On Conspiracy Theories and the Survival of Our Species
A couple of things I read this morning on the interwebs got me started thinking about conspiracy theories. Why do we develop and support them? Calling them conspiracy theories is an attack on the idea and the person who expresses the idea, pushing that person and the attacker farther from shared understanding. Please read the post below. It is not terribly long. In it I will share my own theory, and I hope, build some shared understanding.
Here is a section from an article in Discover Magazine by Elizabeth Svoboda, published on May 11: “What’s the best way to respond when someone you know promotes one of these debunked (conspiracy) theories?
Your first instinct might be to counter it with provable facts — a practice studies show may change minds although not reliably. But experts caution that aggressive pushback may lead your debate partner to cling more tightly to false beliefs. “Most people who believe in conspiracy theories don’t trust the informational sources the rest of us rely on,” Pierre says, “which thwarts attempts at counterargument.”
Another approach is to suss out how a drive-by Facebook poster came to believe a theory in the first place.
“Start from a place of trying to understand, rather than trying to convince,” Pierre says. “Lead with questions like, ‘Who do you trust or mistrust and why?’ That can help establish the rules of engagement.” This tactic can also give you a sense of whether someone’s open to reasonable discussion — or whether they’ve gone too far down the wormhole to come back.”
I could write an article about the tone of this article, but I will leave that for you take up if you so choose. I like Discover by the way and encourage reading it.
Now from me: I have my own theories. I believe that we as humans need to recognize that we are all one tribe. Not only that but we as living beings are all one tribe. It is difficult to embrace Cov-SARS-2 since it has killed friends and threatens us, but we are part of one big teeming layer of life from the bottom of the oceans to the top of the atmosphere. My theory is that we can all live together in peace and prosperity. It is time to embrace interdependence. We as individuals are not capable of FIGHTING (or growing) our way to peace and prosperity. Waging a war will never bring the interdependence that fosters security and peace and ultimately control (or at least predictability). In our bodies at the cellular level, rapid growth and scalability (especially in disproportion with cells around us) is called CANCER. What are the initiation rites for a culture of interdependence?
I am ready to talk with any friends who wish to disabuse me of this theory. I also welcome fellow travelers who wish to make manifest this conspiracy of interdependence. Let us share the deep expression of love for all life because of our differences. What must we do to pierce the envelope of reality that says we can’t do that?
Music is my favorite form of expression. Please share songs you feel express the love for all life or any other manifestations of a culture of interdependence in the comments or email them to me for my playlist. woolychops@mac.com
My contribution is from the Swiss band Yello. It is called Blue Green.