fbpx
  • Latest
  • Trending
One Conspiracy Theory To Rule Them All

One Conspiracy Theory To Rule Them All

4 months ago
Who Are The Oath Keepers And What Are They Doing In New Jersey?

Who Are The Oath Keepers And What Are They Doing In New Jersey?

2 days ago
A Bridge Too Far

A Bridge Too Far

3 days ago
Objective Journalism Does Not Entail Telling Both Sides

Objective Journalism Does Not Entail Telling Both Sides

3 days ago
New Jersey Organizations Demand Strong Response To Insurrectionists

New Jersey Organizations Demand
Strong Response To Insurrectionists

4 days ago
We Need Amy Kennedy Now

An Open Letter To Congressman Van Drew

4 days ago
“This Political Climate Got My Brother Killed”: Officer Brian Sicknick Died Defending the Capitol. His Family Waits for Answers.

“This Political Climate Got My Brother Killed”: Officer Brian Sicknick Died Defending the Capitol. His Family Waits for Answers.

5 days ago
Florida Man Who Went Viral For Stealing Podium Identified

Florida Man Who Went Viral For Stealing Podium Identified

1 week ago
Donald Trump Must Be Held To Account For His Crimes

Donald Trump Must Be Held
To Account For His Crimes

1 week ago
All Our Sons

All Our Sons

1 week ago
It’s Not Enough For Joe Biden To Simply Be Human

It’s Not Enough For Joe Biden
To Simply Be Human

1 month ago
We Have To Stop Trusting Our Leaders To Do The Right Thing

We Have To Stop Trusting Our Leaders To Do The Right Thing

1 month ago
The Godless Piety Of American Idealism As Reality Television

The Godless Piety Of American Idealism As Reality Television

1 month ago
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • Login
  • Register
The Standard
  • Home
    • All
    • Business
    • Culture
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
    • Immigration
    • Justice
    • Letters
    • Media
    • Military
    • National
    • Opinion
    • Politics
    • Satire
    • Sports
    • Uncategorized
    • World
    Who Are The Oath Keepers And What Are They Doing In New Jersey?

    Who Are The Oath Keepers And What Are They Doing In New Jersey?

    A Bridge Too Far

    A Bridge Too Far

    Objective Journalism Does Not Entail Telling Both Sides

    Objective Journalism Does Not Entail Telling Both Sides

    New Jersey Organizations Demand Strong Response To Insurrectionists

    New Jersey Organizations Demand
    Strong Response To Insurrectionists

    We Need Amy Kennedy Now

    An Open Letter To Congressman Van Drew

    “This Political Climate Got My Brother Killed”: Officer Brian Sicknick Died Defending the Capitol. His Family Waits for Answers.

    “This Political Climate Got My Brother Killed”: Officer Brian Sicknick Died Defending the Capitol. His Family Waits for Answers.

    Florida Man Who Went Viral For Stealing Podium Identified

    Florida Man Who Went Viral For Stealing Podium Identified

    Donald Trump Must Be Held To Account For His Crimes

    Donald Trump Must Be Held
    To Account For His Crimes

    All Our Sons

    All Our Sons

    Trending Tags

    • Politics
      Who Are The Oath Keepers And What Are They Doing In New Jersey?

      Who Are The Oath Keepers And What Are They Doing In New Jersey?

      A Bridge Too Far

      A Bridge Too Far

      New Jersey Organizations Demand Strong Response To Insurrectionists

      New Jersey Organizations Demand
      Strong Response To Insurrectionists

      We Need Amy Kennedy Now

      An Open Letter To Congressman Van Drew

      Florida Man Who Went Viral For Stealing Podium Identified

      Florida Man Who Went Viral For Stealing Podium Identified

      Donald Trump Must Be Held To Account For His Crimes

      Donald Trump Must Be Held
      To Account For His Crimes

      All Our Sons

      All Our Sons

      It’s Not Enough For Joe Biden To Simply Be Human

      It’s Not Enough For Joe Biden
      To Simply Be Human

      We Have To Stop Trusting Our Leaders To Do The Right Thing

      We Have To Stop Trusting Our Leaders To Do The Right Thing

      The Godless Piety Of American Idealism As Reality Television

      The Godless Piety Of American Idealism As Reality Television

      Trending Tags

      • politics
    • Justice
      Who Are The Oath Keepers And What Are They Doing In New Jersey?

