Last week as I prepared for the MLK Conversation, I wrote up a couple of Frequently Asked Questions, one asked about Conspiracy Theorists.
Are you a Conspiracy Theorist?
I think we all are. We just don’t recognize that many of the things we believe are conspiracies. Many were unproven allegations before we believed them. For example:
- Russian hacking the 2016 election and news propaganda leading up to that election.
- Hollywood and Congressional sex abuse coverups.
- Tobacco and Energy companies hiding the effects of tabacco and fossil fuels for decades.
For a wide election coverup see the documentary Atticus v. The Architect about Don Siegleman’s election loss in Alabama. The conspiracy by now is widely known, yet the good have been punished, and the perpetrators have been promoted.
I guarantee you everyone in this room believes in some conspiracies, some of which are widely accepted, yet not proven. We call them Conspiracy Theories only when we aren’t convinced or suspicious.
Reading the Hartford Courant and the New York Times its amazing how many articles involve actual or alleged conspiracies. I counted at least a score in those two publications, just today. Take this as an exercise. Pick up your newspaper, online news site, or look at Facebook for a while and see how many you see that you believe are actual conspiracies, are possible, or are doubtful. Here are some ideas to ponder:
- What articles allege Russians hacked the election?
- A conspiracy to execute illegal contracts with the CT Education Department?
- Some unknown legislators or staff add items to bills?
- What evidence is presented?
- Do you believe it or disbelieve it based on your political or other predispositions?
- Is it overblown in the article or did you have to read behind the lines to see it was a conspiracy?
My bet is that you are a Conspiracy Theorist. Yet get upset when someone calls you one. That is because its pejorative, no longer connected to the actual meanings of Conspiracy and Theory.
