers by even talking about them.
Most rational humans scratched their heads when they heard the U.S. military dumped Osama Bin Laden's body in the ocean after assassinating him, yet Osama Bin Laden death conspiracy theorists were attacked immediately and have been attacked relentlessly ever since.
How dare they question the official story? How dare the not trust their government? But really, what is a conspiracy theory? Merriam Webster says it's a "theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators." I know, right? It sounds so crazy! How on earth could that happen?
There are literally thousands of conspiracy theories floating around on the internet. Some are admittedly pretty wacky, others make much more sense than the "official" stories.
But here's the thing...very few people actually endorse conspiracy theories!
I would argue that 99 percent of people who question the official story of an event do not endorse conspiracy theories but merely consider, or think about them. After all, if they question one version of a story, why would they so easily accept another version of a story? People are naturally skeptical, and are not only skeptical of what the government says, but also what some Youtube poster in his mother's basement says.
The point is, people who question sources of authority should be valued in society, not marginalized. Just because someone doesn't believe everything authority says, probably because such authority has lied to them consistently in the past, doesn't mean they are a lunatic. They are just not gullible. The truth is powerful. Some people maybe don't value truth like I do, but I believe it's one of the most important things one could have access to. And let's face it, who actually believes everything that government, big business, and mass media says? Only fools.
Most importantly, it appears that now more than ever that "conspiracy theories" have such a negative connotation. This ignorance and bigotry is frightening to me. It has reached a point that people who only question a story are immediately labeled a conspiracy theorist, among other things. How can we call ourselves a free, civilized society when we freak out that someone has a different opinion or interpretation or is skeptical? And maybe, just maybe, if we at least consider conspiracy theories, we might actually be one step closer to the truth.
I'm a teacher, musician, and filmmaker from Lawrence, Kansas https://twitter.com/beatmastermatt
1 comment:
I enjoyed your essay, Mister Matt. I whole heartily agree. When I was a school teacher, I would constantly encourage students to "brainstorm", to "think outside the box", to come up with a multitude of scenarios and inventive ideas as they approached assignments. Such exercises of the brain muscles increased the grey matter as well as broadened horizons beyond the tangible world in which they lived. Doing so also taught students to think for themselves as it encouraged them to investigate all kinds of possibilities. Theories of conspiracies of government mishandling in light of past deceptions by politicians is not so unthinkable, and ought to be explored and considered in an effort to protect our country from further deceptions. Theories need to be approached though, as theories, and not as truth, per se, not until it has been proven. And that is what we have been given brains for. Great subject.
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