Were the September 11 attacks on America a false flag event orchestrated by the Bush White House? Did they fake the moon landings? Did Bush Senior conspire to kill JFK, or was it LBJ in cahoots with the gangsters? What’s the real story on Area 51? Are the Freemasons behind the plot to create a one-world government or is it the Bilderbergers, the Jews, or the creepy guys who meet at the Bohemian Grove? Did the Duke of Edinburgh bump off Lady Di, and are the British royals secret reptilian shapeshifters?
Why are Americans so obsessed with conspiracy theories? I lived in England for twenty-five years, and the British are not nearly as serious about conspiracy theories as we are.
I have a theory which explains our national pastime of paranoia. I think it has to do with our heritage. Think about it. Who came here in the first place? Our ancestors were most often refugees from some kind of persecution. Some came seeking the religious freedom they were denied by the “powers that be” in the old country. Others fled the political persecution, poverty, or pogroms imposed on them by the unelected and ineluctable powers that be.
The “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” came to escape the oppression at home, but the persecution by invincible powers was lodged deep in their corporate memory. That memory bred within them and their descendants a suspicion of the government, the elite, the aristocracy, the enlightened ones, the intellectuals, the Illuminati, and glitterati of society. The privileged ones belonged to an inner circle, a cabal of contacts—the invincible doyens of dark rooms and dirty deals.
Deep within America’s psyche, therefore, is the belief that someone, somewhere is the shady puppet master who is pulling all the strings. We’re convinced that it is all a fix, that the show is run by clandestine societies with secret handshakes, and that it is all controlled by a select society whose ultimate aim is a one-world government. All is controlled by the inner ring, and this ring, like Tolkien’s, is the “one ring to rule them all and in the darkness bind them.”
The power of conspiracy theories to seduce is fueled when everything in our relativistic society seems no more than a tissue of lies. The media seems like a conjurer’s game of smoke and mirrors keyed by the old trick of distraction and illusions. When the government is composed of decomposing liars, slick politicians, lobbyists, and corrupt financiers, it becomes impossible to discover the truth about anything, and so in the climate and context of scandals breeding ever-more complex layers of scandal, the conspiracy theories proliferate and the paranoia prospers.
It is easy to tut-tut and dismiss the conspiracy theories as so much paranoid idiocy. We assert that there is no international cabal intent on imposing a demonic one-world government. Such theories are silly and insubstantial. Of course, there are diplomatic meetings between government and economic leaders. Such meetings are necessary to oil the wheels of international trade and diplomacy. Yes, there is the United Nations, and some people favor increasing globalization, but it’s out in the open and no big deal. Right?
This is where it becomes interesting because for a conspiracy theory to work there has to be just enough factual truth to give it credence. The conspiracy theorist gathers enough truth and connects the dots to construct the rest, and if there is no further evidence, the sign of the true conspiracy theorist is that he will conclude that the lack of evidence for his theory is simply a sign of how effective the cover-up has been. “Of course you never see the Queen of England turn into a reptile. If she did that her cover would be blown!” You get the idea.
Behind the attraction to the conspiracy theory is our need for order, meaning, and structure. A conspiracy theory is a sick imitation therefore of a reliance on God’s providence. God’s providence is the secret plan, the hidden meaning, and the underlying order of all things. Conspiracy theories are our attempt to impose a different order and structure to give meaning to the world’s events.
To bring some common sense into the conversation, perhaps we should step back and admit that there are inside deals. There are a few wealthy families who have more power than we would like to imagine. There are financiers who wish to gain more wealth and power and who will do most anything to do so. There are politicians who intrigue to bring about a new world order. There are media moguls who supply the propaganda.
But this should not surprise us. It is not a conspiracy. It is simply how the world works.