      Who Are The Oath Keepers And What Are They Doing In New Jersey?

      “This Political Climate Got My Brother Killed”: Officer Brian Sicknick Died Defending the Capitol. His Family Waits for Answers.

      “This Political Climate Got My Brother Killed”: Officer Brian Sicknick Died Defending the Capitol. His Family Waits for Answers.

      Florida Man Who Went Viral For Stealing Podium Identified

      Florida Man Who Went Viral For Stealing Podium Identified

      Defund The Police Was A Raging Success And Everyone Missed It

      Defund The Police Was A Raging Success And Everyone Missed It

      Non-Violence Isn’t A Just Moral Imperative, It’s A Superior Strategy

      Non-Violence Isn’t A Just Moral Imperative, It’s A Superior Strategy

      The Future Of The Supreme Court

      The Future Of The Supreme Court

      Why We Fight (Part One): The Uphill Battle

      The Fight To Decide Whose Life Matters

      Legalize It

      Legalize It

      A Rational Response To Perpetual Atrocity Is Rage

      A Rational Response To Perpetual Atrocity Is Rage

      Community Concerns Fall On Deaf Ears

      Community Concerns Fall On Deaf Ears

      Trending Tags

      • Justice
    • Culture
      The Godless Piety Of American Idealism As Reality Television

      The Godless Piety Of American Idealism As Reality Television

      Why We Can’t Talk About It

      Why We Can’t Talk About It

      Defund The Police Was A Raging Success And Everyone Missed It

      Defund The Police Was A Raging Success And Everyone Missed It

      Why We Can’t Be Friends

      Why We Can’t Be Friends

      Arguing With Idiots

      The Weight Of Empathy

      The Problem With White Men

      The Problem With White Men

      A Walking Hard-On

      A Walking Hard-On

      One Conspiracy Theory To Rule Them All

      One Conspiracy Theory To Rule Them All

      The Mysterious Complexity Of The Common French Fry

      The Mysterious Complexity Of The Common French Fry

      Trending Tags

      • Satire

        Arguing With Idiots

        White House Criticizes Bob Woodward For Taking President Seriously

        White House Criticizes Bob Woodward For Taking President Seriously

        Senator Rand Paul Subpoenas Tooth Fairy

        Senator Rand Paul Subpoenas Tooth Fairy

        Mmm Mmm Good

        Mmm Mmm Good

        Trending Tags

        • Education
          Gold, Lies, And Genocide In The New World

          Gold, Lies, And Genocide In The New World

          Social Distancing Fails At Ocean City High School

          Social Distancing Fails At Ocean City High School

          The Covid Kids Are Alright

          The Covid Kids Are Alright

          The Problem With The Pledge Of Allegiance

          The Problem With The Pledge Of Allegiance

          A Boat Full Of Holes

          A Boat Full Of Holes

          Why I Don’t Worry About My Kids Falling Behind

          Why I Don’t Worry About My Kids Falling Behind

          Any Plan To Reopen Schools This Fall Is Irresponsible And Negligent

          Any Plan To Reopen Schools This Fall Is Irresponsible And Negligent

          An Acceptable Loss

          An Acceptable Loss

          Educating Children During Quarantine

          Educating Children During Quarantine

          Thinking Outside The Curriculum

          Thinking Outside The Curriculum

          Trending Tags

          • Education
        • Housing
          Let the Voters Decide

          Cape May’s Untouchables

          The Cost Of Homelessness in Cape May County

          The Cost Of Homelessness in Cape May County

          Who Cares For Cape May County’s Unwanted?

          Who Cares For Cape May County’s Unwanted?

