It’s interesting to note that so-called conspiracy theories are so alive and well. These “theories” center on the idea that the world is being controlled by a secretive group. So many groups are suspects: the Illuminati, the Freemasons, the Bilderberg group, the Trilateral Commission, all said to be creating a so-called New World Order, although the Rothschild Family of bankers is thought to be the kingpins of it all.
The groups are thought to be behind problems such as poverty in third world countries, the thinning of the Ozone layer, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the current world economic crisis and perhaps even the death of Ninoy Aquino and the unseating of Ferdinand Marcos. More stories say that a police state will soon be imposed all over the world (although I do like the idea of a world government, no more separate nations), that governments will implant a microchip in your foreheads and hands, and all that. Other conspiracy theories include HAARP causing global warming, aircraft spreading harmful chemical trails or chemtrails over North America, AIDS being a manmade disease, the 9/11, Oklahoma bombing, Colorado shooting, Sandy Hook shooting and other shootings and attacks being perpetrated by the U.S. government, cancer cures actually existing (like marijuana) and being hidden by “big pharma,” that the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami was caused by an bomb, the moon landings were faked, and many more.
Some might assume this is new stuff, exciting 21st century information; but it really isn’t. I first learned about them in the early 1990s. A neighbor of mine shared with me from the bulletin boards of that time (the predecessor in this country of the now-ubiquitous World Wide Web) various articles on Freemasonry and other secret groups, with the claim that the Illuminati being founded by Adam Weishaupt actually continued in another form, and all that. At first, they seemed believable.
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I even read about the church I attend (the former Worldwide Church of God, now called Grace Communion International), and its founder, Herbert W. Armstrong, getting involved in the plot. The church was thought to be a tool for implementing this “new world order,” since it promoted a world government before. Armstrong was linked to a CIA agent, Robert Lawrence Kuhn, paired with church figure Stan Rader, who was suspected to be a handler of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Much to my amusement, all that “truth” that my church was part of a plot fell apart. The church revised its doctrines in the late 1990s to accept mainstream Protestant Christianity, and changed its name changed to GCI. So is that a part of a plot to “rule the world?”
Then I find out about a Steven Jackson game called Illuminati which was released in 1982. So the stories have been around that long, probably even reaching to World War 2 (look up Nesta Webster). Modern conspiracy theories as we know them can be attributed to the John Birch Society, especially one of their writers, Gary Allen. Allen authored two books, Revolution in the Streets and None Dare Call It Conspiracy, which gave us the modern conspiracy theories as we know them. Since then, shills from some vested interest groups, and perhaps even the CIA, have been propagating these stories.
Even then, I always felt something was wrong with such ideas. To put it simply, real, beyond-reasonable-doubt convincing evidence is clearly missing. If the stories were true, the secret societies would have been discovered a long time ago.
It’s Always Someone Else’s Fault
While there may be such forces working behind the scenes, I think we’re giving them too much credit. Just look at the picture painted by conspiracy theorists. They make the conspiracies look so big and the “secret cabals” (like the NWO and Illuminati) so powerful, it makes them convenient scapegoats for every problem. I thought former president Gloria Arroyo was a convenient scapegoat. But now we have secret societies! It can reinforce a mentality of “it’s always someone else’s fault.”
I understand why such theories exist, but I can’t understand why such people, the “conspiracy theorists,†have embraced them so long despite lack of proof. They even get angry and have contempt for people who don’t believe them. They corner themselves into their own little world, where they think everything that does not agree with them is evil except a little shack in the forest (unless that’s a vacation home of someone from the New World Order).
On why such stories seen to be so attractive to people, I guess one answer is that they make it convenient to blame for someone else. One of the themes of Get Real Philippines is that Filipinos shoot themselves in the foot, and then pass the blame to someone else. For example, a person who is a slacker and refuses to work becomes poor. Then he blames other people, like the government and successful people, for his being poor. Conspiracy theorists will say it’s all the secret societies’ fault.
Perhaps it’s also a manifestation of human fascination with the mysterious. This same attitude exists with the belief in UFOs, the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. Some mysteries may be so fascinating, so interesting, people want them to be true.
An interpretation of the United States’ Great Seal, thought to be the emblem of the Illuminati
Gun Society?
One other thing that disturbs me is what the conspiracy theorists propose. One of their supporters I engaged in a Facebook group supported the founding of a militia society, or a strong gun culture. The National Rifle Association in the US is thought to be something like this (I have since written a newer article on the matter). However, if such a society was needed, it means the social order has broken down. I would see the warlord culture in the Philippines as what the militia society is all about. But even without warlords, a gun culture would see Filipinos killing each other over mere squabbles. I have heard of so many Filipinos drawing guns just because of a mere traffic altercation. Filipinos have such bad tempers. A Filipino gun society will only provide tools for flared tempers, and more unnecessary violence may erupt.
