Conspiracy Theories: Good or Bad?

I chose to read about conspiracy theories. The argument I read is called “The Negative Social Impact of Conspiracy Theories.” Karen Douglas is the author. Here is the link to the argument. http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/01/04/are-conspiracy-theories-all-bad-17/the-negative-social-impact-of-conspiracy-theories

Karen Douglas argues that conspiracy theories may appear as a harmless joke, but some in fact are very dangerous and are destroying social society. She goes on to say that people will read these theories for fun, and not realize how much it really influenced them. They will then be susceptible to making bad decisions. Douglas gives a few examples to back up her argument. She talks about a study her and her colleague had on climate change conspiracy theories. What they found was that people who read these theories were less inclined to change their negative impacts on the environment. The opposite effect happened to those that read nothing on climate change, and those that read anti-conspiracy articles. (Douglas, 2015).

I disagree with Douglas on this issue. I will give her that some conspiracy theories are indeed “out there”. However, they’re harmless, they keep people sane, and they are based on truths. I believe that society would go insane if conspiracy theories were not around. The world is full of secrets, and the American government is home to a lot of these. It’s no secret that we have secret societies, for example one being the CIA. It’s frustrating to me that when someone mentions aliens, or the JFK assassination being an in-side job, they are shut down. The news and government officials immediately tell the public that person is crazy, or that idea is insane. Isn’t that a conspiracy theory in itself? Why not just tell the public that information is false? All I’m saying is that people need answers, even if it’s only a theory. Otherwise, humans will go mental.

Adding to my argument, conspiracy theories prompt and help create art. Think about how many books, paintings, movies, and music that would not exist without conspiracy theories. These are the bases for creative ideas. The brain for human culture lies is these theories. Looking back at ancient civilizations is easy to see human beings are meant to tell stories. It’s our way of life.

Reference

Douglas, K. (2015, January 4). The Negative Social Impact of Conspiracy

Theories. Retrieved February 4, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/01/04/are-conspiracy-theories-all-bad-17/the-negative-social-impact-of-conspiracy-theories