Conspiracy Theories

Covert government plots! Alien invasion plans! Crashed UFOs! Does the evidence presented dìsmantle conspiracy theories or reinforce them? Are we at the mercy of unknown powers in high up places? Do we place to much trust in officialdom and bureaucracy? Unfortunately, for us humans it seems that effective government requires 'secret' organisations for it to function. And 'secret' organisations conspire to remain secret. In fairness conspiracy theories should get a fair hearing and shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. Maybe advocates of conspiracy theories are on to something after all. And scrutinising everything more closely and establishing the truth is a healthy pastime. And some people have even suggested that in times of tragedy and emotional distress, conspiracy theories offer at least some form of purpose and meaning.

But is it healthy skepticism or just wild conspiracy tales? Are conspiracy theorist's claims unfounded or perhaps even based on paranoia? Usually common sense backed up by evidence wins the day for either side. But one needs to be open minded when judging the merits of these theories. Serious efforts must be made to establish whether there is any credibility in the presented evidence. We must distinguish between unfounded theory and verifiable facts.

One claim often made to dismantle or discredit conspiracy theories is that there would have to be too many people involved to carry out the conspiracy and sooner or later a whistleblower with genuine creditials would reveal all. However would an individual inevitably realise that they were involved in a conspiracy? People carry out their daily jobs all the time with very limited view of the bigger picture or purpose of the task. To many, a job is mundane, nine-to-five, don't ask questions. And of course in some government agencies and major corporations questions would be discouraged and not answered in the interests of security. This could go high up in the hierarchical authority. To such heights that very few people have a view of the overall picture. A web of deceit is easily maintained in a world where accountability is strangled by bureaurcy.

Perhaps conspiracies are easily implemented and maintained since the overall picture is unavailable to the body of common people. The expressions of doubt, the queries and questions are easily obtainable by conspirators and the ability to deflect these and leak confusing mis-information is easily controlled. There would be many unaware participants in a conspiracy. It's easy to see how an individual could operate in a particular manner, carrying out daily duties and thereby fulfil the needs of others (the conspirators) and still not realise one was involved in a conspiracy.

Often all we see is the tip of the iceberg. But we don't know how deep it goes or how dark it gets! But in the words of Moulder - 'the truth is out there'. Yes indeed, it's there somewhere, you just have to keep looking!