The "conspiracy theory" conspiracy theory

By J. Max Wilson

I. The Information Groove

Most of you have probably seen the Disney animated film The Emperor's New Groove (2000). It tells the story of the egomaniac emperor Kuzco who is transformed into a llama by the scary beyond all belief Yzma and her delightfully dimwitted henchman Kronk. During the climax of the film, as Kuzco tries to obtain the potion that will restore him to human form, the flask containing the elixir falls to the floor. The crafty Yzma, realizing that Kuzco is about to grab the fallen potion and restore himself, acts quickly to stop him: she knocks over the shelf containing all of her transmutation potions. The one potion that can save Kuzco from llamahood is hopelessly buried in a pile of identical looking vials. Kuzco must then try each potion, one at a time, while simultaneously avoiding Yzma's thugs.

In addition to being wildly entertaining, this portion of The Emperor's New Groove is an excellent analogy for our modern era. Thanks to computer and telecommunications technology we are blessed with seeming endless amounts of information. But this blessing is also a curse. Not all information is created equal. Some information is true and some is false; some is valuable and some is trivial; some is Information and some is Disinformation.

Welcome, my friend, to the Disinformation Age. The sheer magnitude of information available to us makes the task of separating the truth from the falsehood a daunting endeavor. We could spend years sifting through obscure details before we discover that we have been wasting our time on false information. We seem doomed, like Kuzco, to try all the vials-and, with the constraints of paying the bills, supporting a family, and avoiding Yzma's thugs, we don't have that much time.

II. It's a Conspiracy!

Imagine a secret society, bent upon world domination and the destruction of freedom. Like all organizations, there are defectors who are out to expose the society and frustrate the evil plot. The organization creates a committee, composed of the most devious minds in the group, whose sole purpose is to invent ways of preventing people from discovering the sinister scheme.

This Obfuscation Committee devises the most cunning plan ever conceived: They will invent innumerable, spurious conspiracy theories based, in part, on obscure, but true facts, and then, relying on human propensity for sensationalism and the dissemination of folklore, flood the world with intriguing but false or half-false information.

The organization will be free to work towards its evil goal while its potential enemies waste all of their time fighting or debunking fabricated conspiracies. Meanwhile, those who do know of the real conspiracy are ignored as "just another conspiracy nut."

This scenario is what I like to call the "Conspiracy Theory" Conspiracy Theory. Not only is it humorous and self referential, it illustrates the power of disinformation. Filling the world with tomes of false information is in many ways more effective than censorship and information control. Rather than suppress true information directly, all obfuscators have to do is lose it in a sea of endless decoys and distractions.

Good intentions and sound reasoning are only as good as the information available and, as computer programmers are fond of saying, "Garbage in equals Garbage out."

III. Prophets, Prophets everywhere . . .

The disinformation problem caused by the modern ease of reproducing and distributing information forces us into a startling conclusion. Secular intellectuals have heretofore assumed that as information became more available "blind faith" would be replaced by reason and knowledge, or that religion would be replaced by science. But an abundance of information has not removed from us the necessity of faith; it has made it ever more indispensable.

Mankind functions by exercising faith. We place our faith, or trust, in some perceived source of truth. Usually that source is a person who we believe capable of discerning, by superior ability or divine gift, the true from the false information: a Prophet, a Scientist, a Philosopher, a Priest, or even, heaven forbid, a Journalist. Once we have chosen our "Prophet" we accept most of his or her views as authoritative and we exercise faith in his or her testimony and act accordingly. We start out life exerting faith in our parents and continue having faith in one source or another until the end.

The modern proliferation of information has underscored the ubiquity of faith because without the capability of sorting through the tremendous amounts of data, we must place our faith in some "expert" who has at least the time to sort through the data about which they are supposed to be expert.

