Is Believing In Conspiracies Necessary For Some Of Us To Explain What We Don't Really Understand?

Granted, I believe that at least there is much corruption in government. That is supposedly the place where we should be able to turn to for help. Yeah, right. But think about it. When we are small children, the whole world is a very confusing place, and we must depend on our parents, we must be able to trust them to show us the way. Then, the same with our teachers. They often tell us that the police are good, they are here to help. Where I grew up, the police cars all said on them, "To Serve And To Protect.

I could go all the way up the scale. Then there are judges. Aren't they supposed to be fair? Aren't they supposed to listen and treat each case that comes before them as an individual case? And on and on.......

But, in reality, some of us are lucky, and have parents who truly are trustworthy, same with some of the teachers we had. There are even a handful of police that might have a bit of compassion, and even fewer judges who actually judge fairly.

But, sadly, those are few and far between. So many children grow up very disillusioned because their parents just bark out orders, tell their kids what they had better do and not do, or else...... often no explaination as to why.

I grew up in a state where as far as I knew, corporal punishment had been abolished decades before I ever went to school, and I had parents who did not believe in hitting either. I was lucky. They usually tried their best to explain the why's of most things that I asked. But even so, the world was when I was small, and is now, a very confusing and stressful place to be in. So, I can hardly imagine how people who weren't so lucky as to have decent parents and teachers even manage to cope at all.

When I moved to the state I am currently living in, I was in disbelief to find out that they actually still hit school age kids while in school, whether the parents said not to or not. I honestly thought for a long time that the people who told me that this is still going on today were putting me on! But, I guess they are telling the truth, that in the year 2005, they are still practicing this legally.

What do they think that they will accomplish, other than instill fear into kids for doing something that they may well not ever have explained to them properly why it is wrong. They don't learn anything from it, other than to fear those they should be trusting the most. I suppose that this could be the first stages of what has led adults now, to torture their suspects.

And as far as the police go, I have yet to see them do much as far as "To Serve And Protect", other than Serving Warrants, and Protecting Their Own Interests. And I suppose that the Judges think it's real cute to have as many people plea bargain - often pleading guilty to something that they did not do. Then, the judge will say that you know you have the right to a jury trial, and the minimum sentance for this offense is 2 years(example) in jail and the maximum is ten (example). Now you know that a jury will most likely find you guilty and you face at least two years, but if you just plead guilty, you won't have to go to a jury trial, or to jail. Now, you are pleading guilty, there isn't anyone putting any pressure on you to do this, is there? Well, of course the Judge him/herself is, and they know it. They just want to close another case.

And then, we see so much corruption going on higher and higher up in government, that I am beginning to wonder if not only do the politicians believe that they are not here to server the people, as was once written in the Constitution, long ago, but that the people are here to serve them. But that on top of that, they seem to put so much time and effort in creating meaningless laws seemingly for no reason other than to make an already difficult world more difficult for the average person (since every new law seems to generate about 10 "side" laws along with the original.)

Is there possibly a part of the government, not made public that is especially hired in order to think up these laws designed to make people face more hardship than neccessary? No, I do not truly believe that, per se. But, sometimes it really feels that way.

Anyway, back to my main question. Other than the covert actions on the part of the government, many of which are bumbled and have to be covered up in order for them to save face, I do wonder if there really is a conspiracy every time I turn around, or if it is just easier to explain things by believing that there are so many conspiracies?

Any other thoughts on the matter?

[edit on 11/27/2005 by CyberKat]

[edit on 11/27/2005 by CyberKat]

[edit on 11/27/2005 by CyberKat]

This has been argued at ATS a million times. The answer is "YES" and "NO". Yes, because we might not have all the information, or may have fragments of different information and need to put them together. And No, because one can also argue this company and it's media are 'reliable' and that we just think 'wrong' and we just like talking kitty doo-drops. But from my experience the latter is rarely the case, it's usually on OUR side or somewhere inbetween.

Of course, I like to think that it is easier to turn my back, turn off the TV, put down the newspaper...anything to pretend "it isn't that bad". And then when someone starts to hand me proof, I have to question the person's motives. Are they really on the level? Can I trust them? What do they want in return?

It's hard. I am torn between the fact that perhaps because of all of this "poo-poo, don't hurt Johnny's feelings" attitude that parents and schools have since non-discipline has become all the rage, juveniles in today's day and age have become morally corrupted and disrespectful. And now teachers and police, all the way up, have to deal with this.

Or maybe it is the fact that I can't trust anyone anymore. It seems that everyone wantrs something in return for anything. The police are stretched so thin because of corrupted mayors. Judges can be bought. I'm sure teachers can be bought out as well (college, for example). Are we being treated fairly by anyone anymore? What happened to repsect?

I swear...it can all be traced back to the non-denominational, group pitying, mass protection of children's "feelings". Parents are afraid to discipline thier children in fear of large psychiatric bills later. Or the fact that Children and Youth can haul them away for "violent discipline methodology." It has been scrubbed into everyone's mind that a raised hand or voice can scar a child.

Pfft. We are raising a country of wussies, and no one will stand up and say "hey...that's not right." Is it a country of consipracies? Perhaps. Can we do anything about it? Perhaps. Do we want to know the truth? Well....

Trying To Make Sense Of It All

The great irony about conspiracy theories is not that there are so many of them, but that there are so many actual conspiracies both underway and documented historically -- and yet investigating them is considered by so many “authorities” to be nothing less than a serious mental illness.

