Some people enjoy spinning conspiracy theories. Perhaps they feel superior by believing that they are enlightened while the rest of us remain ignorant. Perhaps they feel comforted by believing that the same hated group is behind all their problems, rather than having to figure out the cause of each problem. But one thing is clear − most of these theories come from the political Left.
John Kennedy.
Most theories, including Oliver Stone’s film “JFK,” blame the military-industrial complex for the 1963 assassination, claiming that Kennedy planned to decrease our involvement in Vietnam. But Kennedy increased our involvement, and in the speech he intended to deliver the day he was killed, he referred to Vietnam, saying, “We dare not weary of the task” because reducing U.S. assistance would “only encourage communist penetration.”
Kennedy ran for president claiming that our military had fallen behind the Soviets. Cutting back military spending and withdrawing from South Vietnam would have opened him up to harsh criticism from Republicans and conservative Democrats. Kennedy was too astute a politician to have risked that.
But what about Castro, who was the target of an American-sponsored invasion and assassination attempts? What about Soviet boss Khrushchev, who was bested by Kennedy during the Cuban missile crisis and forced to withdraw his missiles? In fact, assassin Lee Harvey Oswald had defected to the Soviet Union and was active in a pro-Castro organization. But to the theorists, this was all a “cover.”
No, it couldn’t have been Castro − it must have been the anti-Castro Cubans. It couldn’t have been the Soviets − it must have been the CIA. And it certainly couldn’t have been a leftist loser, because the Left blames the Right, and the Left controls most of the media.
For a thorough debunking of conspiracy theories, see the readable “Case Closed” by Gerald Posner, and the encyclopedic “Reclaiming History” by Vincent Bugliosi.
Robert Kennedy.
Theorists claim to find flaws in the police investigation of the 1968 assassination, and blame shadowy figures who wanted Nixon in the White House. As attorney general, Bobby pursued the mob and the teamsters, so there was speculation that they might have been involved. But most conspiracy lovers believe that right-wingers killed him.
Who did murder Bobby? Sirhan Sirhan shot him at close range in front of several people. Sirhan was grabbed, gun in hand, by Roosevelt Grier. Only someone with a feeble grip on reality would claim that the former pro-football star, who weighed over 300 pounds, was sitting on the wrong man.
Kennedy was shot on the first anniversary of the Six-Day War, in which Israel took over the West Bank. Palestinian-born Sirhan wrote in his diary that he wanted to kill Kennedy, presumably because Kennedy promised to support Israel by selling jet fighters. But who blames a Middle Eastern fanatic? Who notes that this may have been the first shot in the war that led to 9/11 and continues today?
Ronald Reagan.
A president was shot and came within inches of death, but there were no theories in the mainstream media. Why? John Hinckley Jr. wounded Reagan and three others. He had seen a psychiatrist but never threatened violence. He claimed he shot Reagan to impress actress Jodie Foster and was confined to a mental hospital.
Hinckley used explosive bullets, which fortunately didn’t explode. But when the bullet was removed from Reagan’s chest, care was taken to avoid detonating it.
Although he was popular, Reagan was hated by many liberals. Two months after taking office, he was shot by an upper-middle-class young man who used explosive bullets. Where did Hinckley get them? Why was this fact omitted from most media accounts? Why didn’t commentators comment? Why didn’t conspiracy theorists theorize?
To conspiracy lovers, Oswald and Sirhan were “patsies,” but not Hinckley. Why was there suspicion in the first two cases, but credulity in the third? Perhaps what really troubled many leftists was that Hinckley wasn’t a better shot.
Pope John Paul II.
Reagan was shot and critically wounded on March 30, 1981. The pope was shot and critically wounded on May 13, 1981. Yet few connected these two events. A forceful new president is shot and almost killed, before he can initiate his anti-communist program − a program that eventually brought down the Soviet Union. Six weeks later, a vigorous pope is shot and almost killed, just as he is initiating his program to aid anti-communist workers in his native Poland − a policy that eventually brought down the Soviet Union.
Connection? What connection?
The would-be assassin, Mehmet Ali Agça, was a Turkish ex-convict who at various times said he acted alone, he acted in the name of Islam, and he acted for a secret group. There was speculation that he was hired by Soviet or Bulgarian agents, but speculation soon ceased. Theorists don’t theorize when they don’t care who committed the crime − because they don’t like the victim.
9/11.
I spent my early years in a small North Dakota town. There was a blacksmith’s shop a block from my home. I enjoyed watching the smith heat iron red hot, then shape it. Only fools claim that when tons of jet fuel burn, structural steel will not soften. No, the towers must have been brought down by explosives planted by…the U.S. Government, of course. And the hundreds of people who must have been involved all remain silent, despite the huge fees that tabloids would have paid them. To call these theories asinine would be an insult to donkeys.
Arab media claim that the CIA and the Israelis caused the destruction of the Twin Towers. That is to be expected from enemy propagandists. But some Americans also spread this lie, because it props up their delusion that “it’s all about oil.” The vile bumper sticker “Bush knew” showed that some people hated Bush more than they hated the 9/11 terrorists.
Revealingly, the same lie is spread by the far Left, which hates America; the far Right, which hates Jews; and extremist Islam, which hates both. Haters have a lot in common, despite their political and religious differences. Hate is a powerful emotion, but a lousy basis for explaining anything.
Theories we don’t hear.
● Two pro-life activists videoed Planned Parenthood officials discussing the selling of fetal body parts. The activists were charged with 15 felonies for unauthorized recording. But who has an expectation of privacy in a crowded restaurant? Meanwhile, the sellers of body parts continued their gruesome business without repercussions ‒ but with taxpayer funding.
● Lt. Gen. Flynn was kicked out of his job in the Trump administration. Meanwhile, those who tapped and leaked his phone calls with the Russian ambassador remain unknown as well as unprosecuted.
● Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arranged the sale of huge quantities of uranium to Russia, but hardly anyone noticed, much less investigated. Meanwhile, President Trump is suspected ‒ on the basis of no evidence yet seen ‒ of being in collusion with Russia.
● An Obama Defense Dept. official openly boasts about surveilling the Trump campaign and leaking results to Congressional Democrats, which elicits barely a shrug. Meanwhile, the media ruminate on hypothetical sins of the Trump administration. And so it goes.
Unauthorized recording of sellers of body parts ‒ big problem. Unauthorized recording of incoming Trump officials ‒ no problem. Talking to the Russian ambassador ‒ big problem. Selling nuclear fuel to the Russians ‒ no problem. The conspiracy theories we don’t hear are as revealing as those we do. Conspiracy theories reveal little about reality, but they reveal a lot about the political bias and warped reasoning of the theorists.
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