Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern American History by David Aaronovitch, originally published in 2010 by Riverhead, now available in a number of formats.
I’ve been thinking a lot these days about conspiracy theory. Note my wording and that of the book title: conspiracy theory, not theories. In other words, the problem is not so much individual ideas as it is an overall mindset. I could believe, for example, that the CIA ordered John F. Kennedy murdered because . . . well, for some reason known only to them. I could believe this fervently, I could belong to a JFK-Was-Murdered-by-the-CIA club, and I could look with suspicion on any news story involving the Agency. And yet I could still have a sane view of the world as a whole. My much-beloved view of this American tragedy could be just an aberration.
Conspiracy theory, on the other hand, is much harder to pin down and to combat. In essence, it says that all events that you see happening in front of you are simply shadows; the read deal is happening behind the scenes. Everything you see is being manipulated and controlled. Now, in a sense, but only in a sense, this is true. The candidate you see on the platform, waving and smiling, is almost certainly not the same as the one who kicks off his/her shoes once on the campaign plane and complains about the air conditioning/food/schedule. The story given in the news about some event is always being spun in some way. Absolute truth is hard to come by outside the pages of Scripture.
Where conspiracy theory departs from reality is in its view that all world events are being manipulated by the same group, usually characterized as something with the words “global” and “elites.” Sometimes it’s the “Marxist elites,” sometimes the “financial elites,” sometimes the “global banking elites.” Almost always, especially for any story about the “bankers,” if you trace the thread back far enough you’ll find some kind of racist idea, most often anti-Semitic. It never ceases to amaze me that people who say they are pro-Israel will buy into a set of ideas that is profoundly anti-Jewish. But there you are. And if it isn’t the Jews it’s the Blacks, or the Muslims, or the Illuminati, or the Council on Foreign Relations, or the World Bank, or the Federal Reserve, or the Bilderberg Group. And what are all these nefarious people trying to bring about? The New World Order. What’s that? Only the elites know.
What does all this have to do with happiness? As I say in my title, you can’t build happiness with falsehoods. The white nationalist, all ginned up with his notions of racial superiority and ready to defend his genetic purity, isn’t happy. He’s angry. His view of the world tells him that he must be on guard at all times, because they’re out to get him. I recently watched a documentary about the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. All it consisted of was footage of Jones and his minions on various missions, mostly trying to convince people that 9/11 was an inside job. One young man in particular stood out. He said into the camera (and this is as close of a quotation as I can get without going back and re-watching it): “I’d like to do something else, maybe go to a basketball game. I’d like to have a normal life. But I have to keep fighting for the truth.” Jones allowed the filmmakers to come along with him; I doubt very much that he realized what they were actually doing. You have to just keep watching and listening, while the craziness of Jones’ world seeps into you. (I just went online to find the video so I could link to it, but there’s just too much to wade through. I can’t remember where I read about the documentary in the first place. However, you’ll be happy to know that there are conspiracy theorists out there who think that Alex Jones is actually a fake, pushing for the NWO himself.)
Aaronovitch’s book (and doesn’t his name sound suspicious?) is one of many out there, but I found it to be especially readable. I hope he does an updated version soon. In the meantime, you can read it or listen to it. You’ll be happy to know that no humans are going to be able to bring about the Apocalypse.