To this day, polls repeatedly show that large segments of the public believe in one conspiracy
or another. For example, decades after the fact, about ninety percent of the population agrees that
the assassination of President John Kennedy was orchestrated by a conspiracy and covered up by
the government (Goertzel 1994; CBS 2009). In 2006, about a third of the American populace
believed that the Bush administration either planned or knowingly allowed the 9/11 attacks
(Hargrove 2006). In 2009, almost a third of the population believed the birther conspiracy, that
President Barack Obama was a foreign born citizen who had unconstitutionally ascended to power
(Nyhan 2011). Why do conspiracy theories resonate so persistently?
Getting the answer right is imperative. While sometimes harmless, conspiracy theorizing is
not confined to parlor games about who really shot Kennedy or who probed whom near Roswell,
New Mexico. It signals political alienation and distrust, it undercuts the ability of government to
lead, and it can lead to witch hunts and worse (Sunstein and Vermeule 2008:1; Chanley 2002; Wedel
2009; Oppel 2011). High profile examples are legion. During the 1990s, President Bill Clinton
consumed much of his presidency fending off allegations that he was part of a conspiracy to cover
up illegal activities. This administration ironically counterclaiming that it was the victim of a vast
right-wing conspiracy. Believing that the government was conspiring to violate individual rights,
Timothy McVeigh bombed a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 and wounding hundreds 4
more. Conspiracy-related race riots and Red Scares inflicted incalculable damage to the country.
And further afield, Anders Behring Breiviks conspiratorial views killed scores and Adolf Hitlers
stab in the back myths killed millions.
If you think conspiracy theories are just fun and games, think again.
http://joeuscinski.com/uploads/ConspiraciesareforlosersAPSA.pdf
or another. For example, decades after the fact, about ninety percent of the population agrees that
the assassination of President John Kennedy was orchestrated by a conspiracy and covered up by
the government (Goertzel 1994; CBS 2009). In 2006, about a third of the American populace
believed that the Bush administration either planned or knowingly allowed the 9/11 attacks
(Hargrove 2006). In 2009, almost a third of the population believed the birther conspiracy, that
President Barack Obama was a foreign born citizen who had unconstitutionally ascended to power
(Nyhan 2011). Why do conspiracy theories resonate so persistently?
Getting the answer right is imperative. While sometimes harmless, conspiracy theorizing is
not confined to parlor games about who really shot Kennedy or who probed whom near Roswell,
New Mexico. It signals political alienation and distrust, it undercuts the ability of government to
lead, and it can lead to witch hunts and worse (Sunstein and Vermeule 2008:1; Chanley 2002; Wedel
2009; Oppel 2011). High profile examples are legion. During the 1990s, President Bill Clinton
consumed much of his presidency fending off allegations that he was part of a conspiracy to cover
up illegal activities. This administration ironically counterclaiming that it was the victim of a vast
right-wing conspiracy. Believing that the government was conspiring to violate individual rights,
Timothy McVeigh bombed a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 and wounding hundreds 4
more. Conspiracy-related race riots and Red Scares inflicted incalculable damage to the country.
And further afield, Anders Behring Breiviks conspiratorial views killed scores and Adolf Hitlers
stab in the back myths killed millions.
If you think conspiracy theories are just fun and games, think again.
http://joeuscinski.com/uploads/ConspiraciesareforlosersAPSA.pdf