When Conspiracy Theories Become Proven Fact

Secret societies control politics. World leaders are actually reptilian aliens. Our government conducts experiments on citizens. We never actually made it to the moon. Everyone loves good conspiracy theories because they allow us to ponder crazy scenarios that we can rest easy knowing could never actually take place. They are the ultimate game of “what if,” but seldom do any of us stop and ask the greatest question of all: what if there are more to some claims than just mindless paranoia? What happens when crazy theories become proven fact?

While each of us is often quick to dismiss anything tagged as a conspiracy theory, we all have an inner doubt that we can’t keep from asking the ‘what if” question. And the reason for that doubt is simple – time and time again these paranoid conspiracy kooks are proven to be right about the claims they make, even when they first appear to be outlandish. Take, for example, some of the scary facts we now know about our own government which were once said to be total conspiracy theories. Our government has in fact been behind numerous assassination plots around the world. Our own government agencies did actually use unsuspecting citizens in the testing of biological agents. And no one has to look very far to face the reality that most (estimates say upwards of 70%) of the operations that take place within our government are kept completely secret from the public – and in some cases, even from representatives in Washington. So one of the most uncomfortable things about conspiracy theories is that the reality that they are more than just theories can be found all around us.

The biggest problem with conspiracy theories isn’t that the majority of them are ridiculous (surprisingly, the majority of them are perfectly plausible), but the issue is that most of the proof isn’t uncovered until years, even decades, after the events took place. Take for example the case of an incident called “Operation Big City” which took place from the late 1940s to the early 1970s here in the U.S. For years independent researchers as well as some former government and military personnel claimed that our government had been involved in releasing biological agents on unsuspecting citizens to test how quickly they would spread throughout city populations. Of course, when asked for a response, the agencies and departments in question claimed it was all simply a grand conspiracy theory, and that they wouldn’t ever have done such a thing. And so, those who made the claims were written off. But, if there’s one thing conspiracy theorists don’t do, it’s give up very easily. And so researchers continued to dig and dig.

After years of continuing to dig, of finding details here and there that eluded to the reality of this operation, and of gathering information together it was finally revealed – albeit reluctantly by the very government agencies that claimed this was all nonsense – that, as a matter of fact, this really did take place. And not only did it take place, but what researchers (a.k.a. those people everyone called crazy conspiracy kooks) had uncovered wasn’t by far the worst part of it. Documents that were released detailed operations carried out by the Army’s "Special Operations Division" at Fort Detrick in Maryland, which were designed to examine the vulnerability of metropolitan areas to chemical and biological attacks by releasing a biological agent into the air through various methods which could then be identified by testing individuals. These documents revealed a very controversial operation, but the existence of this operation wasn’t the worst part. That came when researchers discovered that the documents identified instances where these biological tests were linked to serious illnesses that swept through area hospitals, and most concerning of all, several deaths as a result.

Simply proving that one conspiracy theory is actually conspiracy fact doesn’t mean that any one presented should be automatically taken as truth. As with everything else in this realm of “fringe topics” claims still require intense examination, research, and logical conclusions to be drawn. Nevertheless it also reminds us that as outlandish and crazy as some conspiracy theories may sound to us, we can’t immediately dismiss them all without even slight consideration of the “what if” question. Even though, as I have personally discovered, the answer to your questions may sometimes shine a light on an even darker topic. Believe it or not, there are some conspiracy theories which have panned out that I think most people would rest more comfortably if they turned out to be mindless paranoia.

In closing, when it comes to conspiracy theories the very nature of secrecy can cause the greatest controversies. Many requests regarding information are met with responses by the government stating that details cannot be confirmed or denied due to “national security” reasons. Some researchers immediately cry foul and feel this denial of information is proof of a conspiracy. Although denying the release of information only adds fuel to many claims of conspiracies, it is understandable that there are some things which must remain secret. And yet, as we have seen throughout history, in a few years time we may find out that those perpetuating these conspiracy theories are far more right than we give them credit for.