Six major American leaders, including four presidents have fallen to assassins’ bullets, and others were the intended objects of assassination. Only Lincoln was the target of a proven assassination conspiracy; the other victims were considered the prey of freelance assassins in varying states of mental instability. The eruption of political assassinations and assassination attempts during the sixties (John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr.; George C. Wallace; and Ronald Reagan) represented a “contagion phenomenon” or infectious trend of unstable individuals being motivated to violence by highly publicized and dramatic acts of violence (Harrison, 2007). In early 2011 Arizona Congresswoman Gabriel Gifford was seriously wounded by an assassination attempt by an unstable young man. Even more troubling is the steady threats on President Obama that have been recently circulating. Has political assassination become a persistent and perhaps acceptable feature of American society? Or are there darker forces at work?
Who is responsible...
Psychologists have identified an antisocial personality disorder that is often associated with criminal behavior. Individuals with antisocial personalities have little sense of responsibility for their action, little concern for others, and little or no sense of morality. It can be said that they lack a conscience. They behave impulsively, they seek immediate gratification, and they cannot tolerate frustration (Harrison, 2007). But, if you are on facebook. twitter, or any other of the many social networks you are aware of the multitude of conspiracy theories being circulated. Whole websites, blogs, and groups are dedicated to their particular brand of conspiracy theory. Many revolve around the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Truthers claim that President G.W. Bush and individuals in his administration were involved in the attack to generate public support for the war on Iraq, expansion of the police state, and other intrusive foreign and domestic policies by which they would benefit. Advocates of these 9/11 theories point to the Project for the New American Century, a conservative think tank that promotes American global dominance and whose members include ex-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney and other key members of the Bush administration. . A 1990 report from this group reads that “some catastrophic and catalyzing event — like a new Pearl Harbor” would be needed to budge public opinion in their favor. Many take that event to be 9/11. Was there a conspiracy?
They are everywhere!
Conspiracy theories abound. But what drives these conspiracy theories? Is it lack of transparency in a government that is already lacking the trust of the American people? Or antisocial personalities? Or are some people just prone to believe the worse or choose to “read between the lines”? According to a report prepared by Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, professors at the University of Miami, “perceived power asymmetries, indicated by international and domestic conflicts, influence when and why conspiracy theories resonate in the U.S”. Using this reasoning, conspiracy theories correspond to a calculated logic that helps susceptible groups deal with threats. They also found that both sides of the domestic partisan divide – Democrats and Republicans - partake in conspiracy, theorizing in equal fashion, albeit in an alternating pattern, and foreign conspiracy theories take precedent over domestic conspiracy theories during heightened foreign risk or threat - real or perceived .
Believers...
There is a small but enthusiastic group of people who believe that there is more than what is officially recorded about many historical events. Conspiracies: every generation has its own, and some turn out to be true! Pearl Harbor was a Japanese conspiracy and Nixon did cover-up the Watergate break-in, and the Iran-Contra affair, a massive political scandal of the late 1980s was true – Reagan did sell guns to Iran to raise funds for pro-American rebel forces in Nicaragua. A little doubt is healthy - you really can’t take much for face value these days. But the truth is, most conspiracy theories are NOT true – so why do people believe in them?
Michael Shermer gives us four traits of conspiracy believers in his “Skeptic” column for Scientific American:
• Patternicity - a tendency to find meaningful patterns in random noise
• Agenticity - the tendency to believe the world is controlled by invisible intentional agent
• Confirmation bias - the seeking and finding of confirmatory evidence for what we already believe
• Hindsight bias - tailoring after-the-fact explanations to what we already know happened
A conspiracy theory is born when all four of these are spun into a heady mix of conviction. This is called “conspiratorial cognition,” and it’s the fuel that drives the belief behind the conspiracy.
Internet helps spread Conspiracy Theories...
Not much research has been conducted on just why some have a conspiratorial inclination. Patrick Leman wrote in the New Scientist in 2007 that the Internet is responsible for the rise in conspiracy theories thanks to the widespread distribution power. For instance, back in 1968 only two out of every 10 Americans believed there was more to the JFK assignation than the government claimed. In 1990, nine out of 10 Americans believed it part of a conspiracy.
Leman writes: “Conspiracy theories can have a valuable role in society. We need people to think “outside the box”, even if there is usually more sense to be found inside the box”.
Some other points to ponder are:
• Those who believe in one theory are more likely to believe in others.
• There is a strong association between income and belief levels: the more affluent are less likely to believe in conspiracy theories.
• Instability makes most of us uneasy - people prefer to think we live in a safe, predictable world.
• Conspiracy theories often change over time as new or contradicting evidence emerges
• Conspiracies usually involve a big newsworthy event for its origin.
“The more elaborate a conspiracy theory is, and the more people that would need to be involved, the less likely it is true.” (Shermer)
Sources:
Harrison, B. (2007) Power and Society – An Introduction to the Social Sciences. Cengage Learning
Nusca, A. (2009) Four reasons why people believe in conspiracy theories,
People & Politics (2007) Top 10 Conspiracy Theories, TRU
Shermer, M. (2009) Why People Believe in Conspiracies - A skeptic's take on the public's fascination with disinformation, Scientific American Magazine
Uscinski, J., Parent, J., & Torres, B. (2011) Conspiracy Theories are for Losers
Dianne Wing - I approach my work with an open mind and a commitment to truth...I hope you will agree.
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