          The Myth Of American Justice: Falling Through The Cracks Part Two

          Falling Through The Cracks: Part One

          Falling Through The Cracks: Part One

          Criminalizing Homelessness

          Criminalizing Homelessness

          We Are The Branches

          We Are The Branches

          Code Blue At The Beach

          Code Blue At The Beach

          In Small-Town America, the Public Housing Crisis Nobody’s Talking About

          In Small-Town America, the Public Housing Crisis Nobody’s Talking About

        • Health
          It’s Going To Get Worse

          It’s Going To Get Worse

          Trump’s October Surprise

          Trump’s October Surprise

          Social Distancing Fails At Ocean City High School

          Social Distancing Fails At Ocean City High School

          A Boat Full Of Holes

          A Boat Full Of Holes

          The Value Of Living This Life

          The Value Of Living This Life

          America’s Battle Fatigue

          America’s Battle Fatigue

          Gov Murphy Announces New Stricter Measures Concerning Social Distancing in New Jersey

          Gov Murphy Announces New Stricter Measures Concerning Social Distancing in New Jersey

          Victoria Manor Coronavirus Outbreak Reports First Fatality

          Victoria Manor Coronavirus Outbreak Reports First Fatality

          The Perils Of Living In Trump Country During A Pandemic

          The Perils Of Living In Trump Country During A Pandemic

          Cape May County Announces Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing Site for Cape May County Residents

          Cape May County Announces Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing Site for Cape May County Residents

          Trending Tags

          • Healthcare
        • Opinion
          We Need Amy Kennedy Now

          An Open Letter To Congressman Van Drew

          Donald Trump Must Be Held To Account For His Crimes

          Donald Trump Must Be Held
          To Account For His Crimes

          All Our Sons

          All Our Sons

          It’s Not Enough For Joe Biden To Simply Be Human

          It’s Not Enough For Joe Biden
          To Simply Be Human

          We Have To Stop Trusting Our Leaders To Do The Right Thing

          We Have To Stop Trusting Our Leaders To Do The Right Thing

          The Godless Piety Of American Idealism As Reality Television

          The Godless Piety Of American Idealism As Reality Television

          Why We Can’t Talk About It

          Why We Can’t Talk About It

          Defund The Police Was A Raging Success And Everyone Missed It

          Defund The Police Was A Raging Success And Everyone Missed It

          Why We Can’t Be Friends

          Why We Can’t Be Friends

          Something To Believe In: A Roadmap To Relevance

          Something To Believe In: A Roadmap To Relevance

          Trending Tags

          No Result
          View All Result
          • Home
            • All
            • Business
            • Culture
            • Education
            • Environment
            • Health
            • Housing
            • Immigration
            • Justice
            • Letters
            • Media
            • Military
            • National
            • Opinion
            • Politics
            • Satire
            • Sports
            • Uncategorized
            • World
            Who Are The Oath Keepers And What Are They Doing In New Jersey?

            Who Are The Oath Keepers And What Are They Doing In New Jersey?

            A Bridge Too Far

            A Bridge Too Far

            Objective Journalism Does Not Entail Telling Both Sides

            Objective Journalism Does Not Entail Telling Both Sides

            New Jersey Organizations Demand Strong Response To Insurrectionists

            New Jersey Organizations Demand
            Strong Response To Insurrectionists

            We Need Amy Kennedy Now

            An Open Letter To Congressman Van Drew

            “This Political Climate Got My Brother Killed”: Officer Brian Sicknick Died Defending the Capitol. His Family Waits for Answers.

            “This Political Climate Got My Brother Killed”: Officer Brian Sicknick Died Defending the Capitol. His Family Waits for Answers.

            Florida Man Who Went Viral For Stealing Podium Identified

            Florida Man Who Went Viral For Stealing Podium Identified

            Donald Trump Must Be Held To Account For His Crimes

            Donald Trump Must Be Held
            To Account For His Crimes

            All Our Sons

            All Our Sons

            Trending Tags

            • Politics
              Who Are The Oath Keepers And What Are They Doing In New Jersey?

              Who Are The Oath Keepers And What Are They Doing In New Jersey?

