PSSTT . . . IT'S A CONSPIRACY

 

PSSTT . . . IT’S A CONSPIRACY

 

When it comes to conspiracies and conspiracy theorists there is no shortage of takers, fakers and willing participants, it is also not limited to age, gender or IQ.  A good conspiracy can be highly entertaining; let your imagination run wild, speculation, titillation, it is all there; it’s the stuff of pulp fiction and blockbuster movies.  Who wants to massage his or her brain with boring, factual science and mathematical equations, with conclusive proof and overwhelming evidence?  The most alluring aspect of a good conspiracy is an element of proof that is either absent or which can be questioned.  Did Hitler really die in his bunker?  Was the moon landing real or fake?

True or false?  The sad reality lies in the fact that on too many occasions we have been lied to or deceived.  If our lives were based on absolute certainties conspiracies would not exist.  And the lure of conspiracies lies in the fact that occasionally the truth is revealed and hidden treasures are found or recovered.  Some conspiracies are based on real suspicions that something is withheld or covered up.  There are examples galore of hastily approved medications that proved harmful in the long run, or at least damaging to too many people.  Faulty car designs, fraud, corruption, scams and an abundance of political and financial scandals that keep popping up like mushroom rings growing undisturbed in the forest. 

Within the multitude of media platforms that have been created in recent decades the competition to attract viewers increasingly leads to media saturation and sensationalism and has stimulated society’s fascination with celebrities, murder and mayhem.  Within this framework of ‘news’ facts, lies and distortions, it is easy to explain how a lot of people can be manipulated to believe or suspect the worst.  The Covid-19 pandemic was a prime example of mass hysteria and vaccine hesitancy.  Rumors and anger combined with a rapid development of vaccines that had even astute members of the medical science community questioning the efficacy and safety of the new vaccines.  Humans are a highly combustible species and it doesn’t take a lot to set us on fire.  It only takes a few doubters!  A few unscrupulous tongues to start nasty rumors.

 

Conspiracies can be fun, but can also be harmful.

Too many conspiracies have a proven foundation that validates our skepticism and suspicions.  Mysterious murders and disappearances, stolen artifacts, price fixing, falsifying evidence and testimonies, medical incompetence and cover-ups, the suppression of contrary or negative evidence (tobacco companies and the assertion that cancer related deaths were exaggerated and misleading, therefore continue to light up).  Car companies and the millions of recalls.  We love to lie and deceive.  Human nature at its worst. 

The power of believing and wanting to believe.

Conspirators know that we are gullible.  Easily misled.  On top of that we are raised to believe and that people are basically kind and good.  Trust.  It’s a big word.  Why would ‘they’—the ‘they’ is often vague as to ‘who’ is exactly doing what—lie?  To trust is branded into us from birth.  And by and large people have a right to be trusting because most of our institutions have our best interest in mind.  But . . . we are not perfect and we are not living in a perfect world.  It makes us susceptible to believe just about anything.  We’re not raised to constantly question, to explore, to investigate, to read the fine print.  We should, but we don’t! 

Even the best of us can be overcome by greed, by shame, by the prospect of failure and how to avoid embarrassment.  We do engage in a lot of questionable behaviors and it is the massive cover-ups that continue to feed a steady stream of conspiracies and nearly all media sources are more than happy to feed into that appetite.  It sells.  It appeals to the imagination.  Did he have an illicit affair?  Was the theft an insider job?  Who stole all that gold?  Did the pharmaceutical company falsify their data?  Was the plane shot down?

All you need is a whiff.  Something doesn’t seem or feel quite right.  Conspiracies and conspiracy theories can take on a sinister form if they turn out to be harmful and baseless.  Even deadly.  In other words it could be based entirely on fearmongering to instill fear, paranoia and even resentment and rebellion.  Individuals can be made to believe something that is totally false.  The Covid-19 pandemic was a classic example of opinions and the way we managed the outbreak; causing conflicting and often contradictory results.  We were flying by the seat of our pants trying to manage and contain the outbreak.  In hindsight; isolation measures worked, vaccines were developed in record time and although millions of lives were lost, it could have been a lot worse.  In the aftermath governments and health agencies were accused of overreacting and of course, of cover-ups. 