If this is the fruit of conspiracy theories, it’s not a good tree.
ALEC
There is some credence however to the idea that some groups may be working behind the scenes to influence political affairs in the world, or at least American affairs. Blogger Lou Kritz (our resident blogger Ben Kritz’s father) wrote about an organization called the American Legislative Exchange Council. It’s a fairly open group that claims to be composed of lawmakers. It’s more of a group made of corporate agents, mostly associated with conservatives, and they actually have been influencing American policy since the 1970s. But unlike the various groups stated above, this one has a website and it is public.
Lou Kritz once replied to me when I commented on his article: “I, too, believe that the New World Order, etc., is a smokescreen. Our ruling class tends to stoke the fires with sideline crap, especially at election time, to divert attention from the real issues. In a recent TV show on the secrets of the Freemasons, they explained that Masonry was brought to America on British ships during the Revolution. Then, the American Masons started to shoot at, and kill, the British Masons, and vice versa. I guess the New World Order Program kind of broke down there.”
But ALEC, despite working quietly behind the scenes, is made of different, separate interests. They are not one group controlling the world. And we can do something about groups like this.
US Urban Legend?
Another thing I notice is that these stories mostly come from the United States. I have never heard such stories come from Europe, Singapore, Africa or anywhere else. For sure, people from other countries heard it from America. Makes me believe that the Illuminati and similar stories come from the same vein as American urban legends.
What also convinces me that it’s all unlikely to be true; the operation is too big to keep secret and seamless. Not only is someone bound to squeal, as one blogger says, like what happened on the CIA operations in South America and Iran. It’s also likely that the conspirators will quarrel among themselves. Put two power-hungry tyrants in one room; they’re likely to kill each other than cooperate. This has been proven time and again; even powerful empires always collapse, because people cannot keep it together without getting at each others’ throats.
So world leaders coming together for world peace automatically means a conspiracy?
For example, if people were really implanted with chips in their hands and heads, people would talk about it. They would say, “I’ve been implanted!” Then they would post their own pictures of the chips in their skin or if extracted, instead of passing around pictures on the Net that have been passed over and over again. If they don’t have their own pictorial evidence similar to this, then they would be lying. This chip thing had been talked about since the 1990s, and since no one had come forward to show it, it’s certain not true. You can’t say the secret cabal is successfully suppressing it: people have a way of making reputable information come out.
Some stories are confirmed by former CIA agents and other covert workers who participated in events like the toppling of Mossadegh in Iran, The Tuskegee Syphilis Study and other secret operations of the time have come out and made revelations. More recently, the Gary Webb report of the CIA selling illegal drugs in the U.S. to fund the Nicaraguan Contras was confirmed. Yet not one of them has told of the “secret societies,” nor has anyone else come out to reveal them. All we get is “clues.”
Now the conspiracy theorists will just dismiss debunking as products of corporate or secret society propaganda. They will shout: you are deceived, idiots! But the question remains: if the rumors have been around so long, why hasn’t reputable evidence of these groups come out? Why is the supposed “evidence” coming out in a semi-hushed manner? And that’s just what these conspiracy theories are: rumors. These things circulate through hearsay, and so they can be likened to the tsismis that Filipinos so gullibly gobble up and become dumb with.
One other thing that is funny about these theories is that aliens are supposed to be involved. Yes, aliens in UFOs have made contact with our government and are either fighting with them or working with them for domination of the Earth. Or even reptilian humanoids that live within a hollow earth. Yes, there are people who actually believe in this, despite it all being more appropriate for science fiction rather than fact.
I conclude that many of these conspiracy theories are too big and magical in scale to accomplish successfully. But their being a convenient escape, using vivid and wild imagination, as well as people’s irrational fears, draws attention away from the real issues, like ALEC’s manipulation. I will declare that all these stories are hoaxes and hogwash. They are just distractions from what smaller, but more sinister interests are actually doing in plain sight.
(Last edit, Sept. 11, 2015 with postscript: I also believe the recent suspicions that Syrian and Rohingyan refugees are terrorists or hide terrorists is another more recent conspiracy theory.)
I believe, as my cohorts here do, that what Filipinos embrace as their culture is what actually pulls the country down. And those who seem to be anti-dictators, who may also believe themselves to be “heroes,” are the real dictators.
There are only two conspiracy theories I believe in.
1) Google “Pink Floyd Wizard Oz”
2) The press in relation to Noynoy and his dates/ girlfriends. You can Google that too .
NWO, when some nutjob uses this for arguments, I call him a nutjob and start walking away.
And what exactly do you mean by a “nutjob” and when is it appropriate or tenable to classify someone as one?
Are you an expert on mental health, psychology, psychiatry, human behavior, neurology or any related field that could support their failing models and obsolete theories on cognition, consciousness, cultural norms, sociology and the brain?