              A Bridge Too Far

              A Bridge Too Far

              New Jersey Organizations Demand Strong Response To Insurrectionists

              New Jersey Organizations Demand
              Strong Response To Insurrectionists

              We Need Amy Kennedy Now

              An Open Letter To Congressman Van Drew

              Florida Man Who Went Viral For Stealing Podium Identified

              Florida Man Who Went Viral For Stealing Podium Identified

              Donald Trump Must Be Held To Account For His Crimes

              Donald Trump Must Be Held
              To Account For His Crimes

              All Our Sons

              All Our Sons

              It’s Not Enough For Joe Biden To Simply Be Human

              It’s Not Enough For Joe Biden
              To Simply Be Human

              We Have To Stop Trusting Our Leaders To Do The Right Thing

              We Have To Stop Trusting Our Leaders To Do The Right Thing

              The Godless Piety Of American Idealism As Reality Television

              The Godless Piety Of American Idealism As Reality Television

              Trending Tags

              • politics
            • Justice
              Who Are The Oath Keepers And What Are They Doing In New Jersey?

              Who Are The Oath Keepers And What Are They Doing In New Jersey?

              “This Political Climate Got My Brother Killed”: Officer Brian Sicknick Died Defending the Capitol. His Family Waits for Answers.

              “This Political Climate Got My Brother Killed”: Officer Brian Sicknick Died Defending the Capitol. His Family Waits for Answers.

              Florida Man Who Went Viral For Stealing Podium Identified

              Florida Man Who Went Viral For Stealing Podium Identified

              Defund The Police Was A Raging Success And Everyone Missed It

              Defund The Police Was A Raging Success And Everyone Missed It

              Non-Violence Isn’t A Just Moral Imperative, It’s A Superior Strategy

              Non-Violence Isn’t A Just Moral Imperative, It’s A Superior Strategy

              The Future Of The Supreme Court

              The Future Of The Supreme Court

              Why We Fight (Part One): The Uphill Battle

              The Fight To Decide Whose Life Matters

              Legalize It

              Legalize It

              A Rational Response To Perpetual Atrocity Is Rage

              A Rational Response To Perpetual Atrocity Is Rage

              Community Concerns Fall On Deaf Ears

              Community Concerns Fall On Deaf Ears

              Trending Tags

              • Justice
            • Culture
              The Godless Piety Of American Idealism As Reality Television

              The Godless Piety Of American Idealism As Reality Television

              Why We Can’t Talk About It

              Why We Can’t Talk About It

              Defund The Police Was A Raging Success And Everyone Missed It

              Defund The Police Was A Raging Success And Everyone Missed It

              Why We Can’t Be Friends

              Why We Can’t Be Friends

              Arguing With Idiots

              The Weight Of Empathy

              The Problem With White Men

              The Problem With White Men

              A Walking Hard-On

              A Walking Hard-On

              One Conspiracy Theory To Rule Them All

              One Conspiracy Theory To Rule Them All

              The Mysterious Complexity Of The Common French Fry

              The Mysterious Complexity Of The Common French Fry

              Trending Tags

              • Satire

                Arguing With Idiots

                White House Criticizes Bob Woodward For Taking President Seriously

                White House Criticizes Bob Woodward For Taking President Seriously

                Senator Rand Paul Subpoenas Tooth Fairy

                Senator Rand Paul Subpoenas Tooth Fairy

                Mmm Mmm Good

                Mmm Mmm Good

                Trending Tags

                • Education
                  Gold, Lies, And Genocide In The New World

                  Gold, Lies, And Genocide In The New World

                  Social Distancing Fails At Ocean City High School

                  Social Distancing Fails At Ocean City High School

                  The Covid Kids Are Alright

                  The Covid Kids Are Alright

                  The Problem With The Pledge Of Allegiance

                  The Problem With The Pledge Of Allegiance

                  A Boat Full Of Holes

                  A Boat Full Of Holes

                  Why I Don’t Worry About My Kids Falling Behind

                  Why I Don’t Worry About My Kids Falling Behind

                  Any Plan To Reopen Schools This Fall Is Irresponsible And Negligent

                  Any Plan To Reopen Schools This Fall Is Irresponsible And Negligent

                  An Acceptable Loss

                  An Acceptable Loss

                  Educating Children During Quarantine

                  Educating Children During Quarantine

                  Thinking Outside The Curriculum

                  Thinking Outside The Curriculum

                  Trending Tags

                  • Education
                • Housing
                  Let the Voters Decide

                  Cape May’s Untouchables

                  The Cost Of Homelessness in Cape May County

                  The Cost Of Homelessness in Cape May County

                  Who Cares For Cape May County’s Unwanted?

