The government faked the moon landing and attacked the World Trade Center towers on 9/11, there is a race of reptilian humanoids and AIDS is a man-made disease. People with little time and fewer mental capabilities are notorious for filling their void with ridiculous conspiracy theories such as these. The list of “theories” is quite extensive and the further the research goes the more disheartened my faith becomes in the American public. Unfortunately, this conspiracy nonsense has extended to our incumbent President Barak Obama.

Known for only the facts and certainly not a drug-addled hypocrite, Rush Limbaugh had this to offer, suggesting a third-term for the Democrat, “You have to wonder if Obama is just trying to lay a foundation for not being a hypocrite when he tries to serve beyond 2016.” InfoWars’ Kurt Nimmo offers this gem, suggesting hurricane Sandy was an inside job, “the government (or factions within) are manipulating the ionosphere and driving Sandy into the East Coast to create chaos and Katrina-like post storm conditions that will have significant political ramifications during the November 6th election.”

The issue with these conspirators is not the futility of their theories, but the alarming number of people willing to believe them. Political cultists, desperate to believe “the man” or “big brother” is out to get them, have reached a level of paranoid that turns mocking laughter into quiet disgust. These people have just as much capability, theoretically, to vote as any other American. How is that not disturbing? Reasoning with these dizzy-eyed fools has proven impossible. Part of me feels sorry for people like this; it must be excruciating living life with those levels of paranoia.

While there is an insurmountable amount of distrust for each and every politician, all parties included. Politicians, by nature, are selfish, shameless, greed-headed swine, fueled only by masked self-interest and larger profit margins. However, my faith in the human race is still intact (to an extent) and my intelligence has not been consumed by “reptilian humanoids.” These theories are an incredible waste of time and a depressing commentary on the current minds that reside within our population.

Ilan Shrira, social psychologist at Loyola University and contributor to Psychology Today has this counter-theory to offer, “We humans have an assortment of cognitive biases that can distort our judgments and allow us to maintain beliefs despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Some of these biases include the tendency to see patterns where none exist.” This identifies a solution to the conspirators of our time and one they would certainly file under “attempted silence of the truth”.

We need to stray from the common acceptance of “all-beliefs are justified” just as we disregard racists, cultists, etc. There is no doubt these schemers of theory are unwilling and entirely unable to self-examine their paranoia and fix their imbalances; however, by openly mocking them and refusing to buy into one more Illuminati reference or Kennedy assassination (actually, what’s up with that) or 9/11 inside job, we take away their momentum and their power. Words and ideas have only the significance we put into them. Think for yourself and believe whatever you choose, but do so with a self-examined eye. Anyone can create a website, Photoshop a few images, and back up any hare-brained scheme they choose with “evidence”. Realize that your acceptance and unadulterated willingness to believe any theory that comes along is a strong commentary on the kind of person you are. Skepticism is indeed a beneficial trait, to a certain extent. Just as the theorists are skeptical of all those in power, they fail to understand the irony of the skepticism we should all have for them.