-Caveat Lector-
http://eeng.net/CS/blogs/smileycoyote/archive/2007/09/10/658.aspx
President Woodrow Wilson wrote in 1913: "Some of the biggest men in
the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are
afraid of somebody, are afraid of something. They know there is a
power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked,
so complete, so pervasive that they had better not speak above their
breath when they speak in condemnation of it."
A thinker's guide to conspiracy theories
by Sam Smith
- A conspiracy does not have to be illegal; it can merely be wrongful
or harmful.
- The term 'conspiracy theory' was invented by elite media and
politicians to denigrate questions or critical presumptions about
events about which important facts remain unrevealed.
- The intelligent response to such events is to remain agnostic,
skeptical, and curious. Theories may be suggested - just as they are
every day about less complex and more open matters on news broadcasts
and op ed pages - but such theories should not stray too far from
available evidence. Conversely, as long as serious anomalies remain,
dismissing questions and doubts as a "conspiracy theory" is a highly
unintelligent response. It is also ironic as those ridiculing the
questions and doubts typically consider themselves intellectually
superior to the doubters. But they aren't because they stopped
thinking the moment someone in power told them a superficially
plausible answer. Further, to ridicule those still with doubts about
such matters is intellectually dishonest.
- There is the further irony that many who ridicule doubts about the
official version of events were typically trained at elite colleges
where, in political science and history, theories often take precedent
over facts and in which substantive decisions affecting politics and
history are presumed to be the work of a small number of wise men
(sic). They are trained, in effect, to trust in (1) theories and (2)
benign confederacies. Most major media political coverage is based on
the great man theory of history. This pattern can be found in
everything from Skull & Bones to the Washington Post editorial board
to the Council on Foreign Relations. You might even call them
conspiracy theorists.
- Other fields - such as social history or anthropology - posit that
change for better or evil can come as cultural change or choices and
not just as the decisions of "great men." This is why one of the
biggest stories in modern American history was never well covered: the
declining birth rate. No great men decided it should happen.
- Homicide detectives and investigative reporters, among others, are
inductive thinkers who start with evidence rather than with theories
and aren't happy when the evidence is weak, conflicting or lacking.
They keep working the case until a solid answer appears. This is alien
to the well-educated newspaper editor who has been trained to trust
official answers and conventional theories.
- The unresolved major event is largely a modern phenomenon that
coincides with the collapse of America's constitutional government and
the decline of its culture. Beginning with the Kennedy assassination,
the number of inadequately explained major events has been mounting
steadily and with them a steady decline in the trust between he people
and their government. The refusal of American elites to take these
doubts seriously has been a major disservice to the republic.
- You don't need a conspiracy to lie, do something illegal or to be stupid.
SOURCE: Progressive Review
*
Juxtaposeur
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