Opus 2021-318: Paranoia or Perspicacity

There is a part of me that loves what we have come to call “conspiracy theories”.  My imagination can run wild as I conjure up unending versions of tragic plots.  Of course in my fantasy life they are all targeting me or what I hold dear.  And of course I am the hero that saves the day.  The steady diet of Zorro episodes brainwashed me that way.  I guess I like my conspiracy theories more than yours.

At that same time I realize that most conspiracy that we see is a figment of our imagination and paranoia.  Sometimes it is a momentary overreaction of the speaker.  Sometimes it is an effective marketing tool to increase audience.  One of the obvious that I have to deal with are my wife’s daily weather reports from the frantic people on her TV.  I will concede that the broken clock is right twice a day but that is more regular than the weatherman.  They want you to keep tuning in to find out if that tornado is in your back yard or if you trees are going to be blown down.  I also remember a radio program we used to listen to that would reveal some nefarious action in the public schools.  I am sure that what was reported actually happened.  I am not so sure that everything we heard was a national trend.

Two quotations come to mind on conspiracy theories.

“Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.”  

The internet tells me this is called Hanlon’s razor.  You could switch out a lot of different words for “stupidity”.  The point is that much of the so called organized enemy is just the case of people being people.  The Bible warns us about this.  Let me use the NASB.

(Isa 8:12 NAS77) "You are not to say, 'It is a conspiracy!' In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.

The KJV uses “confederacy” instead of “conspiracy”.  That is because the root word means an organized group.  That brings to mind the second quote.

“Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.”  

This seems to be from Joseph Heller’s Catch-22.  I never read the book or saw the movie but I am aware of the story line.  

Are there conspiracies?  To quote Sarah Palin, “You betcha.”  Are they the ones you call by that name?  Unlikely.  The nature of conspiracy is that you don’t recognize it, at least the ones that make any difference.  The reason the book of Isaiah says we are not to be consumed by them is that God is bigger.  If you ever watched Veggietales then you may remember the song, “God Is Bigger than the Boogie Man”.  Hum that to yourself a few times a day.

homo unius libri