Conspiracy Theories - Too complex to Comment

Submitted by SMJ (Australia), Mar 26, 2010 at 13:08

Hi Daniel:

Good article, rather a good opinion but I am the reality of conspiracy theories is far more complex than that. Iranians, or any other nation including the US, is not paranoid for nothing. Conspiracies do happen. Even Bush admin called 9/11 a conspiracy of Al Qaida. I wonder how could so many hijackers would hop onto planes without a plan; a conspiracy ? Are you with me ? So, conspiracies exist and so do conspiracy theories. They are a complex outcome of non transparency, secrecy, past experiences and knowledge and basic human instinct to guess when things are not entirely clear. Watergate was a conspiracy till it was proven and so was the Iran-contra affair. Right ? Once they are proven, they are facts, not theories.

Off to Iran, how about the way CIA toppled the Mosadegh's elected government back in 1950s ? CIA admits to that now but back then, was it not merely a conspiracy theory ? Does that not tell you why people of Iran believe in conspiracies ? The fact of the matter is that conspiracy theories are prevalent in all cultures and countries; they are more prevalent however in less open and powerless societies. How about polls in 2004 that revealed that 49% NY residents believed that Washington was either directly involved or at least let the attacks happen ? And remember, there is no smoke without fire.

If you want to put the conspiracy theories at rest, the best way is for the governments to be more transparent and more forthcoming on their actions and non actions. When governments, its agencies and the poeple in power conceal, distrust sets in that in turn trigger conspiracy theories. Some are bogus but some indeed are true as the history proves. Speaking of distrust, how about the latest polls that only 17% of Americans trust their government ? Btw, I do not agree that Iranians have ditched their conspiracy mentality. Too early to comment on that one I reckon. I personally believe that each conspiracy theory must be assessed for its content and plausibility and none should be dismissed entirely superficially.

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