What if I classify you as a “nutjob” for arbitrarily classifying other individuals as “nutjobs” without any valid basis nor foundation? Isn’t that what a “nutjob” is?
Just because someone behaves or believes differently does not mean one is “insane,” otherwise, you are too…and so is everyone else.
Be careful with your definitions. Because it may eventually surface as “hollow” and could backfire bigtime.
I thought it was a wrestling faction, hehe 🙂
Hulk Hogan
Scott Hall
Kevin Nash
🙂
nWo FOR LIFE!
*plays nWo theme*
TBH, the nWo faction lead to the rise of WCW… and its demise. 🙂
if you are bored, try to arrange a message board fight between “aliens are real” conspiracists and “aliens are a false flag by the NWO” conspiracists
both of them cant be real
The Illuminati were at one time a completely real group, a sort of 1830’s version of the present-day Bilderburg Group: nothing more than a bunch of wealthy & influential people getting together to unwind and shoot the bull somewhere everyone else would leave them the hell alone for a little while. Most of the Illuminati were Masons, but that was coincidental. In the growing political unrest leading up to the European revolutions in the 1840’s, the Illuminati — who were not particularly secretive — became the scapegoat for the turmoil.
In essence, the people who believe the contemporary myth of the Illuminati — as well as the influence of the Masons, etc. — are being taken in by mid-19th century royalist propaganda.
Or aliens.
Or bigfoot, or those reptilian people said to be living inside the earth.
Human-serpent/dinosaur hybrids are true!
Hail Cobra!
Cobra-lalalalalalalala! Any 80s kid would know this. hehe
@Chino:
COOOOOBRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
You’re being brainwashed by the mainstream media.
Everyone knows that reptile people don’t exist; the Zurich Gnomes told me so.
Yes, aliens.
Pretty late to say this. But I know that that bit of about the Illuminati as a real group. And it looks like it was itself the victim of its own conspiracy theory. hehe
OK, now I know why “conspiracy theories” are still popular. It’s the Zeitgeist movie. Perhaps I’ll see it sometime, but I’ll likely regard it as nonsense in the end.
@ ChinoF
Good article, but not for the average joe. This is for the “paranoid”…people who are intelligent and have the ability to link events that are seemingly not connected.
The group you mentioned above are just part of the huge umbrella that calls the shots.
Conspiracy is reality. You think the “opium trade” that nearly destroyed an entire Chinese civilization is theory? This group made huge fortune from opium than General Motors and Ford Motors combined. What might be conspiracy theory is a new report coming from a parallel scientific research group about a so-called “breakaway civilization of chosen white race” from the US and Europe that have been on the moon since the 80’s as part of the continuity project to save humanity from a possible planet Earth destruction.
TROLL.
Better to cite facts than conspiracy theories. Honestly, that is for those who favor sensationalized information that perceives as ‘reality’.
That is all.
The Zeitgeist movie is still rubbish for me.
Zeitgeist is questionable. Especially on 9/11 being an inside job. Ugh.
You want facts?
Then I suggest you study HISTORY. And stop using the term “consiparicy theory.” Instead, review history and check if conspiracies played major roles in their unfolding.
The entire human history is a series of “conspiracies.” The victors dictate the way of life and the ensuing “status quo.” Now, whether those are good or bad are subjective.
But CONSPIRACIES are FACTS. We are still part of the effects of yesteryear’s conspiratorial efforts. To begin with, you, as a human being, are a byproduct of your parent’s lascivious and sexual conspiracy.
We are all trapped in various networks and bodies who share common goals and work towards group survival or objectives. Aren’t those CONSPIRACIES?
The Illuminati are Real. Secret Societies, both open and discrete are REAL. Why don’t you try joining one and make your own unbiased and objective assessment after digging deeply into the matter instead of making sloppy pronouncements without doing your personal homework and immersion?
One loses credibility because of that conduct.
These guys are real? I mean, it’s ok if these guys rule the world. Worst decision they made was send the Hulk off-world and strapped a bomb to his ship.
http://www.majorspoilers.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/NEWAVNILL001_2nd_dc.jpg
link to the guys I was referring to. damn, my html-fu is rusty.
I already studied history, hence I came to my conclusion in the article. You need to study verification.
I don’t believe in it, but the whole “reptile conspiracy” theory provides great entertainment because I’ve generally adored reptile species (real and fictional) for a long time. It’s where I came up with my laZardo persona.
Plus the whole notion that they control the great royal families makes it like I could write a whole Game of Thrones sci-fi plot on top of it, too. n.=.n
Also…weren’t Rizal and Bonifacio also Freemasons?
Yeah. Some Freemasons did figure in history a lot. But I doubt that was a directive of the Freemason groups at all. Particular mason just acted on their own.
