...knows that he knows nothing at all." So goes the lyric in Erykah Badu's "On and On." Similarly, the theme song for "Valerie's Family" (later named "The Hogan Family") claims, "Life is such a sweet insanity; the more you learn the less you know." Whichever way you see it, that's the state of mind I'm in right now--exposed to so much information that I don't know what to believe anymore.It all started when I entered a blog post about Rihanna's new video "Hard." I knew what to expect in the comments section and sure enough there were the usual doomsday scenarios along with their supporters and detractors. But in addition, someone left a different type of link, one that led to a video that explained the self-imploding trajectory of our economy and offered a utopian alternative called the Venus Project. I opened another tab to Google "Venus Project" and I entered the site, but noticed heavy animation that might eat up my bandwidth or crash my computer, so I closed the site for later viewing after the film.
I continued watching the film and followed along just fine, but several times throughout the video I noticed a few masonic symbols being flashed around. At that point, I started to doubt the credibility of the narrator. That's when I realized how deep into these superstitions I really was and I started to fear for my sanity. From then on, I decided to divorce myself from seeing everything in terms of conspiracy theories. I was determined to see the rest of the film with open eyes and total receptivity to whatever was being presented.
After the film ended, I tried to return to the Venus Project site, but my internet connection went dead. Figuring my fussy connection was acting up again, I tried other sites and entered them just fine. I then came back to the Venus Project site and, boom: the connection went dead. It only took a few more tries for me to realize what was going on. So then I began thinking of possible conspiracy theories related to this suspicious occurrence. Clearly, someone didn't want me to see something! Apparently, the Venus Project offers alternative solutions to our current oil- and coal-based energy resources. Realizing this, I soon connected my inability to view their website with my failure to re-locate previously posted information about L.A.'s Dec. 6 blackout, and I drew the conclusion that maybe it's the energy companies that are evil! But then I had second thoughts, asking what if this were really a decoy to distract me from my original investigations?
And then I reached a point where I realized I have to get past this craziness! It's too much! My mind is reeling from so much conflicting information out there, I don't know what to believe is real in the matrix. I don't know if I should take the blue pill or the red one, reject both because the colors are masonic, or kick myself for going down this rabbit hole in the first place.
What I'm (almost) certain of is that the conspiracy theorists probably know a little bit of the truth. They are probably correct in identifying the actual problems, but they overreach by blaming everything on the same group of people. They share their partial knowledge of the truth with others but then add extraneous information to reinforce their limited understanding. Some of them may even be intentionally misleading others to fulfill their own agendas. What I now realize is that I have to separate the wheat from the chaff and focus less on the "who" and the "why," and more on the "what." Learning how to prepare for the "what" may, in time, reveal the true perpetrators and their reasons for conspiring against us. They may end up being the same culprits called out by the conspiracists; but then again they may not.
In spite of my (hopefully) more rational approach to conspiracy theories, I can't quite shake one particular impression I've gained from all of this: a heightened mistrust of the mainstream media since it is funded by elites who aren't always looking out for our best interests. To an extent, I already knew this to be true due to the profit motive. But, I now realize that media-manipulation may be much more pervasive than I thought and it may have much more dire consequences (although I'm clearly grasping at straws as to what they might actually be).
At this point, I'm not expecting (or even hoping) to know the full truth. I just want to know enough to protect myself and my loved ones and warn anyone else willing to listen. So when I see a string of "experts" discouraging the pursuit of higher education and I sense this discouragement shifting now toward home-ownership, I'll share that information. When I get wind of new technology that could potentially be misused to invade our privacy, I'll call attention to it. When I sense that media images are being manipulated to promote racial stereotypes and social discord, I'll speak on it. It may not mesh well with my other posts on music and eating, but that's me. I worry about the world, but I also live in it. And living in it means that food makes me sing, music makes me whole, and stupid things irritate the "you-know-what" out of me.
Hopefully, it's not too much of a roller-coaster ride for the reader. I just want to offer my perspective on the world as my understanding of it shifts with the various tidbits of information streaming my way. Hopefully you and others will strive for a better understanding of the world as well and share what you know with me. As another lyric in Badu's "On and On" goes, "Peace and blessings manifest with every lesson learned." So keep learning, people. Always!
Peace, love, and Tacos and Fries.
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