James Wolcott has an interesting idea:
I think Air America should devote an hour or two each week to discussing and delineating conspiracy theories regarding the machinations of the Bush administration, the oil companies, the interlocking Washington think tanks, and their media stooges. Some would say this plays into the hands of the right and the mainstream media, who mock any evidence of longterm coordinated activity from scheming factions as the frothings of conspiracy buffs. As Gore Vidal has written, 'Post-9/11, the American media were filled with pre-emptory denunciations of unpatriotic `conspiracy theorists', who not only are always with us but are usually easy for the media to discredit since it is an article of faith that there are no conspiracies in American life.'
But if you're going to be dismissed as a conspiracy buff, why not embrace the term, brandish it proudly, put it to good use? Gay activists converted 'queer,' an epithet of abuse, into a battle cry by wearing it like a badge until it became semi-legitimized. Why not adopt 'conspiracy buff' with defiant pride?
One of the things that drives me crazy about any and all conspiracy theories is that they're nearly impossible for a lay person to know how to evaluate. You also often have to make judgment calls about the source(s), which is nearly impossible without doing a ton of research. Some of them are so outrageous that I tend to reject them out of hand, when perhaps I shouldn't (case in point: the notion that on 9/11 the Pentagon was hit with something other than an airplane). A show that dealt with these theories in a reasonable manner could be very valuable in separating the wheat from the chaff, and it might also be highly entertaining to boot.
Posted by Jason at January 25, 2005 04:39 PM