Yes, There Are Conspiracies-- I Is One

 Yes, there are Conspiracies...I is one.

Part 1

After giving due consideration to the question of "are there Conspiracies, and how do you know if they are real, as opposed to thinking you are paranoid", I thought I would weigh in on the matter. I will divulge my knowledge about Conspiracies right here, so those Intelligence Agencies, Hit men, ETs, and Secret Societies that have been spying on me don't have to go through the trouble. That goes for you too, Zuckerberg, you Android you. Let's get this all out in the open, where the real hidden truth comes "full circle". (Or at least 33 degrees, if you know what I mean)

Let's define our terms first. The word Conspiracy derives from the Latin word, "respirare" which means simply "to breathe". So a Conspiracy, literally translated means "to breathe together", necessarily implying that more than one person is involved, hence my joke in the headline of this...whatever this is. For Right Wingers, this also means right off the bat that you can totally exonerate former President Clinton from any charge of Conspiracy, since we all know he never inhaled.

I'm going to make a bold assertion, which is that there are real Conspiracies, of people who "breathe together" organized by very powerful people, who have malign intent, keep their activities covert, who believe they are appointed by God, genetic heritage, or status to do our thinking for us, because we, as normal people who are not part of "the elite, are considered unfit to govern ourselves.

Not every person who tracks these Conspiracies, or exposes them is crazy. Not all of them are paranoid, anti-semitic, racist, fact-free, or products of YouTube mavens using their channel to sell Mango based Erection cream, or Martian language translation software. The question we ask is, how do we know what is real, or not real? How do we know we are not trapped in an "AI" environment like in the Hunger Games, in which our sensory and cognitive perception might be a digitally enhanced "alternative reality" determined by fakers, whackos, or other purveyors of false information? How do we know if information itself is false?

First, I should say that I despise "fact checking". Why, you may ask. Mainly because everyone lies. Lies are a coping mechanism used by people to get through life, mainly to avoid the momentary pain or consequences of facing the truth. They only vary in degree, and to the extent it becomes a habit or way of life. We do it much of the time subconsciously, and not always with bad intentions. Sometimes we tell ourselves it is to spare others unnecessary pain. And as it goes, every single lie we tell to another, starts with the lie we first tell ourselves. Think of the drunk guy at the Bar who always insists he is ok to drive home.

The problem is that "fact checking" doesn't prevent lying. It only reinforces the generalized cynicism that you can't trust anyone. There is nothing inherent in the process of fact checking which strengthens in any way the capacity of individuals to pursue or fight for truth. So, fact checking in politics, or journalism, becomes a masturbation ritual for the anal retentive, and is about as useful as clicking "Like" on a Facebook post about growing phosphorescent Algae in your home Dishwasher. More often than not, we make the mistake of getting all of our facts right, getting double and triple confirmation of their validity, then draw entirely the wrong conclusions from them. That is the living Hell in which political pundits and pollsters dwell.

Now, "source checking" is a different story. Given the largely subjective nature of truth, (even in Science) it becomes necessary to evaluate and understand the source and methodology of that source, in order to decide whether their information is truthful or not, or in between. Often, one has to ask about that source one of the following two questions. "Cui Bono", or who benefits, and what is the "Analysis Situs", meaning why now, what is the context? This is a matter of having developed judgement, using Reason, and making a subjective evaluation of the motivation of that source, none of which is subject to an algorithm, but can be discerned by those possessed of a rational and thinking human mind. It is possible, for example for a person with malign intent to bring out "facts" that are true, but for the purpose of creating a deception in order to do harm. This happens frequently in politics and intelligence warfare. And as with fiction writers, every story will have some basis in fact to make it plausible.

You cannot "Google" your way to understanding the real world. Google is the cognitive equivalent of a sex toy, upon which people become dependent as a temporary fix in the absence of someone real. Have a question about the immortality of the soul? What is the good? What is Justice? Well, you can try to Google it, but I recommend reading Plato instead, if you really want to think about it. Better to consult with a credible thinking person, even if they have been dead for 2400 years.

So, anticipating what some of you are thinking, yes, QAnon is a Nazified insane Cult, built upon Conspiracy theories that are used to manipulate and mislead gullible people who have an axe to grind against the human race. There are thousands of individuals, groups, and media sources who espouse Conspiracy theories which are false, mostly false, contrived, and tailored to a particular susceptible segment of the population, and often they are intended to unleash violence or conflict. And they are not all Right Wing racists either. Just look at some of the more extreme cases of Liberals and Hollywood types who imbibe in the anti-5G insanity, or the anti-vaxx movement. There are leading Rappers, athletes and populists who argue that the Earth is flat, and that the Lunar landing was faked in a Hollywood studio. There were close to a million Sci-Fi nerds who were seriously considering storming Area 51 last year until the military deployed significant armed force on the perimeter. Are they stupid? They would have to be, to think that of all the places available to hide UFOs that they would keep them there, in the most celebrated central location, the Temple of World UFOology. Give me a break.

So, I'll continue with a Part 2, where I'll get into this more. Have patience, I'll get where I'm going with this soon enough. Try to "buy in" to the idea that there are Conspiracies, and that there are also ones that are good. Nobody ever talks about that side of it. And we will get down to the methods of thinking which we can bring to bear in separating fact from fiction, and actually using the exposure of these Conspiracies to uplift and strengthen ourselves intellectually, and develop a resistance to fakery and propaganda.