JFK, UFOs, The Freemasons and their quest for world domination…
2-parter:
**1)**Does anyone know of a good written history of conspiracy theory? What I’m after is an insightful look into why they are so prevalent in our society–something that explores our tendency to be suspicious more than the individual theories themselves.
My web search didn’t turn up much.
2) Does anyone have informed guesses/opinions on the subject? My specific curiosity of late is whether or not our love of conspiracy here in America stems from the post-WWII rise of covert intelligence and the Cold War, or if perhaps it’s a much older cultural phenomenon. I know that many people have conspiracy theories about things that go back quite a ways (the freemasons and early government, for instance), but I don’t know when these ideas were formulated.
Not exactly what you’re looking for, but an overview of many conspiracy theories may be found in the 1992 book It’s a Conspiracy! The Shocking Truth About America’s Favorite Conspiracy Theories! The author of record is the “National Insecurity Council” but the text is copyright Michael Litchfield. They were supposedly going to put out a sequel but I never heard if that happened. If it’s permissible to put commercial addresses on this board I can post it, otherwise email me and I’ll send it directly.
OK, the minute I opened this thread, an In Search Of episode on the Kennedy assassination started. Hold me I’m scared!
I meant to add that the book I mentioned includes a conspiracy bibliography.
Another interesting book, which doesn’t go into conspiracy thinking to a great degree but you may find useful, is Why People Believe Weird Things by Michael Shermer.
Thanks, Wendell and Otto–I’ll look into those books. Why People Believe Weird Things is a great title! Even if it’s not on-topic for my question I’ll probably read it.
This could be a great thread. I think Americans are enamored of conspiracy theorys, because the government has such a sorry history of lying to its citizens. For example-Johnson in the Vietnam War -“I’m not going to send American boys to do what Vietnamese boys should be doing…” (1964-4 months later he launches into a disastrous 12-year war. Funny, how if the gov. just told the truth, people would have more respect for it!
how could you trust it? Every real book on conspiracy theories has been supressed by the man. All you can get in stores are ones by people who’ve sold out, or fakes put out by them. Chances are they have little antennas in them, for tracking purposes. Keep it away from me!
Antennas? What century are you living in? The bar codes are done in a special radioactive ink. That “scanner” really emits a burst of radiation that activates the ink and allows your every movement to be tracked. You’re assigned an ink “frequency” along with your social security number. That’s why George Bush had to act so surprised when he saw that supermarket scanner; he couldn’t risk letting on that he’d helped develop them back in his CIA days.
I like conspiracy theories because they seem to give good evidence that not all people wander through their lives without questioning what goes on around them. Allegations of conspiracy seem to be inextricably linked to the concept of a free society. And not without reason.
Today, many events we consider to be factual and well documented first evolved as conspiracy theories, including Aaron Burr’s attempt to steal the presidential election of 1800, the theft of the 1876 presidential election, and William Randolph Hearst’s maneuvering of the United States into war with Spain in 1898 (which was incited by another (probably incorrect) conspiracy theory, the sinking of the Maine).
It seems as if Americans live in fear of “the big lie,” and so we are constantly searching for evidence of such things. Sometimes, we find it.
Try The Big Book of Conspiracies by Paradox Press.
My WAG is that conspiracy-mania got a big boost with the end of the Cold War. Americans have had an “enemy” of one kind or another since December 7, 1941. After 50 years & more , we define ourselves by what we oppose. We cannot get along, or even have a national self-image, without a “nemisis”.
So, lacking a foe, we become the enemy. We blame the Government (which, in reality, can’t deliver the mail on time, let alone keep a plot going in secret), or the UFOs , or THEM, or whatever boogyman we come up with for all the problems in the world. We don’t have an enemy; so, because we need one, we make one. “We have met the Enemy, and He is Us.”–Walt Kelly.
You should tell the truth, expose the lies and live in the moment."-Bill Hicks
“You should tell the lies, live the truth and expose yourself.” - Bill Clinton