I wanted to share some great quotes from a book I recently read that sum up what drives conspiracy theorists, and why this is becoming an increasing danger in our society:
"'Conspiracism is a monological belief system. If you convincingly say this part isn't true, they come up with a bigger conspiracy that contains the smaller. They're going to do everything they can to protect their worldview, even when they acknowledge your facts.' (Sander van der Linden)
For some, it is mental illness, but dismissing all conspiracists as mentally ill would itself be a form of denial. Conspiracists act on an impulse common in all of us, historians of mass movements warn. They are... 'atomized, isolated individuals,' ripe for joining a movement that affords them fellowship with other souls 'obsessed by a desire to escape from reality because in their essential homelessness they can no longer bear its accidental, incomprehensible aspects.' (Hannah Arendt)
Conspiracists' dive into unreality often come after a shock or prolonged setback, the agitation of uncertainty prompting retreat from a confounding reality. Whether roiled by personal calamity or by large-scale events like 9/11, the pandemic or a mass shooting, they seek order amid frightening instability.
'When no clear, authoritative source of truth exists, when uncertainty rages, human nature will lead many people to seek a more stable reality by wrapping themselves in an ever-tighter cloak of political, religious, or racial identities. The more uncertainty rises, the more alluring that siren call become.' (J.M. Berger)
The more time people spend in this alternative world, the harder it is for them to leave. Turning back would prompt attacks by the group whose approval the conspiracist cherishes. Acknowledging error could bring shame at their gullibility and a reckoning with the pain they've inflicted.
'When we give up on truth, we concede power to those with the wealth and charisma to create spectacle in its place.' (Timothy Snyder)" - Elizabeth Williamson in Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth
And here's why this is important to understand:
"The struggle to defend objective truth against people who consciously choose to deny or distort it has become a fight to defend our society, and democracy itself.
The nature of conspiracy theorizing has changed, from relatively harmless speculation about the Bermuda Triangle or Bohemian Grove to sinister theories that place democratic governments at the center of dark plots to control, sicken, and murder their own citizens. These online accusations are now often invented and spread by demagogic leaders around the globe, who use social media platforms to undermine trust in the very institutions that keep the powerful in check- elections and the courts, competing branches of government, and objective journalism. These political opportunists play to constituencies willing to relinquish objective truth for attractive, fantastical Deep State schemes in which political opponents are pedophiles and satanists, and society's most vulnerable morph into villains deserving vigilante justice.
Societal chasms between adherents to truth and consumers of fantasy are widening, aided by those who deliberately manipulate social media channels and discourse." -Elizabeth Williamson in Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth
I have friends who have lamented that the opposing "facts" told by multiple sides, especially on social media, make it hard to know what to believe. I have other friends that have convinced themselves that they have much better "research skills" than everyone else, and that they "see" the "truth" when most of the people around them don't. The former can be reasoned with, and can "agree to disagree" politely, but the latter are unable to entertain any ideas that contradict their version of reality, and are already entertaining thoughts of violent uprisings to "take back their country." Sadly, I think we're seeing more and more people being sucked into the latter category, and it's being encouraged and promoted by people with significant influence.
I'm worried about what will happen to our democracy (a fragile enough form of government already) if the foundations of truth, free elections, separation of powers, the court system, a free press, and freedom of religion and speech continue to be whittled away by those who seek the temporary gains of political power. The January 6th attack on the Capitol may only be the beginning of what is to come if this trend continues.
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