I’ve always been interested in conspiracy theories.
Whether it’s, “we never landed on the moon,” or “9/11 was an inside job,” or “the flat earth society,” you have to admit it’s at least interesting.
I’ve always liked when people went against what “we” consider normal.
And we shouldn’t dismiss someone as crazy because they think differently.
Sure, many of the theories, if not most, are crazy.
But that’s exactly my point. We like to immediately label them as crazy.
That immediately stops our own critical thinking.
So, let me share something I’ve shared with a lot of people. When I say this, I’m being only slightly facetious.
The Ultimate Conspiracy Theory
I’ve always had this idea of a conspiracy theory to end all conspiracy theories… the ultimate conspiracy theory. And I actually believe it. So here it is:
What if… hear me out… the government created conspiracy theories?
Do I think the government actually created conspiracy theories in some lab or at a roundtable in some secret room? No.
Do I believe the government and societal elite suppress unpopular opinions? Absolutely.
That’s what conspiracy theories are: unpopular opinions.
So we have to be careful.
The first definition of conspiracy theory is, “a theory that rejects the standard explanation for an event and instead credits a covert group or organization with carrying out a secret plot.”
No, I don’t believe the government completely and literally created conspiracy theories, but I do believe the government would love for something they want hidden to be labeled with the CT title.
The government provides the “standard explanation,” and intelligent people often reject their version of such. If you haven’t figured it out yet, the government is the “covert group or organization” here.
Let’s look at how this happens…
Black Lives Matter
Right now, with the death of George Floyd, we’re seeing this play out.
The unheard is becoming the heard, breaking free from the suppression the government has often imposed on the issue at hand: violence, specifically against blacks, specifically by police officers.
The actual BLM group scares me at times and I don’t necessarily stand behind the BLM title. But of course I believe black lives matter. All lives matter, sure, but the issue in the media right now is about black lives. It’s ok to support specific lives and acknowledge problems with police brutality.
Police should have strict rules of engagment like we have in the military.
They shouldn’t be allowed to kill someone based on “cause” alone.
I have the utmost respect for police officers. They put their lives on the time. I truly believe 99% of them are great people, serving our communities.
Honestly, the problem isn’t the police officers, it’s the laws that allow them to get away with murder. We’re always going to have bad people on the police force, in the military, in your career field… in every part of the world.
Bad people are why laws exist.
I’m just asking they be held accountable for their actions. Most of the police officers I know agree.
So, back to conspiracy theories…
Conspiracy Theories
My point behind what I said about conspiracy theories is this: the government and many other people want you to fall into the trap of labeling “different thinking” as a conspiracy theory.
This has led to a lot of problems.
Here’s an example:
Vaxxers versus Anti-Vaxxers
Three words: vaxxers, anti-axxers, versus. The first two words aren’t the problem.
The problem is, we’ve labeled the anti-vaxxer group as conspiracy theorists. And plenty of them are, but this has caused the divide (can you think of any other divides in our country? I can name a few).
This has led to “vaxxers” believing all vaccines are good and “anti-vaxxers,” the opposite. Neither of those things are true.
All I am asking is that you think for yourself here. If you literally just read the pamphlet the doctor hands you about whichever vaccine is in question, you’ll seen that some of them are much more dangerous than helpful. That being said, plenty of them are great and necessary.
We can’t make decisions like this so broad. We have to look at every single vaccine before we get it or give it to our kids.
That’s exactly how we have to look at every issue in current events.
Being divided into the two groups of vaxxers and anti-vaxxers is just as dangerous as the divide between conservatives and liberals.
Confirmation bias has its way with divides like this.
Often, the government feeds on this.
Think for Yourself, No Seriously
We should hold our political views based on what’s right and what we believe in general. We shouldn’t determine what’s right and what we believe through the lens of our politics.
Our politics must be determined by asking important questions first. We shouldn’t answer important questions based on our politics.
When I post any of this controversial stuff on social media, I can tell the political beliefs of commenters within one or two sentences. Apparently there are “How to Be Conservative” and How to Be Liberal” handbooks out there somewhere. I’ve never seen them, but people must be reading them.
All we have to do is think for ourselves. Take the politics out of it.
I can almost guarantee you don’t agree with me on everything, because my views are all over the place. Because I try my best to deep-dive into each issue and form my own beliefs, without bias. And that’s great if you don’t agree with me. It’s ok if we don’t agree on everything.
We’re all going to have our biases no matter how hard we try not to, but acknowledging that they exist is the beginning of intentional, open-minded thinking.
“It is never too late to give up your prejudices”
― Henry David Thoreau
“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”
― Albert Einstein
I understand some people can take open-mindedness too far and never truly form their own beliefs, but the fear of doing that has led to some of the most close-minded thinking I’ve ever seen.
We just need to stand together. Love each other. Care about each other. Stop getting so defensive. Stop letting your politics cloud how you view everything. I don’t know, maybe think for a few minutes before commenting on something and ask if you’re helping the issue or pushing rhetoric, doctrine, an agenda.
Just think for yourself.
So when it comes to what we consider conspiracy theories, don’t immediately dismiss these people. Even if they were to be crazy 90% of the time, that 10% could be some of the most important information in the world.
Nothing is ever what it seems, especially in the news, media, government, etc..
We just need to stop and think. Seriously, think.