                  Who Cares For Cape May County’s Unwanted?

                  The Myth Of American Justice: Falling Through The Cracks Part Two

                  Falling Through The Cracks: Part One

                  Falling Through The Cracks: Part One

                  Criminalizing Homelessness

                  Criminalizing Homelessness

                  We Are The Branches

                  We Are The Branches

                  Code Blue At The Beach

                  Code Blue At The Beach

                  In Small-Town America, the Public Housing Crisis Nobody’s Talking About

                  In Small-Town America, the Public Housing Crisis Nobody’s Talking About

                • Health
                  It’s Going To Get Worse

                  It’s Going To Get Worse

                  Trump’s October Surprise

                  Trump’s October Surprise

                  Social Distancing Fails At Ocean City High School

                  Social Distancing Fails At Ocean City High School

                  A Boat Full Of Holes

                  A Boat Full Of Holes

                  The Value Of Living This Life

                  The Value Of Living This Life

                  America’s Battle Fatigue

                  America’s Battle Fatigue

                  Gov Murphy Announces New Stricter Measures Concerning Social Distancing in New Jersey

                  Gov Murphy Announces New Stricter Measures Concerning Social Distancing in New Jersey

                  Victoria Manor Coronavirus Outbreak Reports First Fatality

                  Victoria Manor Coronavirus Outbreak Reports First Fatality

                  The Perils Of Living In Trump Country During A Pandemic

                  The Perils Of Living In Trump Country During A Pandemic

                  Cape May County Announces Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing Site for Cape May County Residents

                  Cape May County Announces Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing Site for Cape May County Residents

                  Trending Tags

                  • Healthcare
                • Opinion
                  We Need Amy Kennedy Now

                  An Open Letter To Congressman Van Drew

                  Donald Trump Must Be Held To Account For His Crimes

                  Donald Trump Must Be Held
                  To Account For His Crimes

                  All Our Sons

                  All Our Sons

                  It’s Not Enough For Joe Biden To Simply Be Human

                  It’s Not Enough For Joe Biden
                  To Simply Be Human

                  We Have To Stop Trusting Our Leaders To Do The Right Thing

                  We Have To Stop Trusting Our Leaders To Do The Right Thing

                  The Godless Piety Of American Idealism As Reality Television

                  The Godless Piety Of American Idealism As Reality Television

                  Why We Can’t Talk About It

                  Why We Can’t Talk About It

                  Defund The Police Was A Raging Success And Everyone Missed It

                  Defund The Police Was A Raging Success And Everyone Missed It

                  Why We Can’t Be Friends

                  Why We Can’t Be Friends

                  Something To Believe In: A Roadmap To Relevance

                  Something To Believe In: A Roadmap To Relevance

                  Trending Tags

                  • About
                  • Privacy
                  • Donate
                  • Contact
                  No Result
                  View All Result
                  The Standard
                  No Result
                  View All Result
                  Home Culture

                  One Conspiracy Theory To Rule Them All

                  byDavid Todd McCarty
                  4 months ago
                  inCulture, Opinion
                  Reading Time: 10min read
                  158
                  0
                  One Conspiracy Theory To Rule Them All

                  Photo by Joshua Sortino on Unsplash

                  138
                  SHARES
                  195
                  VIEWS
                  Share on FacebookShare on TwitterEmail this story!

                  We sooth ourselves with the notion that the arc of history bends towards justice, but what if that’s just a useful construct to keep us from despair? What if power always wins—and always has?

                  By David Todd McCarty | Wednesday, September 16, 2020

                  “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”

                  Charles Baudelaire

                  Our deep and unsubstantiated belief that good always triumphs eventually is perhaps humanity’s most enduring conspiracy theory and the most exploited flaw in social psychology. We are constantly manipulated by a system designed to keep the wealthy in power and everyone else compliant or angry with an unknowable, mysterious outside force. 

