March of the Tin Foil Hat Soldiers

conspiracy theory (noun): a theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators

America LOVES a good conspiracy theory. If we didn't, life would be pretty boring around the newspaper tabloid offices.

Over the last few decades we've seen some whoppers (Kennedy Assassination, Watergate, 9/11, etc.) Some may yet prove to be true once enough time has passed and the Freedom of Information Act can be successfully invoked. Others will probably linger for all time because there's simply no way to confirm or refute them, the Lincoln Assassination being a perfect example.

Flying high and hard these days are dire warnings that if our country enacts any type of gun control, we're naturally heading into a Totalitarian state. It's really disgusting to see the photos cropping up these days showing Nazi soldiers putting a round to the back of the head of some person kneeling on the ground, or the caricatures of Obama with one of those all too familiar armbands (only with the Swastika replaced with the Obama presidential campaign logo).

It saddens me to see people I consider friends posting graphics of a Who's Who from Fascism and Communism, with Obama right along with them, and blatantly saying that if we stand by for any type of gun control the president will imprison and/or kill those who don't agree with him.

Last week one of them showed Obama, Stalin, Hitler and Mao, with school children, suggesting dictators love photo ops with children. I suppose they forget where President George Bush was when the World Trade Center was attacked, in a Florida classroom talking with elementary school children.

All of those dictators came to power because of the political climate within their countries, and were within democracies which were fledgling at best – not a country with over 230 years of democracy under its belt (albeit imperfect at times).

Not immune to membership in the Tin Foil Hat Brigade are the Liberal Left. One has to only go back a few years to when the Patriot Act was passed.

Make no mistake, there are parts of the Patriot Act which could easily lead to abuses of power and seem an unnatural expansion of government spying on its own constituency for the sake of spying. However, we have never seen the wholesale imprisonment and wanton disregard for basic American rights that some people were prophesizing would materialize within the first few years.

I suppose, with our country as deeply fractured on all sides of the political spectrum as it is, it's natural to see conspiracies popping up along political lines. Though I'd suggest a lion's share are there simply because some people need to claim the other side is doing, or will do, something if unchecked.

The Religious Right Agenda, the Gay Agenda, the Media Agenda, the Muslim Agenda, the Jewish agenda, the WASP Agenda, the New World Order, the Illuminati. The list seems to be endless.

It looks like some are burnt out on the political conspiracies so a new one has cropped up recently, that of the usage of Fluoride in our drinking water and tooth prevention products.

There's a particular graphic floating around suggesting all sorts of reasons why fluoride is toxic, and (put your Tin Foil Hat on folks) its usage to incapacitate an unknowing audience, and as a method of control akin to the most lethal Zyklon B used in Auschwitz. Another one supported these allegations suggesting it's never been tested for human consumption.

I'd suggest that if one of the goals was to make American society docile like cattle, that attempt failed miserably since two-thirds of all American citizens are receiving fluoridated water from their taps, and we seem to be an even more violent society than when we were in 1960, when water fluoridation became wide spread.

I seriously doubt the American scientific community didn't perform testing prior to it becoming wide spread in usage, as opposed to Nazi Germany, which used it against a class of people which it considered sub-human, and destined for extermination anyways.

One of my Facebook friends enjoys sharing links to conspiracies and anti-government positions. Anytime I see his name pop up in the far right column there's a 90% probability it's going to be some non-mainstream item. But, at least he's equal opportunity and bashes all colors of the political spectrum.

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But, before I end this post, I want to share with you one very important message that keeps showing up in email every now and then. I find its source credible and so you need to do yourself a favor and bide its warning!!