Tears. This essay —from one of my longtime teachers, Michael Meade — touches my heart so deeply. I love the vision of transforming what it is to "conspire," and being pulled down into the darkness of conspiracies, to that which inspires, evoking us "to fill the mind and heart with grace." May it be so. 🙏 Molly
The roots of fear reach deep into the ground of our psychological and biological being where they can be stirred by feelings of vulnerability, by threats of overwhelm or a sense of impending loss. It is in that sense that fear can be said to be the enemy. Not life or death, not the “others” whom we may try to demonize, but our own fears that can be pre-verbal as well as unconscious.
Unfortunately, contemporary life is flooded with radical changes, growing conflicts and great uncertainties about the future that can’t help but agitate our primal fears and anxieties. The rise of fear can drive polarization between people and generate a sense of imminent disaster in the world. As an old saying reminds, "fear begets fear."
Fear can become such a strong force that it bypasses logic, overturns morality and can lead to inhumane behaviors. As psychological pressure builds, it can take very little to tear the skin of civilization and reveal festering emotional wounds full of resentment, hatred and rage. As an old proverb warns, "Short is the road that leads from fear to hatred." When driven by fear people become more irrational, but also more paranoid and vulnerable to wild fantasies of conspiracy.
The point here is not to excuse those who act out raw resentments and hatred; rather the issue is to understand how people’s emotions can be manipulated and weaponized. Contemporary conspiracy theories become powerful tools to radicalize followers, demonize opposing groups and lead believers to conclude that violence is necessary.
The recent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol confirms what has been known for a long time, that conspiracy theories are not an innocent or a casual form of belief. They not only create delusions, they also provoke extreme behaviors that can lead to violence and destruction. As Voltaire warned a long time ago, “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.”
It is a mistake to try to dismiss those who commit to conspiracy theories as just crazy or simply paranoid. Under the thin skin of most conspiracy believers there can be found deep feelings of resentment and anger as well as grievous indignation. The fact that conspiracy theories can be proved to be irrational also misses the point, just as trying to convince a true believer with facts can be a lost cause. Conspiracy theories seduce people less through the power of argument than through the intensity of the passions they can stir and the attitudes and behaviors they can justify.
Radical conspiracy theories include the idea that the “others” not only have bad intentions, but also have the power to endanger everything the believer holds dear. In the extreme, conspiracy theories become narratives about good and evil, more than arguments about what is true or false. In that sense, “us against them” is the original conspiracy theory and the inevitable outcome of believing that someone else must be to blame for all the inequities and uncertainties of life.
Lack of evidence of an actual conspiracy is only taken by believers as further evidence of the devious methods of those behind the plot and their ability to misinform and mislead the public. In conspiracy thinking, it is not the specifics that count, but the belief that the theory claims to explain everything. No matter what happens, it can somehow be shoehorned into the loosely shaped theory, so that even contrary outcomes can reinforce the irrational sense of certainty. Thus, using reason and arguing the facts with those under the spell only reinforces the blind certainty they desire to have and hold.
People are more attracted to conspiracy thinking when they feel their psychological and emotional needs are not being met. However, the danger of submitting to radicalization increases where a person’s sense of identity and self-worth is primarily based in collective forms. The more people feel their actual identity is being threatened by cultural changes, the greater the fear that they could “lose everything” and the more that fear can be manipulated.
Thus, the over-identification with collective factors such as “whiteness,” fundamental Christianity and extreme patriotism could be seen in the array of flags and banners at the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Meanwhile, psychological research indicates that support for conspiracies like QAnon involve a predisposition toward conspiracy thinking; but also the presence of “non-normative” or “darker” personality traits such as antisocial behavior.
Whether it begins with over-identification with an ideology, religious beliefs or racial superiority, once people’s fear circuitry becomes fully triggered there can be a rapid regression to extreme behaviors. Under the flag of false freedom, people can feel absolved of guilt, despite acting in violent and inhumane ways. Imagining themselves as “freedom fighters,” super-patriots or soldiers for god makes the leap to violence feel justified.
Conspiracy theories and radicalization have become part of the shadow side of modern life and those who have been seeking to rule by fear and big lies have also been playing with fire. As a growing number of Republican officials either accept conspiracies or foolishly endorse them, they further invite into the mainstream, not just fringe ideas and over-heated psyches, but also extreme energies that have been stirred up from the darkest corners of humanity.
The word conspire typically means “to agree or plan maliciously together to commit reprehensible acts.” In that sense, conspiracy theories are not just misguided; they are also the means through which people can be influenced and guided to act maliciously and do grievous harm. The literal meaning of conspire is “to breathe together,” in the sense of not breathing freely, not living genuinely by the light and the meaning of one’s own heart and mind.
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