                  It’s a conspiracy theory of our own making, in which we are all complicit, and it never ends. 

                  The idea of the arc of history bending towards a better outcome is the epitome of the long view of things. In most religious teachings, your just reward will not be found in your present circumstances, but in being patient, righteous, obedient and faithful that the eventual dispensing of justice will come at some later date. 

                  Even our understanding of the past is ripe with mythology, revisionist history, romanticism and fabricated memories designed to make us feel better about where we stand today. The human brain does an astoundingly good job at keeping us fat and happy in the Matrix of life, so for the most part, we go along with it.

                  In the 1999 movie The Matrix, we are teased with the concept that reality itself is not what it seems. That we are not living our best lives after all, but are merely part of a computer-generated, artificial reality meant to keep us compliant. But even in this cinematic fantasy, those who are woke can not be described as quantifiably better off than those who are not. The enlightened live like rats in a sewer, fighting for their lives, while the grateful sleeping masses live in a fantastical America of our own collective imagination. 

                  Put your childish understanding of theology off to the side for a moment. Even if you believe in God, and specifically your particular tribe’s take on it, chances are your understanding of the complexities of your own faith are patently juvenile, a product of early indoctrination, and not of in-depth scholarly study or deep reflection. You believe what you were told to believe, along with all the Sunday school stories where your people, are somehow, of all the people on earth, conveniently also God’s people.

                  But what if there is no such thing as good and evil, not in any empirical sense? What it history doesn’t bend at all, but steamrolls over everything in its path, without conscience or reason? What if power is the only thing that has ever mattered, and those in power have written the histories that we rely on to tell us how well we’re doing? What if the man who screws people over his entire life, who operates only to make himself comfortable and to satisfy his basest desires, who dies rich and powerful—what if he wins? What if Ayn Rand is right and there is no right or wrong, just human selfishness, unfulfilled desires and self-absorbed motivations?

                  A conspiracy theory is said be an explanation for a situation or event that involves the machinations of sinister or powerful groups, often political in nature, even though other explanations are more probable. But reality isn’t a conspiracy theory, any more than perception is an absolute. There are no conspiracies in a world where everything is done out in the open. 

                  One could argue that the only real conspiracy is believing in a deeper meaning we cannot see, while refusing to believe what’s happening in front of our very eyes. That is the conspiracy theory that controls all other conspiracy theories. The one to rule them all, if you will.

                  The French poet Charles Baudelaire is credited with the line, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” There are those who would argue that while he did say something similar others around the same time said pretty much the same thing and that in reality, it is Christopher McQuarrie who wrote the screenplay of the 1995 movie “The Usual Suspects” who deserves as much credit as anyone.

                  Either way, it is the ultimate conspiracy theory to convince people that a thing you cannot prove, does in fact exist and the reason for your faith is that you cannot prove or disprove its existence.

                  Fitch’s paradox of knowability provides a challenge to the knowability thesis, which states that every truth is, in principle, knowable. The paradox is that this assumption implies the omniscience principle, which asserts that every truth is known. Essentially, Fitch’s paradox asserts that the existence of an unknown truth is unknowable. So if all truths are knowable, it would follow that all truths are in fact known, but if there is an unknown truth, it would be by its very nature unknowable.

                  The existence of the devil, or God for that matter, is unknowable as the existence of an all-powerful being is not epistemically possible. You do not know, for instance, that the sun will rise tomorrow because of any real knowledge you have, but you trust that it will because it has every other day in your experience, and you have been told that the earth is a planet that revolves around a star and this causes the passing of what we refer to as time. This is information you both trust and believe to be true. But you have not seen the earth spinning in space and revolving around the sun. You have only tangentially experienced the effects of what one might assume are the results of such an action. Even your knowledge of what makes up a day comes down to trust in information that someone else has gathered and that you have agreed is most likely true.

                  Our understanding of the basics of life on earth themselves, are an act of faith. So, why if so much of human existence is all so unknowable, do we believe that good must always triumphs over evil, let alone that we will find ourselves on the side of good?

