Paranoid Shift

[psychopomp]

For those that missed this article:

http://www.onlinejournal.com/Commentary/011004Hasty/011004hasty.html

(This article helps to counter the fallicy of labeling people who question the interconnection of many of the big players at the very top.)

Just before his death, James Jesus Angleton, the legendary chief of counterintelligence at the Central Intelligence Agency, was a bitter man. He felt betrayed by the people he had worked for all his life. In the end, he had come to realize that they were never really interested in American ideals of "freedom" and "democracy." They really only wanted "absolute power."

Angleton told author Joseph Trento that the reason he had gotten the counterintelligence job in the first place was by agreeing not to submit "sixty of Allen Dulles' closest friends" to a polygraph test concerning their business deals with the Nazis. In his end-of-life despair, Angleton assumed that he would see all his old companions again "in hell."

The transformation of James Jesus Angleton from an enthusiastic, Ivy League cold warrior, to a bitter old man, is an extreme example of a phenomenon I call a "paranoid shift." I recognize the phenomenon, because something similar happened to me.

snip-

In his book, "Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower," William Blum warns of how the media will make anything that smacks of "conspiracy theory" an immediate "object of ridicule." This prevents the media from ever having to investigate the many strange interconnections among the ruling class—for example, the relationship between the boards of directors of media giants, and the energy, banking and defense industries. These unmentionable topics are usually treated with what Blum calls "the media's most effective tool—silence." But in case somebody's asking questions, all you have to do is say, "conspiracy theory," and any allegation instantly becomes too frivolous to merit serious attention.
-more

[Syrinx]

1. One thing I don't understand

If conspiricies are so "out there," they are just products of deranged individuals imaginations, then why are there laws against conspiracy?

[deek]

2. I had!!!

Thank you so much for your post! :bounce:

What a clear and concise summary of all the things I try to share with others to convince them that they need to be paying attention!

[psychopomp]

3. I like the description of our options

Specifically, the need for a non-violent resistance movement that includes all of the various single-issue political movements (read: a new movement that transcends identity politics).