Conspiracy
Theories
The Endless Maze of Nonsense
By Daniel Muniz
Are there such things as conspiracies?
I would have to say an emphatic yes.
When I was a kid, my parent’s told me that there was a Santa
Claus. And guess what? The whole neighborhood was in on it. Even my
local elementary school played a part in it. Everybody had me fooled
for years before I realized that I had been conned.
So are conspiracies effective?
Again, I would have to agree. Every Christmas there are millions
of kids who are suckered into thinking that there really is a Santa
Claus.
And guess what?
I am going to pull the same thing on my own son. Or at least
until he realizes that he too has been conned.
So, if millions of people can participate in a
scam like Santa Claus, then is it possible that insidious
conspiracies exists on a political scale?
Regardless if you are a Democrat or a
Republican, when working in a campaign in any capacity, it doesn’t
take long until you meet up with someone who is a conspiracy
theorist or at least subscribes to the many numerous theories that
are in vogue. And in such an environment, you might meet up with a
huge group of them.
If these individuals are willing to work
diligently for winning an election, then many campaigns don’t mind
them, especially if their conspiracy theories trash the opponent or
the other party. It is when these theorists start squandering time
and resources that campaigns have to start worrying about what to do
with these kinds of individuals.
When Hillary Clinton publicly evoked the “vast right-wing
conspiracy” phantom to deflect the barrage of criticism from her
husband, conservatives smiled with glee.
Hillary raised the specter of demagoguery, which insinuated that
all conservatives’ leaders hatch their nefarious schemes in the dead
of night, somewhere deep in a basement vault. Of course, that was
patent nonsense especially when Bill Clinton himself admitted on
public television that he lied and actually did do what his critics
accused him of doing. And such an irresponsible accusation by
Hillary created a cottage industry for conservatives well into the
next century.
However, Hillary Clinton merely confirmed the
proclivities of the leadership of the extreme left. Left-wing
leaders do believe that there really is a “vast right-wing
conspiracy” that has managed to wrestle control of the White House
as well as both houses of Congress. They have detailed in their web
sites, pamphlets, lecture circuits, and books about how organized
and sinister Republicans are.
Likewise, some right wingers have their own
salacious conspiracy theories of how the left wing operates,
although many of them tend to be broken down into a religious and
secular category. For instance, some extreme evangelical Christian
activists have no doubt that Hillary Clinton goes into a cave every
night to sit on a huge pentagram while sipping a cup of blood.
But regardless of party affiliation and
ideological preferences, conspiracy theories have no place in
politics. Such conspiracies are blatantly false despite how much fun
you can have ridiculing an individual or their party. These theories
are a waste of time and resources even though some do generate a
good laugh from time to time.
The lunacy of many of these theories is simply
based on this premise:
That the “other” side has a super secret,
vastly organized, and well-funded internal infrastructure that
cleverly orchestrates each of its subversive organization like chess
pieces in our world. This “dark” side only desires to subvert and
dominate the world.
And it doesn’t matter if you are referring to
Republicans or Democrats because the “dark” side always happens to
be the people that you disagree with.
The reason this premise is ludicrous is
because the “right” and the left” are decentralized. Organizations
of either sphere of influence are independent of each other although
they do collaborate from time to time because of elections or
special events. In essence, this about turf and nobody really wants
to relinquish their role as the king of the hill.
For instance, Jesse Jackson is not about to
allow Michael Moore run any of his organizations. Each guy may be
sympathetic to each other but that does not mean that one is going
to run roughshod over the other. And the same goes for conservatives
too.
In fact, one of the reasons why liberal and
conservative ideologies are so effective is because they are
decentralized despite what the conspiracy buffs dream about. Take
away this independence and autonomy and this effectiveness
disappears. It is the free market of ideas and organization that
gives each ideology its strength and vitality. And in many ways,
that is what strikes fear into the people who abhor them.
But what can you do about these conspiracy
theorists?
Probably nothing. Our freedom is what gives
them their own vitality. And maybe that is not a bad thing as long as
they are not doing anything destructive or something to embarrass
you with.
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