I'm not usually very big on conspiracy theories. I maintain that in any society with a vigorous and truly free press, conspiracies cannot hold for long. Once exposed to the light of day, conspiracies "go poof!" Secrecy is their binding agent. Without it, they will oollapse.
This is one of the reasons I used to argue with my [dear departed--Ed.] dad all the time about the Kansas City Chiefs. From the mid-80s on, he firmly maintained that at least one player (usually he referred to the field goal kicker) was being paid to throw close games. And the kicker in those days did seem to have a problem splitting the uprights when a field goal would mean the difference between a win and a loss for the Chiefs. I kept reminding my dad that given the ever-increasing presence of sports reporters (due to the expansion of sports coverage on Cable TV), no reporter would sit on such a story--breaking it would make his reputation and ensure his career success. Therefore, if such a conspiracy existed, someone would have ferreted it out and told us about it.
He clung to his conspiracy theory nevertheless. Perhaps he found it easier to live with the Chiefs' failures when it wasn't really the entire team's fault . . . perhaps he was just "yanking my chain." Perhaps it was a bit of both. For my part, I cling just as firmly to my belief in the power of the free and investigative press, the strength of human curiosity, and the inability of most people to keep their mouths perfectly shut.
On days like today, however, I wonder. The presence of Fox "News" has corroded the concept of a free and independent investigative press--my only question is how far the damage has spread. After 7+ years of the Dubya administration debacle, I am forced to concede that Machiavelli was right about what the exercise of power does to some people. And when I hear about how school systems all over the country are under such financial pressure that (1) teachers pay for classroom supplies out of their own pockets; (2) communities hold "backpack" drives to make sure all students have what they need to attend school; and (3) people everywhere in this country demonstrate their ignorance of American history every time they open their mouths, I wonder: is there a conspiracy to demolish our public school system in order to create a permanent economic underclass?
It would make it much easier for the rich to keep--nay, increase--their riches at the expense [literally--Ed.] of the rest of us. It would do a lot to return the USA to a 19th century model of economic social stratification. It would mean the end of America as "the land of opportunity," where only one's own limitations affect how successful anyone can be. But it would make it easier for those in power to keep selling the "land of opportunity," because no one would have any education by which they could question what the powers that be tell everyone.
Education is the one thing that no one can steal. Once you have it, you are truly free. Destroy equal opportunity education for all, and you destroy the ability of future generations to rise above whatever economic circumstances limit them at their birth. That has always been the true hope America held out to the world. It won't be much for longer, if people like Fox "News" head Rupert Murdoch have their way, however. They don't want people have access to information, to think for themselves, and to make up their own minds about issues. They want to tell us what to think, and to beat down anyone who disagrees. How much easier to accomplish this once our schools are squeezed down into being mere babysitting services, instead of true gateways to Knowledge!
I hate that I am thinking this way. Maybe it's the rainy weather . . . it always makes me tired and pessimistic. But God help me, I have this urge to contact Hillary Clinton and apologize to her for rolling my eyes at her allegation several years ago of a "vast right-wing conspiracy." It doesn't matter that she said it in terms of certain people's efforts to "get Bill." It's part and parcel of the same thing. Rich right-wingers in power want to limit everyone else's access to same. They think the economic pie is limited, and they want to hog all they can for themselves. They just don't get it. When we all have equal access to the keys to success, the pie gets bigger, and there's more to share for everyone. JFK was right: a rising tide does "lift all boats."
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