CONSPIRACY CULTURE: SO YOU THINK YOU ARE NOT RADICALIZED
CONSPIRACY CULTURE
SO YOU THINK YOU ARE NOT RADICALIZED
After the attacks of 911, the mainstream and the very public line regarding the threat to the nation’s well being has thus far been limited to dialogue about terrorism and radicalized Islam.
Now the dialogue has changed and the threat of innocent Americans being radicalized or already troubled Muslim Americans being radicalized is always part of the talking notes in the mainstream press.
For most of the first decade of the 21st century a large number of intelligence agency officials, representatives of the Department of Defense and other Homeland spy organizations have warned us time and time again that the average American right wing Christian conservative should now be under the microscope for any type of seditious or questionable behavior.
The focus is also on those who indulge in conspiracy theories.
If you can get past the common throw around “catch all” of the Illuminati being involved with everything and that space aliens brought down The World Trade Center it is no secret that the fringe subcultures, conspiracy historians, and free thinking bloggers have been responsible for changing world views.
The government now sees it as a threat and the propaganda that is flowing out of think tanks and universities is coming directly from professors who have no trouble telling their students that conspiracy theory leads to terrorism.
Quassim Cassam, a professor of philosophy at the University of Warwick in England, has launched a new study into what makes people believe in certain theories – and why such theories could push people to extremes such as joining Isis.
He believes that some people are more vulnerable to “intellectual vices” such as dogmatism, gullibility and close mindedness and this in turn make them more likely to listen to extreme “alternative” sources of information.
Cassam states that psychologists have developed a theory of a “conspiracy mentality” which explains why people are more likely to be taken in by certain types of rhetoric or information that go against what he calls “received wisdom.”
However what Cassam forgets is that in this era of political power grabs and destabilization ploys that there is a deeper and more insidious truth and that is politicians and most authority figures, including police officers today make it a point to lie about their lies.
It is naïve to believe that we are never lied to and to equate questioning the movements of government with the idea that it could lead to radicalization is a ploy to convince others that those who question the establishment are more than likely capable of becoming radicalized or a domestic terrorist.
The term “received wisdom” from any source especially from a government should be taken into a critical view. It is also equally important to be critical of conspiracy theory.
I have said many times that conspiracy theory is merely theory until there are many facts to back up those theories. When theories are proven to be correct we immediately understand them to be fact regardless of what the so called consensus dictates.
However to not question what your government is doing, or to not question authority means that we are to develop some form of myopic blind trust about political affairs and major events that affect all of us.
The worst naiveté is to believe that politicians would never lie. The denial is in believing that they are at our service and not at the bidding of big money lobbyists and financiers. Furthermore, trusting the government in all things gives an excuse to abuse and take advantage of the good nature of most Americans.
The question is, are there really people in the United States that believe that the CIA and the intelligence apparatus would never lie or lie about their lies? If there weren’t questions of conspiracy theories about the alphabet agencies we would then believe that their sole job is to protect the national security and do whatever is necessary to protect freedom here at home, instead of participating in destabilizing governments abroad.
If the government wants to see conspiracy theorists maligned and eventually shut down, they would be able to control how we view the Pentagon and the defense industry. They would be able to convince you without rebellion or questioning that they have been established to altruistically secure the blessings of liberty.
Forgive me if my sarcasm and cynicism doesn’t take over at this point and that I thank God that I have the ability to question and counter what lies my government wants me to believe.
The biggest lie of all is that the FBI and police forces are only interested in altruistically stopping evil, predatory criminals who use the legal system to their benefit. That they are always justified in shooting a suspected perpetrator or suspect in order to avoid any and all lengthy court appearances or to give rights to scum bags who take advantage of constitutional rights.
Once again you should thank a conspiracy theorist for exposing the media for what liars and deniers they truly are. If you are gullible and think that conspiracy theorists are just waiting to be radicalized then perhaps it is easier for you to believe that the media is there to give us the truth, that the media would never overlook important details, or exaggerate a news story for the benefit of government.
Perhaps it is best that the so called conspiracy theorist does not always believe that the media is giving us more information beyond the social issues that trigger left wing and right wing debates that are as important as what Kim Kardashian wore to the Grammys.
The majority of Americans take on faith these denials of deceit. People tend to get upset when you question their intellectual normalcy bias. However things are far from normal in the United States.
I have also noticed that among those who believe in conspiracy theories without fact checking tend to get upset when you reveal just how wrong their assumptions are.
I don’t know how many times I have been told that I am a Zionist shill and never bring up the Jewish banking conspiracy because I am so afraid of angering my evil Jewish handlers. Just yesterday I was told that I attacked Zionism and the Jews which make me un-American and anti-Semitic.
Well you can’t have it both ways—and I am neither, which brings us to the next uncomfortable truth and that is some of the biggest liars of all are ourselves.
How is one ever going to find the truth, when at every turn someone has an opinion or an assumption of an agenda at every report or investigation? Whatever happened to the idea that theories are presented for the sole purpose of investigating and discussing and not as some philosophy that we adhere to like religion?
Where is reasonable disagreement? When is insulting someone who tries to present ideas outside the box considered an opposing view? It is not opposition—its outright persecution.
The truth is those who participate in such activities are captives of the dialectic and are far from being awake. They resort to ad hominem attacks, that when equally questioned or even angrily refuted turn into a freedom of speech issue – rather than an accountability or responsibility issue.
You want the Government to continue their crusade against conspiracy theorists? Then all we have to do is continue to be disruptive and rude to those who do the hard work in presenting information that they feel will provoke thought.
To the government, those who demonstrate that they are belligerents are usually the first targets, and with predetermined crime and the thought police running amok, you won’t be as innocent behind a key board trolling in an Alex Jones forum.
Get a clue. It’s getting harder to even keep your credibility when you are chasing each other down to say that they are secret Illuminati supporters.
It is also tiring when we see that no one believes anything anymore – or trusts anyone anymore, which renders a lot of facts within a certain conspiracy theory irrelevant.
These days everyone claims to be speaking the truth, or they have convinced themselves that they are, which makes it all suspect.
That is why I would contend that it is best to say you are giving it your honest try. The truth is simply something you have within you and in not some external blog that contends that they will single handedly bring down the New World Order.
The most important thing to know, that is if you haven’t stopped reading by now is that it is vital that you learn about how the system truly works. You need to understand how power and power grabs are all a part of how government and leadership operate within a mob mentality. You know that today it is easy to manufacture a so called fact in order to keep you prisoner within the dialectic.
Figure out how you can help change these things, play an active role in speaking up and backing up with reasonable evidence what you believe.
If you believe something solely on faith, then have the courage to admit it. Sometimes even when I am the most sincere and try my best to approximate reality, I don’t succeed.
No one has a monopoly on “wisdom” – and people like me don’t always believe every conspiracy theory that is reported on the Internet. I am not always presenting things that I believe in – I present things I am interested in investigating.
It’s either that or I will succumb to “received wisdom” – and I am not always trusting of those who tell me that they are wise.
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