What did we learn about “conspiracy theories”?

2004-04-23

Richard Moore

For me, the big lesson had to do with the red pill. If you're ready to believe 
that our leaders planned and carried out the events of 9/11, then you are 
entering into a very scary, uncertain, insecure world - "They could do anything!
Our democracy means nothing. We can't believe the news. How deep does the rabbit
hole go?". People like to believe there is some security in their lives. That's 
very important to me, for example, and that's why I live in a small, friendly, 
town. I'm willing to settle for localized security. Others have adopted certain 
beliefs, or perhaps got them in childhood, and those beliefs provide an illusion
of a more permanent kind of security. The beliefs may not be conscious, or they 
may be denied. Nonetheless, anything that threatens those beliefs tends to be 
rejected. The rejection may be accompanied by defensiveness, as the mind 
protects itself - knowing deep down that its grounds for belief are shaky. 

I can now understand why so many liberals have an allergic reaction to any ideas
which smack of "conspiracy theory".  Such thinking bursts their bubble about 
living in a world of progress, a world where humanity has incrementally raised 
itself up from the beasts, moving ever onwards toward an enlightened 
civilization. In such a world, leaders may blunder, or they may use a few of the
devils tricks, but they always believe they're doing the right thing. 

Something like that... something about believing deep down in the reality of 
democracy. Liberals are people who believe in the system - other people simply 
need to learn to use it properly, and they need to be better informed, and they 
need to start thinking more clearly, and give up their prejudices. The problem 
is with "those people" who aren't liberals. The system itself works and the 
system doesn't include things like JFK & 9/11 plots.

I may have it wrong, but the main point is that lots of beliefs get threatened 
by the notion of top level covert ops carried out against Americans. All sorts 
of beliefs. Humanity did not evolve in a continual state of anxiety, and most 
people don't tolerate it very well. We have certain teddy-bear beliefs and we 
hang on to them with a firm grip. In many cases, as I've seen on the list and in
private responses, those beliefs preclude giving credence to high-level 
conspiracies.

For those of us who are willing to look at the evidence, and discuss the most 
likely scenarios objectively, there is much to be learned about the intentions 
and modus operandi of the elite regime from their covert behavior. But those 
discussions are unlikely to serve as a red pill for the others. 

For some, an historical perspective may succeed in de-programming certain 
illusions. I've gotten dozens of responses to that effect from readers of 
"Escaping the Matrix". That was my hope, to use the Matrix metaphor to inspire a
red-pill experience in those who have accepted mainstream history. For some it 
seems to have succeeded.

But I think most people reconsider their beliefs primarily in peer settings. 
When someone in our crowd  that we trust starts thinking a certain way, then 
such thinking becomes "in bounds" for our consideration, even if we don't think 
that way ourselves. It's not about logic, it's about sociology.  What does this 
say about spreading the red pill? Perhaps it suggests that awakening has more to
do with who you talk to than what you read. After meeting and learning from 
someone, you might then be ready to read recommended material, and you would 
receive it differently than before. Perhaps building the right networks and 
communities - enabled by effective dialog - can be more useful than promulgating
ideas and understandings.

---

I've signed up for a spam service (https://www.0spam.com) and it seems to be 
working OK so far. It was necessary to move the list moderation to a new 
account, as such spam filters conflict with ezmlm. I've put all subscribers in 
the White List so you shouldn't notice a change. Also: postings from 
non-subscribers are now rejected, whereas before they came through to the 
moderator.

Tomorrow's posting is entitled, "The Corporate Roots of American Fascism". In 
some sense it's a bigger conspiracy theory than any we've entertained so far. 
But in another sense it may be more accessible, being set largely in the past, 
and based on public documents. Perhaps for some a red pill. 

only the truth,
rkm