Absurd, hard to believe conspiracy theories are in, and relevant facts are out in Trump's America, and in Britain since Brexit.
Two birds of a feather, right?
This is the age where the wilder the conspiracy theory, the more it seems to be believed. Most of us can understand the skepticism towards the official Warren Commission report regarding the JFK assassination, because it really does not feel like the entire truth, and left too many questions unanswered. But that does not legitimize some of the crazy conspiracy theories, such as the limo driver being the shooter, or the shooter having been in the gutter, or that Lee Harvey Oswald was a good guy who actually tried to stop the assassination. But those wild claims seem to be gaining favor among a growing number of people, and these people vote. Increasingly, we are seeing these conspiracy theories gaining favor and prominence, even politically. Climate change is a hoax specifically trying to weaken the American economy? Check. September 11th was an inside job? Check. The moon landing was fake? Check. In fact, Russia intends to send a mission to the moon specifically to determine whether the landings were real or not. That betrays the fact that, in fact, conspiracy theories are seemingly on the rise everywhere, although they are perhaps most shocking in two major world powers of the modern world, in the United States and Britain.
Really, there are some wild beliefs floating around beyond these, as well. Mass immigration is a dangerous plot by banking elites, which is usually code for Jews, which is an offshoot of the conspiracy-laden The Protocols of the Elders of Zion that was originally published in Russia in the early 20th century, and which anti-Semites fed off of ever since. Surely, it has nothing to do with major nations - particularly the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia - selling massive amounts of arms to third world nations, destabilizing them and then standing by as massive wars break out, right?
That is just one prominent conspiracy theory that has gained considerable political traction. Climate change denying has always been in vogue politically in the United States, even though a vast majority of Americans agree with scientists, and feel that climate change is real, and urgent action needs to be taken to address it. We also have millions opposed to vaccines. And, of course, that popular belief that there is a worldwide cabal secretly controlling everything in the world (again, with quite clear anti-Semitic roots).
Believing, of course, does not make it true, though. Just ask the British, a majority of whom wanted to stay in the European Union, but allowed a minority of determined voters who actually showed up to control their nation's fate on this crucial issue. Those who wanted a Brexit sold people a bill of goods, suggesting that the advantages to Britain leaving the EU would far outweigh the benefits of staying in, and that the divorce would be painless. The tragedy is that so many people bought into this obviously oversimplified belief - or perhaps it was merely a hope - that everything would work out as wonderfully as the most optimistic scenarios. Much like Trump voters actually believed that this one man was the only one who could "save" the United States, and that as soon as he was in office, everything would turn to gold, that this man had the Midas Touch, and that as he promised, the country would just keep winning, winning, winning.
However, that is not how things have worked out. The British are now learning the grim reality of life after Brexit as we speak, and the United States may soon learn the pain of having an arrogant, big mouth know-it-all spoiled brat in charge, starting trade wars all around the world with allies and enemies alike. In fact, farmers are already hurting, and Trump's tax breaks sure did not help those GM workers, did they?
Now, Trump is denying a recent climate change report issued from his own administration, even though he even admitted that he did not study it in full, but just read parts of it. I mean, come on, we know by his own admission that this man has a very short attention span, but not bothering to take a report by his own administration seriously enough to really read it? He really takes himself as the expert at literally everything, even when he comes across as clueless on a whole wide range of issues.
The report suggests that climate change will ultimately continue to inflict serious damage in the country, and will cost billions of American dollars. So, what does Twitler have to say about it?
"I don't believe it," he told reporters on Monday. "I've seen it, I've read some of it, and it's fine."
The man who once claimed that climate change is a Chinese hoax apparently believes his own administration is part of the conspiracy, the big Chinese hoax. Listen: Elect a clown, expect a circus.
Fake President encouraging fake conspiracy theories, but a real classless and clueless piece of shit.
Trump said those ridiculous things about climate change, clearly undermining the scientific experts, the vast majority of whom warn us that this is real, and needs to be taken seriously. Of course, Trump also started the whole birther movement, suggesting that Obama was not really born in the United States. He also claimed that there were millions guilty of massive voter fraud in the 2016 election, to the point that he even tried to open a commission on it to investigate, although this was quickly dismissed, as he failed to provide even one shred of proof to back up these wild claims. He clearly has a skewed worldview that betrays an astonishing level of ignorance, which should be alarming given that he has been elected to the White House.
Unfortunately, a lot of Americans are buying into the hype. Apparently, a lot of British people also are buying into nonsensical thinking, as well. They assumed that the European Union was bleeding them dry, that there were no benefits for Britain, and that their nation would be stronger without it. That Britain would be negotiating their exit from a strong vantage point. None of that has miraculously come to pass, however. Many British people only seriously began to consider the serious ramifications of such a drastic action right after the Brexit vote, and only now, when it is clear that this would not be a quick or painless process, and that Britain might actually be worse off after Brexit, is it dawning on them that this might not have been the brightest idea.
Obviously, a little late for that, is it not?
Sad times that we are living in.
This reminds me of a quote by Carl Sagan, who basically predicted that such times were coming in the future:
“I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time -- when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness...
"The dumbing down of American is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance”
― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
Carl Sagan was eerily accurate, and saw ALL of this coming. This is an incredible - albeit also admittedly incredibly depressing - quote. Perfectly encapsulates the times we are living in. Makes me feel ashamed to be an America.
Here are the two articles that got me going onto this blog entry. The first is about the rise of conspiracy theories among Brexit and Trump voters, and also delves a bit into the rise of conspiracy theories on a more global level. The second one is a recent news piece on how Donald Trump does not believe the climate report that was issued from his own administration:
Brexit and Trump voters more likely to believe in conspiracy theories, survey study shows by Fred Lewsey Communications office Published 23 Nov 2018:
https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/brexit-and-trump-voters-more-likely-to-believe-in-conspiracy-theories-survey-study-shows?fbclid=IwAR0o8t6HBh3FBrKkELKuA3MgFGkOuoD7uq9hnnudvDRVieuWtWrqowB1qsM
Trump says he doesn't believe his administration's climate report published by Al-Jazeera, 26 Nov 2018:
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