Meanwhile, the irony of the “supernatural” is that it is so commonplace as to be universal. As far as I know, there is not a single human being that has ever lived or is alive today who hasn't had some sort of “supernatural” event occur in his or her life, but as with “conspiracy theory”, it is often considered a taboo subject and the province of the insane.

So I guess every human being who has ever lived or is alive today is insane.

The Underlying Issue

In my opinion, the passion so many ATSers and others have for exploring these topics stems from an awareness that not everything is at it seems, that science can't explain everything, that real people really do bad things, and that all the effort we see to cover things up each day wouldn't be necessary if there wasn't something to cover up.

The problems many “conspiracy theorists” and “paranormal investigators” have always seem to develop from the same basic error: jumping to unfounded conclusions and believing things which are not true.

Thus my recommendation that all ATSers -- and everyone else, for that matter -- apply the principles of skepticism when considering the merits of conspiracy theories or supernatural phenomena.

If we do this, then we can let go of the “need to believe” and enjoy the benefits of learning to live comfortably with the limits of our ability to perceive and understand what occurs around us.

From there, we grow.

That's true, but I don't get it. I was raised in that system. I was suppose to turn down sites like this. But it takes just one music video where AJ shows his stomatch and one chruch website against them and now 8/9 years later, I'm here, and I've been questioning authority my whole life. But I think the only difference between me and the younger generation is that we understand we NEED moral codes and Rules. They just think 'Let's follow Green Day,and trust the UN if nothing else.'

The only question that can come to mind is what does society define as one of us, and one of the masses?

Why is it so hard to believe that the richest and most powerful people in the world would be working together behind our backs through the governments and corperations to benefit themselves, and impose their own order on us?


You would do the same if you were in their shoes and you know it.

Thats why there are so many conspiracy theories.....

Originally posted by ArchAngel
You would do the same if you were in their shoes and you know it.

How do you know I don't already do it, and I am out there, just like any one of you are....?

I started looking at conspiracies when the world started spiraling downhill. I figured there had to be answers out there. If we arent being told the truth, then one must research.
Sure, not all conspiracies are correct. But why not look. Certainly conspiracies fill a void and possible situations where there are no available answers to be had.
Some could care less. They hear something on the news and that is Gospel. I have the gift of trying to find the truth, digging for information, and when i hit on something that makes sense, Bingo! I have my answer.
Is it true? maybe. Maybe not. But i feel satisfaction in the possibility of having found the truth.
Your answer is yes. We need to understand things. We have the right to know things.
We live in a world where not much makes sense. Aliens, MIB's, NWO's, wars for the wrong reasons...you name it.
Anyway, we are the normal ones- the ones who wont settle for lies.
AND we know about the lies.
Why does mankind have to lie?
Would i jump of a bridge if i were told there are aliens among us? Nope.
Would i drink poison if i were told Bush was the Antichrist? Nope.

I dont want to be "protected" from the truth NOT knowing does me more harm than good.

I want the truth then i wouldnt have to resort to conspiracies.

End of Rant/

Wow, I guess I'm not as alone in wondering about that as I thought I might have been.

Originally posted by Majic
[................................]In my opinion, the passion so many ATSers and others have for exploring these topics stems from an awareness that not everything is at it seems, that science can't explain everything, that real people really do bad things, and that all the effort we see to cover things up each day wouldn't be necessary if there wasn't something to cover up.

The problems many “conspiracy theorists” and “paranormal investigators” have always seem to develop from the same basic error: jumping to unfounded conclusions and believing things which are not true. [.......................]

I think that Majic here sums it up pretty well. I mean, it's our world, I don't just mean ATSers, but all of the citizens, everywhere, who are not in the center of the governments that have the power to change the world, and not give a dam_ about anyone else. But, there wouldn't be much of a world to change if it weren't for us. We ARE the world, and we have a right to know what is going on in it and what to expect for our futures and our children's, etc...

It is not right (of course, not much is - especially these days), but no matter what we do, what we talk about, what we plan, etc..... the truth seems to be that we are in their hands, and that really sucks.

Yes, I supposes that the main reason that there are conspiracy theories, is by the very fact that our government, those who were supposed to represent us, don't. Obviously, as soon as they are elected, or re-elected, they totally forget about any promises they may have made to us, and many of them actually seem to distain us when they don't need out vote, really do do things that are wrong, corrupt, illegal, and worse, so in order to save face to try to win the next election, they have to be constantly doing things to cover uo what they know was wrong, but don't want us to find out about, or we may not vote for them in the next election.

But, we do notice their strange behaviors, we do get a sense that they are covering something up. Sometimes we don't know exactly what, so it then becomes easy to take bits and pieces of information that we have heard or read, put it together and decide that we know what they are up to. Sometimes we are right, probably more often than not, we are either only partially right, or we are totally wrong.

The point I feel now, is that there should be absolutely no reason what-so-ever for any of this. As hard as it is sometimes to put myself in the same class of species as certain others, it is a fact that we were all born human. Somewhere along the way, some either were born into wealth, others stumbled into it, and some actually earned it. But that money seems to really go to peoples heads, leading them to believe that they are better than the rest, therefore they deserve better and have no obligation to treat others as humans any longer. They seem to feel as if they have risen way above the rest of us, are above any laws, and because their wealth gives them power, and the combination gives them control, for some sick reason, they seem to enjoy using it against their "fellow" man/woman.

But they are not better, and they ought to use their wealth and power to better the world for all. But, of course they don't. They live in secrecy. So, we, rightfully feeling as if we should be let in on the secret, which should not be a secret in the first place, have nothing to do but guess.

O.K. I got carried away.....

Sorry about that....

CyberKat