Dec 13, 2024
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Can We Convince Americans to Reject Conspiracies?
by Doniphan Blair
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WHY IS CONSPIRACY SO CENTRAL TODAY,
right now, this second, three days before America’s presidential election?
As hard as it is to believe—as hard as everything is to believe in our golden age of conspiracies—the facts are quite straight-forward:
Donald Trump’s America started with the Obama-was-born-in-Kenya conspiracy and it will end with conspiracy. The only question is which conspiracy.
If he wins it will be: “You see, QAnon was correct. Saint Donald was sent to lead us for four more fabulous years of cleaning the swamp and attacking our Satanist overlords.” If he loses, it will be: “The Deep State stole the election.”
Or it could be the Conspiracy of Love.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world,” as the great Margaret Mead noted. “Indeed, it is the ONLY thing that ever has.”
Throughout humanity’s very difficult history, more than 51% of the people have always come to believe in doing good enough that they joined the Conspiracy of Lovers, good Samaritans, people of good will. If they hadn’t, simple math proves we would still be in the caves controlled by bullies.
Indeed, confrontations such as elections, civic strife or world wars, as terrible, tragic and traumatic as they are, are our school. They are the step-by-step process whereby we refashion good enough that it is able to defeat the new evil, although we can’t use those terms when talking to conspiracists in person.
Indeed, we have to be respectful, maintain the universal human rights and freedom of thought that are standard to all people. As soon as we start talking down to people, we lose the basic equality of person-to-person dialogue.
Indeed, I attempt to do this in my Conspiracy of Love performances (see Facebook: Conspiracy of Love). A combination conversation, rant and song, it features stories about the Holocaust by my mother, Tonia Rotkopf Blair, from her new book, “Love at the End of the World.”
It has to be entertaining because minds only change on their own volition.
Yes, I start somewhat heavy, walking on set singing, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…” and emphasizing the line, “Though I walk through the valley in the shadow of death I shall fear no evil.”
My point is two-fold. The conspiracists are saying, “We should fear evil. The Lord is not our shepherd. Satan and his minions are conspiring.” But secondly poets have been singing about peace and love for thousands of years and why stop now?
If you call that naïve, I refer to my mother’s stories about the Holocaust, when luck and good will were her only tools for survival.
Of course, my mother doesn’t use the phrase Conspiracy of Love, let alone the term conspiracy, even though she spent her entire teen years in the Nazi's vast conspiracy kingdom. Indeed, it took me weeks to explain that some of my friends believe the 9/11 attacks were perpetrated by the American government.
Conversely, it took me much longer to realize that her stories were referencing a conspiracy of love—although she didn’t use the phrase—a secret cabal of people who, even in hell on earth, even in the asshole of history, remained dedicated to kindness, caring and romance.
When I first read my mother’s stories 20 years ago, I didn’t comprehend their secret messages and powers. But after editing them for five years (her book is supposed to be released commercially by Austin Macauley in January), I realized how radical they are: a female view of the Holocaust, a visionary interpretation of hope and romance in the middle of horror.
In my performance, I read one of her stories, “Stefan", about meeting a young man in the cattle cars and falling in love on the way Auschwitz. It is annihilating.
My mother bet on the Conspiracy of Love. We must as well. And we have only three days to convince at least 51% of Americans to do likewise. We have to get cracking.
It will be close. But we will prevail, eventually.
Doniphan Blair is a writer, film magazine publisher, designer, musician and filmmaker ('Our Holocaust Vacation'), who can be reached . Posted on Oct 31, 2020 - 04:50 PM
by Doniphan Blair
Please support our stories by liking articles—thanks!
right now, this second, three days before America’s presidential election?
As hard as it is to believe—as hard as everything is to believe in our golden age of conspiracies—the facts are quite straight-forward:
Donald Trump’s America started with the Obama-was-born-in-Kenya conspiracy and it will end with conspiracy. The only question is which conspiracy.
If he wins it will be: “You see, QAnon was correct. Saint Donald was sent to lead us for four more fabulous years of cleaning the swamp and attacking our Satanist overlords.” If he loses, it will be: “The Deep State stole the election.”
Or it could be the Conspiracy of Love.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world,” as the great Margaret Mead noted. “Indeed, it is the ONLY thing that ever has.”
Throughout humanity’s very difficult history, more than 51% of the people have always come to believe in doing good enough that they joined the Conspiracy of Lovers, good Samaritans, people of good will. If they hadn’t, simple math proves we would still be in the caves controlled by bullies.
Indeed, confrontations such as elections, civic strife or world wars, as terrible, tragic and traumatic as they are, are our school. They are the step-by-step process whereby we refashion good enough that it is able to defeat the new evil, although we can’t use those terms when talking to conspiracists in person.
Indeed, we have to be respectful, maintain the universal human rights and freedom of thought that are standard to all people. As soon as we start talking down to people, we lose the basic equality of person-to-person dialogue.
Indeed, I attempt to do this in my Conspiracy of Love performances (see Facebook: Conspiracy of Love). A combination conversation, rant and song, it features stories about the Holocaust by my mother, Tonia Rotkopf Blair, from her new book, “Love at the End of the World.”
It has to be entertaining because minds only change on their own volition.
Yes, I start somewhat heavy, walking on set singing, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…” and emphasizing the line, “Though I walk through the valley in the shadow of death I shall fear no evil.”
My point is two-fold. The conspiracists are saying, “We should fear evil. The Lord is not our shepherd. Satan and his minions are conspiring.” But secondly poets have been singing about peace and love for thousands of years and why stop now?
If you call that naïve, I refer to my mother’s stories about the Holocaust, when luck and good will were her only tools for survival.
Of course, my mother doesn’t use the phrase Conspiracy of Love, let alone the term conspiracy, even though she spent her entire teen years in the Nazi's vast conspiracy kingdom. Indeed, it took me weeks to explain that some of my friends believe the 9/11 attacks were perpetrated by the American government.
Conversely, it took me much longer to realize that her stories were referencing a conspiracy of love—although she didn’t use the phrase—a secret cabal of people who, even in hell on earth, even in the asshole of history, remained dedicated to kindness, caring and romance.
When I first read my mother’s stories 20 years ago, I didn’t comprehend their secret messages and powers. But after editing them for five years (her book is supposed to be released commercially by Austin Macauley in January), I realized how radical they are: a female view of the Holocaust, a visionary interpretation of hope and romance in the middle of horror.
In my performance, I read one of her stories, “Stefan", about meeting a young man in the cattle cars and falling in love on the way Auschwitz. It is annihilating.
My mother bet on the Conspiracy of Love. We must as well. And we have only three days to convince at least 51% of Americans to do likewise. We have to get cracking.
It will be close. But we will prevail, eventually.
Doniphan Blair is a writer, film magazine publisher, designer, musician and filmmaker ('Our Holocaust Vacation'), who can be reached . Posted on Oct 31, 2020 - 04:50 PM