“I will declare that all these stories are hogwash.”
That doesn’t sound very objective and appears to me as over generalizing, if not sloppy research.
Have you done extensive research on the matter, you would think twice about using the term as “hogwash” (which by the way, only indicates that the subject may be too deep or technical for the author’s extent of knowledge).
I suggest you research again and try joining a lodge and probe well into the matter. Until such time, I suggest you rather keep your judgement, because it could either mislead others from pursuing the truth or betray your lack of information/knowledge on the matter.
Wars, are more often than not, byproducts of conspiracies. The United Nations and the EU are blatant conspiratorial bodies…the CFR too. Aren’t those facts? The USA becoming today’s superpower with extensive powers (both dollarwise and militarily) are also byproducts of history’s conspiratorial efforts. Aren’t those facts?
I could sense this article has not done good research.
I’ve already done a lot of reading on this topic, so if my level of research does not match yours, we will certainly disagree. But I’m keeping my judgment all the way… until the Rothschilds or Rockefellers themselves say, hey, it’s all true! hehe
Perhaps the word ‘say’ is better off with the sentence ‘themselves after all done all the ruckus with them not being listed in Forbes, all the oil fiasco in the Middle East, that Federal Reserve Bank in the US, that picking of a candidate in a state by a committee before the voting is rampant in the US, that 9/11 stuff when the towers shouldn’t fall by two planes, that the Jesuits run the WWI and WWII shows etc….’
Just sayin…. I don’t expect you to believe me. 🙂
This specific post, “Conspiracy Theories, New World Order: Old Hogwash | Get Real Post†shaneleedesign displays
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Like I said above, if a conspiracy theory is actually true, someone’s bound to sing. Like with the CIA operations in other countries. And it would be covered in mainstream, or even semi-mainstream mass media. So far, no one has come out.
Updated on Sept 11, 2015.
yes, the Country Philippines is controlled by the secretive world of the illuminati as what is revealed in the Controversial files of the Economic Hitmen of the Marcos destruction of the Philippines by Shultzh,Bossworth,Cardinal Sin,Danding Couangco,Senatong tanda enrile and his money bathub auditors of the napolist list of Senathieves and Representathieves of MAD Pnoy Bribed bacon barrel…
yes, the Country Philippines is controlled by the secretive world of the illuminati as what is revealed in the Controversial files of the Economic Hitmen of the Marcos destruction of the Philippines by Shultzh,Bossworth,Cardinal Sin,Danding Couangco,Senatong tanda enrile and his money bathub auditors of the napolist list of Senathieves and Representathieves of MAD Pnoy Bribed bacon barrel…to friend chino fernandez
This again. Really there is no proof of this.
yes, the Country Philippines is controlled by the secretive world of the illuminati as what is revealed in the Controversial files of the Economic Hitmen of the Marcos destruction of the Philippines by Shultzh,Bossworth,Cardinal Sin,Danding Couangco,Senatong tanda enrile and his money bathub auditors of the napolist list of Senathieves and Representathieves of MAD Pnoy Bribed bacon barrel…to friend chino Fernandez and ida
Beware of those who boast of their knowledge of theology and who dare to say they come from Me when all that they speak springs from jealousy and an intense hatred of God’s prophets. Such infested souls will try to manipulate you and intimidate anyone who opposes them. If you continue to follow My final mission on earth, to salvage souls, they will do all they can to wear you down.
Those who are influenced by the spirit of Jezebel will work, relentlessly, to attack Me. This wicked spirit, through the weak souls she captures, will use demonic means to slander, belittle and incite hatred against those who follow Me. Run, when you are confronted by these infested souls. Do not underestimate them, because under the influence of Jezebel, they will try to cause unimaginable harm to those who engage with them.
Learn to recognise the evil spirit of Jezebel, because she will speak with great authority about Me, through those she possesses. They will speak with an in-depth knowledge of the Holy Sacraments and use extracts from the Holy Bible, but only so they can misquote them to undermine My Word. You will see Jezebel attack this Mission with spiteful relish. Her devoted followers are stubborn, domineering, full of pride and deeply committed to this adversary of Mine, who has seized their souls under her powerful influence. You must never engage with the spirit of Jezebel, because if you do, she will destroy you, just as she has done those cohorts of hers.
Be wary of anyone who comes forward and who says they have been sent by Me, to help spread My Word. Know that I have not appointed one single prophet to communicate My Word to the world since this Mission began. But out they will come, these false prophets, in their droves, each one trying to outdo the other. They will then try to use this mission to garner support, so that they can spread untruths. All those who may be seduced by the evil spirit of Jezebel, and who respond in any way to this spirit, will soon find that all love for Me will come to an abrupt end. You place your soul in great danger when you fall for the lies of Jezebel, sent from the bowels of the abyss to destroy My Church and My prophets in these times.