Response to u/magnora7's Post, or A Humble Attempt at A Truth Seeker's Manifesto
u/magnora7 had a profound post about the psychological burden one carries after coming to terms with the uncomfortable truths our culture wants people to ignore. I’d like to give some of my own commentary on his excellent points.
“These things are very real. These things matter, and drive current events. They are generally provable to be true. They are ‘open secrets.’”
We need to do a better job of conveying this fact to the public. Is every conspiracy theory true? No, of course not. Neither is every scientific theory, for that matter. This doesn’t change the fact that countless documented conspiracies have decisively changed the course of history. Undeniable proof of these events can be found in court rulings, Congressional investigations, and sometimes from the participants themselves.
When I say, for instance, that multinational banks launder drug money, I am not proposing a ‘conspiracy theory.’ I am referencing the fact that HSBC was fined $1.92 billion by the United States government for working with Mexican drug cartels. (1)
When I say the government has been involved in the drug trade, I am not paranoid. I am referencing a Senate report by John Kerry about the Iran-Contra scandal. (2)
These are indeed ‘open secrets.’ The fact that people can willfully choose to ignore pivotal events that are part of the public record is atonishing.
“This is serious business. These topics strike at the heart of what we think about society, how we think we should treat each other, and what we think of ourselves. What we should be honest about, and what we should hide. What we consider important, and what we consider frivolous.”
Boom! This shit matters. A lot.
So Princeton University comes out with a major study that declares the U.S. is no longer a democracy. The paper declares we are in fact an Oligarchy dominated by “economic elites and organized groups representing business interests.” (3)
Does the average person care? I think he/she should.
If we are indeed living in an oligarchy (which I believe is true), then that’s a huge fucking deal. It calls into question many of the values and assumptions most of us were taught growing up. This is not academics quibbling about what political science term to use: we are talking about how our country (really, our home) operates on a fundamental level. Who wins and who loses? What matters and what doesn’t? What is worth pursuing, and what is a waste of time? The answers to these questions are totally different in democracies and oligarchies.
If we are to take this study at face value (and let’s do so, for the sake of argument), then it should substantially change how you raise your children. Do you want them in public school classrooms that blatantly lie about the nature of society? Do you see how walking around thinking your country is a democracy based on equality-for-all could be a severe disadvantage if you are in fact living in a system based on money, cronyism, and greed? How can you expect to be successful if you don’t even know what freaking country you’re living in?
“These topics strike at the heart of what we…consider important, and what we consider frivolous.”
If we were indeed living at the End of History, as Fukuyama said, in an age where Western-liberal-democracy had finally proven itself to be the best and final form of human government, then perhaps we could sit back, drink beer, and get really into sports. Once you look outside the mainstream spectacle, however, you realize that we simply don't have the luxury to indulge in these kind of distractions. They aren't the real world.
The United States, by its own admission, has 662 military bases overseas. (4) These bases are not relics of a bygone era – they are why we are a superpower today. We have invaded or overthrown the governments of 50+ countries since the end of World War II, almost always for economic reasons. We are Rome. And what does that make professional sports? The modern day bread-and-circus.
This is not hyperbole; it is actually self-evident fact. There is a ‘higher plane’ so to speak above the 9-to-5-watch-sports-at-night lifestyle. There are elites making history, starting wars, and generally playing on Brzezinski’s ‘grand chessboard.’ Do I agree with this group’s motives? No. But once you start to realize it exists, obsessing over the NFL looks ridiculous. Masculine struggles for dominance exist in the real world, why settle for satiating this drive with sports trivia?
If the only thing standing between us and a glorious age of Pax Americana was a few Islamic extremists, then maybe mass surveillance wouldn’t be the end of the world. But again, once you ‘go down the rabbit hole’ you realize that the public is woefully uninformed about the implications of this policy we never voted on or chose.
William Binney – 32 year NSA vet, “one of the best analysts in NSA history,” and former Technical Director of the entire agency – openly has said, “The ultimate goal of the NSA is total population control.” (5) Binney will tell you surveillance is not about catching terrorists – it’s about “power and money.” (6)
So we have a bunch of people walking around, completely lost. Thinking government spying keeps them safe, when in fact it’s designed to fleece and control them to the greatest extent possible. Again, this development calls into question some of our most fundamental beliefs about reality: what is the government exactly? Should we trust it? Should we really be relying on others to protect us? Don’t mass centralizations of power always end badly throughout history?
Conclusion
What we talk about here – in the conspiracy/critical thinking/truther or whatever you want to call it community – is not an isolated side hobby. It’s actually quite spiritual. We’re investigating the nature of reality as it exists right now. We’re predicting what historians will write about our era centuries from now, after the dust has settled, when people can analyze this age with more objectivity.
We’re talking about the most important issues of our day. We’re noting evil in our midst. We are ceasing to be passive consumers and spectators and are instead making our will felt in the real world.
Thank you all for your insight and fearlessness. Let's keep pushing.
SOURCES
(1) http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/hsbc-to-pay-record-fine-to-settle-money-laundering-charges/
(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerry_Committee_report
(3) http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9354310
(6) http://www.dw.com/en/binney-the-nsas-main-motives-power-and-money/a-17862571
Posted Feb 25, 2016, 12:43 AM UTC