                  American exceptionalism has been uniquely helpful in the cause of our expansion in light of history. We were bestowed this gift of nearly limitless resources outside of the grip of any entity that could muster the strength to withstand our desires, and so we took it on faith that it must come from God. We were chosen, like Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings, to receive this gift. The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” 

                  Nothing speaks to the white European conqueror like delusions of grandeur and divine providence to ease the guilt of genocide, slavery and oppression. This must be what God wants for us, otherwise why would he let us do it?

                  The downside of continuing along a path of evil no one is disallowing you of, is that you begin to believe that only an all-powerful God could grant you this level of authority. Either you are yourself a god, or are at the very least, working in close concert with the Divine himself.

                  This explains the number of preachers and politicians who get caught doing something socially unacceptable only to discover that they are on the wrong side of the good and evil debate after all. What is one day holy and divine is only later deemed, due to a preponderance of video evidence and eye-witness testimony, to be found to be against the laws of the state of Kentucky and punishable by 25 to life.

                  What is good, then? What is evil? What is right and what is wrong? Who decides morality and who determines what is criminal? Fallible men put forth as all-powerful gods and capricious deities created in the image of man? Do the laws of man descend from the laws of God? Is morality inherent or a social construct? Are we born good or bad?

                  We can’t know what we don’t know, as we apparently only barely know that which we claim to know, and possibly as many as half of us don’t even believe that.

                  The red pill or the blue pill. Those are the choices given us but it’s not clear that either offer truth, let alone anything resembling relief from reality, and may in fact lead to a slavery to ideology.

                  We are only free to believe what we want to believe based on the artificial reality we’ve constructed for ourselves. Freedom itself is a platonic ideal that is only as true as we believe it to be. Millions of Americans profess to love freedom even as they daily give up personal liberties and engage in social slavery to an ideology they cannot explain.

                  Morality is nothing more than a social contract of agreed upon ideals. The social contract is a theory or model that originated during the Age of Enlightenment and usually concerns the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual. The argument being that individuals have consented, either explicitly or tacitly, to surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority (of the ruler, or to the decision of a majority) in exchange for protection of their remaining rights or maintenance of the social order.

                  The social contract is the computer program if you will, the set of rules we’ve all agreed to play by. It’s no more inherent, natural or artificial than the rules of Monopoly or Parcheesi. It’s as abstract, arbitrary, whimsical and mercurial as if our lives were ruled by the fancies of a goldfish.

                  Thomas Hobbes

                  The 17th century English philosopher Thomas Hobbes believed that individuals’ actions were bound only by their personal power and conscience., and that rational individuals would voluntarily consent to give up their natural freedom to obtain the benefits of political order. Hobbes famously said that in a “state of nature”, human life would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” In the absence of political order and law, everyone would have unlimited natural freedoms, including the “right to all things” and thus the freedom to plunder, rape and murder; there would be an endless “war of all against all.” 

                  To avoid this anarchy, free men contract with each other to establish a civil society through a social contract in which they gain security in return for subjecting themselves to an absolute sovereign, one man or an assembly of men. Though the sovereign’s edicts may well be arbitrary and tyrannical, Hobbes saw absolute government as the only alternative to the terrifying anarchy of a state of nature. Hobbes asserted that humans consent to abdicate their rights in favor of the absolute authority of government (whether monarchical or parliamentary). 

                  The social contract and the political order it creates are simply the means towards an end—the benefit of the individuals involved—and legitimate only to the extent that they fulfill their part of the agreement. Hobbes argued that government is not a party to the original contract and citizens are not obligated to submit to the government when it is too weak to act effectively to suppress factionalism and civil unrest. According to other social contract theorists, when the government fails to secure their natural rights or satisfy the best interests of society, citizens can withdraw their obligation to obey, or change the leadership through elections or other means including, when necessary, violence. Alternatively, those such as John Locke believed that natural rights were inalienable, and therefore the rule of God superseded government authority and was invoked in the United States Declaration of Independence. Either way, the central assertion is that social contract theory approaches the law and political order as not natural, but human creations.

                  The more we learn about the reality of our own cultural and national history, the more we understand how little we actually knew, how much of our present is based on a past that does not exist. The more we learn about how our minds work, how fallible things like memory and perception are, the more we recognize that our reality is entirely subjective.

