Conspiracy theories range from plausible to whimsical. Since American culture emphasizes the "individual vs. society" part of the Western individualism handed down to it, and our age has a fascination with pessimism and having the general sense that there is a contradictory reality behind every appearance, conspiracy theories loom large in the American mental landscape. Some popular ones are that the Moon landing was faked in a film studio, that lizards from another dimension rule everything, that the government was directly responsible for the 9/11 attacks, mass shootings, ISIS, etc.

All sorts of questionable or outright despicable things have been done by people in the United States federal government, but they aren't really talked about because they don't have a air of mystery. Did you know, for example, that there was intelligence available Japan was going to surrender World War II, but Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed anyway to intimidate the Soviets? Those in positions of authority often don't go to great lengths to disguise what they're doing with that authority-they don't really need too, since many people don't care. The 9/11 conspiracy theories are an example of this. Beyond the technical details, it isn't that plausible that the government would plan and execute the largest terrorist attack in history to make everybody more comfortable with declaring war on an unrelated country.The reality is it would be far easier and cheaper for the government to do what they did anyway-invade for flimsy, trumped-up reasons. Abuses of power are usually tedious and obvious ones, motivated by simple drives and ambitions of ordinary human beings, and not the complex, exotic outcomes of concerted purposes by cabals of evil geniuses.

People believe in conspiracy theories because it feels good to. The special sense of being the possessor of hidden knowledge, of being in on a secret, of being one of the few clever enough to notice the truth behind the world of appearances is a pleasant one.So is the sense that someone, somewhere, knows what they're doing, even if they're immoral, and everything is happening for a reason, even if the reason is sinister. We should most certainly question the narratives we're handed, but do so in a thoughtful way. Taking one step and one step only beyond the worldview you have as a child isn't the end of thinking, or very interesting. We should question our questioning, too, and examine the needs behind how we choose our beliefs, even if we consider those beliefs to be cynical and beyond reproach.