From the Tower of Babel down through human history it has always been so. The rich and powerful have always schemed behind the scenes. They have always made alliances and broken them, built secret armies, waged war both secret and open. They have always built vast wealth, met in secret, and schemed to control the world. Through the ages, their secret societies have taken different forms and moved across the globe and across human history like a pack of ravenous and cunning wolves.
We do not need conspiracy theories to know this. Why are you surprised that politicians are seduced? Are elections rigged? Of course. Thrones are forever being overthrown. Are there wars, assassinations, arms deals, bank bailouts, bribes, and back-handers? It has always been so. This is how the world turns. Satan has always had his minions in the corridors of power, and he has always and everywhere been working behind the scenes to dominate this world and reward his servants with power, prestige, and prosperity. Indeed, the “rough beast” of the anti-Christ has always been “slouching toward Bethlehem to be born.”
Our response is not to be forever sniffing around with ludicrous conspiracy theories because it is not really a secret that this is how history unfolds. Instead, we should be realistic and realize that while this world turns on a dime, ours turns toward the Lord of Time.
In other words, we are citizens of another city whose maker and builder is God. This world is not our home. We’re just passing through. We’re nomads here as we make our pilgrimage to a different homeland. We realize that we are aliens and that this land is ruled by the enemy.
Our eyes are on our homeland, and as we journey we could do worse than ponder with J.R.R. Tolkien’s Pippin the end of all things.
Pippin: “I didn’t think it would end this way.”
And Gandalf replied, “End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it.”
Pippin: “What? See what?”
Gandalf: “White shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.”
“Well, that isn’t so bad.”
“No. No, it isn’t.”
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False flag terrorism is an indisputable reality, and the official explanation of 9/11 is questionable.
The government/media ‘s official narrative and explanation of 911 is itself a “conspiracy theory”, not a proven fact. One wonders why the mere questioning of an unproven theory, and a weak one at that, as thousands of qualified architects and engineers have publicly stated and argued, is forbidden in public discourse. Catholics should promote free inquiry on all debatable topics in the interest of Truth. Of course, some theories are ridiculous and should be discredited, but the theory that the official explanation of 911 is inadequate is not necessarily one of them, which becomes apparent when one looks at such unexplained anomalies as the collapse of WTC Building 7.
The question I have for all conspiracy theorists is, “Very interesting. Now what are you going to do about that?”
You might look up “Richard Gage, and Building Seven”, and tell me who the conspirators, theorists or otherwise, are.
Very good Marcia.
Telling the truth is the first step. The second step is having the dignity of a Catholic not to allow oneself to be lied to. The true definition of a good conspiracy theorist is one who doubts the claims of known liars and who thus doesn’t unquestionably believe ludicrous conspiracy theories just because they have the mindless backing of the mainstream media and the government. Jacques Ellul’s book Propaganda is essential on this issue.
Agreed. But what are you going to do about it?
Same question to you, Father. I, for one, will do my best not to contribute to the spiritual poison of government and media propaganda and disinformation by either accepting it without first questioning it, endorsing it, or criticizing those who who risk their reputation, livelihood, and even their lives in some cases by speaking out against the Orwellian lies.
I would like to note how amusing it is that Mr. Trump is constantly chided for being a conspiracy theorist when only one candidate has ever actually used the term “conspiracy” (and a “vast” conspiracy at that) on national television when explaining an uncomfortable event. That candidate was not Mr. Trump. Yet we are constantly told Mrs. Clinton is the sensible candidate unlike all those conspiracy nuts?
What are we going to do about 9/11? We ought to pursue truth and justice. If a critical mass of people had the moral courage to examine the evidence and demand a re-investigation and accountability, the doubts or conspiracy theories, as you call them, could be laid to rest. Your answer for us is simply to be “realistic”, wink at evil because the world has ever been thus and throw it all back on the Lord to fix without lifting a finger or even our voices. The devil is banking on this response.
Excellent, Priscilla. Thank you for your courage.
Thank you for permitting comments that question and criticize wild conspiracy theories, even those the government and media promote.