                  If we no longer know our distant past, and are unsure about even our own recent history, how sure can we be so sure about what we think we know? When even our knowable, definable facts are taken as an act of faith based on what other people know, how much empirical knowledge do any of us even have? 

                  If I hand you a $20 bill, most people assume it’s a real $20 bill. We know in theory that there are such things as counterfeit $20 bills, but we generally speaking “default to trust” meaning we assume most people are telling the truth. This is how we get through life, because the alternative would be impossible. 

                  What we don’t do is question the idea that this little piece of paper, printed with ink on paper, both of which we are told is special, holds enough value to buy you an egg cooker, a miniature desk humidifier, a cherry pitter, a vat of coconut oil, or a shatterproof wine glass from Amazon and have it shipped to your home. If it has the number 100 on it, it’s worth five times as much. Same piece of paper. It’s absurd.

                  I am still not over the idea that the solar system is not sitting still in space like I always thought it would be. I had assumed the sun was sitting still in space, right where God had placed it with his ancient hand. The planets spun around it at dizzying speeds, in nice perfect circles, exactly as they did on the mobile hanging in my third- grade classroom. 

                  To learn that the entire operation is hurtling through space like a corkscrew is disconcerting at best and utterly terrifying when you consider that men and women have chosen to leave the planet for any length of time. It’s like a fly cruising around inside your car as you do 80mph down the freeway. Everything is fine, until you open the window. What does the fly know and when does it know it? We don’t know, for it is unknowable. But it doesn’t mean it isn’t true.

                  As the great 21st century philosopher and film director Joel Coen once said, “It’s a fool that looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart.”


                  Follow David Todd McCarty on Twitter @davidtmccarty and The Standard @capemaystandard

                  Related

                  Tags: American HistoryConspiracy TheoryGodPhilosophyThomas Hobbes
                  Previous Post

                  The Mysterious Complexity Of The Common French Fry

                  Next Post

                  A Walking Hard-On

                  Next Post
                  A Walking Hard-On

                  A Walking Hard-On

                  Meta

                  • Register
                  • Log in
                  • Entries feed
                  • Comments feed
                  • WordPress.org
                  • Trending
                  • Comments
                  • Latest
                  You Are Not Welcome Here

                  You Are Not Welcome Here

                  August 14, 2020
                  Social Distancing Fails At Ocean City High School

                  Social Distancing Fails At Ocean City High School

                  September 9, 2020
                  Trump, Chauncey Gardiner, And America’s Accidental Presidency

                  Trump, Chauncey Gardiner, And America’s Accidental Presidency

                  January 29, 2020
                  It Is Time For Patrician Democracy To End

                  It Is Time For Patrician Democracy To End

                  2
                  Why Do We Resist?

                  Why Do We Resist?

                  2
                  Republicans Have A Casual Relationship With The Truth And No Moral Compass

                  Republicans Have A Casual Relationship With The Truth And No Moral Compass

                  1
                  Who Are The Oath Keepers And What Are They Doing In New Jersey?

                  Who Are The Oath Keepers And What Are They Doing In New Jersey?

                  January 13, 2021
                  A Bridge Too Far

                  A Bridge Too Far

                  January 12, 2021
                  Objective Journalism Does Not Entail Telling Both Sides

                  Objective Journalism Does Not Entail Telling Both Sides

                  January 12, 2021

                  ©2019 Hopping Frog Studios, LLC.

                  No Result
                  View All Result
                  • Home
                  • Politics
                  • Justice
                  • Environment
                  • Health
                  • Education
                  • Housing
                  • Business
                  • Culture
                  • Sports
                  • National
                  • Opinion
                  • Login
                  • Sign Up

                  ©2019 Hopping Frog Studios, LLC.

                  Welcome Back!

                  Login to your account below

                  Forgotten Password? Sign Up

                  Create New Account!

                  Fill the forms below to register

                  All fields are required. Log In

                  Retrieve your password

                  Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

                  Log In
                  This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
                  Privacy & Cookies Policy

                  Privacy Overview

                  This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
                  Necessary
                  Always Enabled

                  Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

                  Non-necessary

                  Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.