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

Opus 2017-067: The Editor

I have never written a book but from descriptions in forwards and acknowledgments I get a picture of a group of experts who know English and how to write.  A book it submitted to an editor who corrects the errors in grammar and syntax and gives ideas on how to improve the manuscript.  A good editor has a lot of influence.

Newspapers also have editors, who with the publisher, make the decisions about what stories will be published and which will be buried, where they appear in the paper and if they need to be shorter or longer.  Errors are pointed out and headlines are created.  Sometimes the entire article is rewritten to conform to the political stand of the editor.  They also have a lot of power. 

When I think of the media I am beginning to believe there is a little man, or could be a woman, who sits in a room somewhere and helps the robots of the media rewrite their hit pieces to be more effective against Trump.  There is a certain consistency of language and style.  There is a similarity of phrases and a common ignoring of important facts.  I would call it a conspiracy except for a Bible verse from the Old Testament,

(Isaiah 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.

Okay.  I can’t call it a conspiracy.  It is just like minds, or lack of them, and like morals, or lack of them, and a desire to destroy the country.  It is almost like some diabolical force is forcing them into the same mold of America hating.  I guess it doesn’t take much imagination  or organization to recycle all the nonsense they threw at George Bush and filed away for eight years under Barak Obama. 

You have heard of “talking points”.  They are recommended questions and responses published by the political parties and special interest groups for their sycophants.  I understand that both parties are accused of putting them out but liberals have a harder time thinking for themselves so you see more uniformity in their opinions.

Maybe we should do away with editors and find out how well the media can write on their own.

homo unius libri