So, the disinformation problem becomes not only a contest between ideas, but also a contest between individuals. We choose which person, or persons, we will have faith in, and then follow them, or which persons we reject and then oppose them. The line between ideas and individuals is not as clearly defined as we might assume. This is clearly evident from history. Germans followed not Nazism as an abstract ideology but Hitler as an individual and a prophet of Nazism. The Southern Rebellion that started the civil war was inspired not by abstract ideas or even specific laws; it was a reaction to the election of an individual, Abraham Lincoln, to the office of President. Even in their nomenclatures, Marxism is not easily isolated from Marx, and Christianity cannot be separated from Christ.

John Milton, author of Paradise Lost, recognizes this intertwining of an individual and his words, or ideas, in his essay concerning censorship, "Areopagitica" with these words:

"For books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul was whose progeny they are; nay, they do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them."

(Parenthetically, John Milton's retelling of the serpent's deception of Eve in Paradise Lost involves a twist that provides an excellent illustration of the disinformation problem: Eve's logic and reasoning are sound, but based upon falsehoods that appear to be true, thanks to the serpent)

The process of how one selects the individuals, and therefore the ideas, in whom they place their faith is a very interesting subject, but, unfortunately, not thoroughly treatable within the confines of this article (i.e. I haven't the knowledge, nor the ability to attempt it! J). In many ways, however, it does seem to come down to the old adage, "Birds of a feather flock together" or as one 19th century religious writer more eloquently put it:

"intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence;
wisdom receiveth wisdom;
truth embraceth truth;
virtue loveth virtue;
light cleaveth unto light;
mercy hath compassion on mercy and claimeth her own;
justice continueth its course and claimeth its own. . . ."

IV. Humility and Charity

The Disinformation Age and the "Conspiracy Theory" Conspiracy are here. We are all victims, and, as such, we should heed the words of Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist Papers:

"So numerous indeed and so powerful are the causes which serve to give a false bias to the judgment, that we, upon many occasions, see wise and good men on the wrong as well as on the right side of questions of the first magnitude to society. This circumstance, if duly attended to, would furnish a lesson of moderation to those who are ever so much persuaded of their being in the right in any controversy. And a further reason for caution, in this respect, might be drawn from the reflection that we are not always sure that those who advocate the truth are influenced by purer principles than their antagonists. Ambition, avarice, personal animosity, party opposition, and many other motives not more laudable than these, are apt to operate as well upon those who support as those who oppose the right side of a question. Were there not even these inducements to moderation, nothing could be more ill-judged than that intolerant spirit which has, at all times, characterized political parties. For in politics, as in religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and sword. Heresies in either can rarely be cured by persecution."

We ought to be passionate in advocating the truth, but at the same time we ought to show charity to our apparent opponents. Neither we, nor they, are immune to the disinformation plague or the weaknesses of humanity and so we ought to have enough humility and charity to eschew the enmity that so often accompanies debate.

In his Autobiography, Benjamin Franklin provides an excellent example of a humble and charitable manner:

"I made it a rule to forbear all direct contradiction to the sentiments of others, and all positive assertion of my own. I even forbid myself, agreeably to the old laws of our Junto, the use of every word or expression in the language that imported a fix'd opinion, such as certainly, undoubtedly, etc., and I adopted, instead of them, I conceive, I apprehend, or I imagine a thing to be so or so; or it so appears to me at present. When another asserted something that I thought an error, I deny'd myself the pleasure of contradicting him abruptly, and of showing immediately some absurdity in his proposition; and in answering I began by observing that in certain cases or circumstances his opinion would be right, but in the present case there appear'd or seem'd to me some difference, etc. I soon found the advantage of this change in my manner; the conversations I engag'd in went on more pleasantly. The modest way in which I propos'd my opinions procur'd them a readier reception and less contradiction; I had less mortification when I was found to be in the wrong, and I more easily prevail'd with others to give up their mistakes and join with me when I happened to be in the right.

And to this habit (after my character of integrity) I think it principally owing that I had early so much weight with my fellow-citizens when I proposed new institutions, or alterations in the old, and so much influence in public councils when I became a member;"

By adopting a humble approach, we, like Franklin, will have more weight with our fellow-citizens and more success when we seek influence in our society.

Therefore, my friends, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in. . . ."

© J. Max Wilson