Fact: not a single vaccine or medicine is 100 % foolproof.  Almost every human intervention has side effects and it never satisfies the entire population.  We tend to stare ourselves blind at the odd man out, the exception to the norm.  Some diseases either defy treatment or the outcome is far from certain.  My sister died of a cancer that attacks the outer lining of all your organs.  It is rare and deadly.  And the odds of beating it are extremely low.  Serious side effects of most vaccines are measured in 1 out of an x number of thousands.  The Covid-19 vaccines developed saved millions of lives and yes, some had serious side effects and had to be altered.  Doing nothing would have been catastrophic and overwhelming.

Science and progress changed our lives.

Prior to the discovery of vaccines and incredibly advances in medicines and medical procedures, technological advances and a dramatic increase in food production and quality, the human world was struggling with its numbers, numbers that only increased marginally.  The aforementioned advances and discoveries led to a huge increase in world population figures.  In just over one hundred years we have added a record 6 billion more people.  We’re not dying anymore!  At least not in huge numbers!  One might say that a conspiracy was afoot to inundate our planet with people and destroying the planet in the process.  At the heart of this conspiracy would be the super wealthy who would control a huge labor pool to produce an abundance of new wealth in record time, and, find ways—through easy credit and low wages—to make sure that people die poor and leave little behind for surviving family members.  I haven’t heard that this conspiracy theory of mine has made any inroads, but bear it in mind.  All in the guise of living longer and better lives!  A perfect scheme and now I have exposed the Super Rich!

A real conspiracy theory that has made the rounds in regards to Covid-19 and vaccines is the “fact” that according to conspiracy addicts Bill Gates owns all pharmaceutical companies and inserts tiny computer chips into the vaccines and that these chips are intended to control our minds.  A: will someone please tell dear Bill that his wealth has increased dramatically and make him aware of this lucrative ownership and B: why on earth would he care about what goes on in your mind?  Is it that interesting?

The power of conspiracies and the mysterious sources behind them.

I am actually amazed by the number of people who believe the weirdest things, even people with an amazing academic background who you would think might be inclined to rely on empiric evidence rather than anecdotal interpretations.  Things wished for that in reality don’t exist.  A lot of conspiracy theories pray on the most vulnerable people in society, especially those suffering from ailments and conditions for which there is no cure.  Or, what is even worse, they— and again the ‘they’ is never fully explained—know that a cure exists, but it would hurt ‘their’ bottom line.  And the worst of the worst, the promise of miracle cures ‘they’ don’t want the world to know about.

I know of a gentleman who suffered from a debilitating neurological disorder and in desperation he travelled to the jungles of a remote Asian nation in search for a miracle.  Voodoo medicine.  A lot of hocus pocus with fake blood and hand surgery manipulating animal intestines to remove the evil ‘humors’ that blocked a cure.  After the procedure there was obviously not a single sign of an incision and the skin was fully intact.  Upon returning home he was interviewed and he stated that although probably not fully cured, he felt a lot better.  Shortly after he died.

Desperate people are desperate to believe; from Ponzi schemes and miracle cures to guaranteed investments that will make you filthy rich.  When in England a farmer stumbled upon a buried Roman treasure hoard of gold it saw the sale of metal detectors jump in huge numbers and it initiated a British gold rush with people scouring farmer’s fields, invited and mostly uninvited.

Secrets entice and conspiracies stoke the imagination.

Did you know that car engines exist that can run for a million miles or more?  You wouldn’t believe how much is withheld from us.  Inventions that will never see the light of day because it would interfere with the money making schemes of the rich.  The secrets are stored in company vaults.  So much is hidden from our eyes and we can only imagine what our world might look like if we were just given access to everything that is hidden and concealed?  I mean, I’m just getting started and I have to put an end to this written gem, although I am overflowing with excitement and I can barely contain myself.

Usually I end an article with ‘feel free to comment of share’, but in this case, please, don’t, because it will release a torrent of stories and conspiracies I’m not even aware of.