Alas! A conspiracy of conspiracies leading to a misinformation catastrophe
We are currently confronted with a conspiracy of conspiracies of sorts. It appears that American society has fractured into a number of sub-belief systems championed by certain members of the media, government, high-profile entrepreneurs, and podcasters. One of the disconcerting elements of some of these systems is a belief in certain conspiracies, some of which are bizarre in nature. Further, the followers of these high-profile characters, with an unwavering belief in whatever falls from their lips, reinforce this fracture. Unfortunately, this is very much the behavior found in cults, where the utterances of their leaders go unquestioned. To do so is regarded as heresy, and violators shall be forever cursed and possibly punished. One very useful property of an alleged conspiracy is to deflect criticism onto some other group or entity. For example, any criticism of the administration is att
ributed to a media conspiracy of fake news. Another is to bolster belief in a specific point of view held by an individual or group. For example, that interstellar aliens living amongst us would be revealed if it were not for a government conspiracy, and climate change is a conspiracy fostered by the left.
The assertion of a conspiracy theory somehow reinforces the underlying belief in these systems and their leaders and has become a useful political tool. It has been said that if something appears too good to be true, it probably isn’t. It can also be said that if something appears too crazy to be true, it probably isn’t. Unfortunately, the widespread distrust created by certain secret or misunderstood activities of the government, the blatant political bias expressed by the mainstream media outlets, and even outright lies are much to blame. This misinformation catastrophe has caught the mainstream moderates in a real conundrum and is regarded as a national security risk. Our behavior at the polls (the only mechanism we have to express our political choices) may be tainted by misinformation and further reinforced by an alleged conspiracy.
The bizarre outcome here is that mistrust in publicly available information somehow translates into a corresponding tendency to believe in conspiracies and further bolsters support for the systems that propagate them. Can real conspiracies exist? Of course, but how can we tell the difference if we can’t trust the media because the media is biased and further thrives on sensationalism and controversy? Besides, these theories provide never-ending fodder for TV programming and advertising revenue. We seem to be suckers for these things. Some current conspiracies include staging the Trump assassination attempt (in spite of the fact that several bystanders were injured or killed and that many of the secret service agents were disciplined or worse), the moon landing, 9/11, the Holocaust, government spies in the sky, the JFK assassination, the government cover-up of UFOs, etc. The Epstein thing has yet to play out, and the circumstances are at present suspicious; however, no matter what the outcome, some will call it a conspiracy.
This phenomenon has even risen to the level of the US Congress, where the GOP, exhibiting a certain lack of huevos, falls in line behind whatever conspiracy emerges from the administration, putting their cushy, benefit-laden jobs ahead of the national interest. The same could be said of the progressive left, also known as the Dark Side. Although somewhat less fixated on a specific leader, the most prominent characters of this movement are Bernie Sanders and AOC and her quartet of closet communists, where the hatred of Trump is their rallying cry. Now a new prominent messiah has arisen from what appears to be an act of mass insanity by New Yorkers who are embracing an anti-Semite communist for mayor. He will no doubt deliver them from the evils of the administration and give them lots of free stuff. Unfortunately, all will fall in line regarding anything he has to say.
