As we honor those lost on 9-11, let's also mourn that right afterwards, was the last time the USA was unified, against a foreign threat.
United we stand, divided we fall
I, like most Americans, will honor the memories of those we lost on 9-11 and in the wars afterwards, wars that I participated in… often. Post 9-11, the US and our global allies and friends, were unified in our attempts to thwart global terrorism. Now, a generation later, one of America’s only two major parties, is dominated by conspiracy theorists that believe the US was behind 9-11 and also refused to support our nation when it came under attack from our primary adversary Russia. Tragically, a review of Russian Propaganda against our nation and the West, shows that this same party, the MAGA dominated GOP, now fully supports anti US, Russian propaganda. They also support an entirely unified far-right agenda that includes the overthrow of the US democracy that we all witnessed on January 6th.
American democracy is at acute risk, until this party shakes off their “brainwashing” (a term I despise but use for ease of understanding) and is more a threat now, than on that tragic morning, 22 years ago. In fact, Russian and global far-right ideology is safe and well, within the ideology of pro-Russian and GOP ideology. The ideology of global, far-right movements is now considered mainstream MAGA ideology. According to the highly esteemed, Pew Research Center, 4-10 Republicans believe in conspiracy theories and that Qanon is a “good thing.”
Q is but one outlet for such conspiracy theories. For decades, the GOP, largely via FOX News, has carefully conditioned a GOP to be subconsciously triggered by what they say and in support of the wildest conspiracy theories imaginable. All of these are not only heinous lies but are anti-US. Now, in 2023, our national security is far more at threat from these Pavlovian pups.
In a well-research article from the non-profit, SPLC Southern Poverty Law Center, you will find the following, high-profile, ten conspiracy theories, that are now part and parcel of the mainstream US GOP ideology. These 10 rarely see the light of day from today’s “left.” Not that the left doesn’t have their own conspiracy theories but depending on the source, are at least 4 times less to be repeated and or become mainstream.
Chemtrails
Martial Law
FEMA Concentration Camps
Foreign troops on US soil
Door-to-door gun confiscations
9-11 as a government plot
Population control
HAARP, “Death Star”
The Federal Reserve Conspiracy
The North American Union
While that such conspiracy theories have been around since man first walked upright, according to the 9-11 memorial site, it was this attack that ushered in the “golden age of conspiracy theories.”
The 9/11 attacks gave rise to numerous, and often conflicting, conspiracy theories. Catalyzed by the early internet, these theories spread widely, sowing distrust, and offering a harbinger of today’s political and cultural landscape. Elise Wang, assistant professor for the Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Linguistics at California State University, Fullerton, and Stephen Andrews, managing editor of the Journal of American History and adjunct professor for the Department of History at Indiana University, reflect on how 9/11 conspiracy theories tie into a broader historical context and have paved the way for our current culture marked by distrust, suspicion, and mis- and disinformation. - 9-11 Memorial and Museum - WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14
Conspiracy theories being mainstreamed is beyond dangerous, especially when they command the attention and actions of half of American voters. Historically, it is more than likely that a battle between two of America’s most dishonest, newspaper publishers caused America to go to war with Spain. “Remember the Maine” was the official battle cry but was based more on the Yellow Journalism of publishers, William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer than on any relevant facts.
In 1898, the U.S.S. Maine, a battleship anchored in Havana Harbor exploded, killing 266 people. The U.S government had sent the vessel to patrol the waters between Cuba and the U.S. in order to prevent the illegal transport of arms and to protect Americans amid Cuba’s struggle for independence from Spain. The strained relationship between Cuba and Spain had significantly harmed trade relations with the U.S. and calls for humanitarian aid were becoming increasingly urgent. Given these rising tensions and a formal expression of solidarity with Cuba by the United States government, animosity towards Spain developed rapidly even before the Maine disaster.
In response to the disaster and an inquiry suggesting that its cause was an external explosion, widespread speculation and accusations were quickly directed towards Spain, both publicly and among members of Congress. Newspapers, including William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal, quickly assumed Spain’s guilt. The Journal’s headline declared the tragedy “The work of an enemy.” Though no official statement had confirmed the perpetrator, the public embraced this narrative. Upon the release of this news, demand for American intervention became overwhelming, encouraging the U.S.’s eventual declaration of war just two months later.
Hearst’s newspaper and Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World were well known for using sensational journalism to sell more papers. Regardless of evidence, they extrapolated on the inquiry’s vague conclusion in order to profit from American hysteria. Only five days after the incident, the World published the headline “The World’s Latest Discoveries Indicate the Maine Was Blown Up by A Submarine Mine,” while the New York Journal claimed, “Crisis Is at Hand… Spanish Treachery.”
- comment on “The U.S.S Maine Disaster: Yellow Journalism At Its Finest”
- Urban Fictionary, An Encyclopedia of Fake News in American History
- Smith College
- 2019As we now experience “yellow journalism” globally in our current era, the same threats prevail. Putin employs all manner of conspiracy theories to sustain his false narratives about the West triggering the Ukraine war. Nothing could be further from the truth, but every day in the US congress, you can hear different forms of these conspiracy theories and often, directly out of the mouth of Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy, and his “Freedom Caucus” thugs in Congress, are quite fond of repeating Putin’s “fake news” while concurrently threatening to defund support for our allies, Ukraine. This is direct support to Putin and his ongoing Ukrainian genocide.
What I’ve been discussing leading up to this point is simple and can be put into an easy equation that leads to failing our own national security, by embracing conspiracy theories. It goes something like this:
Conspiracy theories are powerful narratives that trigger our subconscious. Once a narrative is established, they are nearly impossible to dislodge, especially quickly.
Narratives trigger human beings to respond subconsciously once established.
Those victimized by weaponized narratives will support anyone and anything that can trigger that enculturated narrative.
Today’s GOP is indeed so enculturated, by 30 years of mostly FOX News “conditioning” that has shaped their identity to believe that they are the highest level of patriots while in all actuality, being the antithesis. It is quite literally, who they have become.”
They will vote to support Putin while concurrently believing themselves super-patriots.
Once an identity is established, these fully enculturated identities will support familiar narrators without thinking about it consciously, all the while believing they are doing good for our country. We see this daily, all day long and especially now on the right side of the aisle, in Congress.
This is the power of narrative to those who understand it well. When employed in a conflict or competition, narrative becomes Narrative Warfare. The US national security community does not and has failed in influence for decades, yet still refuses to learn and evolve. If the US natsec community doesn’t continue to evolve significantly, we will continue to lose more Americans to those that wield such weaponized narratives cleverly and with expertise. This is what happened in 1898 with the sinking of the USS Maine. The Yellow Journalism of the period convinced the American people that they must go to war with Spain. This worked because of narrative and now, 125 years later, we still refuse to learn how to play professionally on the field of influence. The Pentagon, Congress and the IC/ Intelligence community are the ones failing us. It is they who are charged with our protection. It is they that make the decisions to not support innovation and modernization among our natsec communities.
To sum up today’s article regarding this acute threat to US and allied national security, let’s review a bit… by-the-numbers.
9-11 is a powerful trauma for the American people and so many others.
We must honor those who perished by loosening the grip of the conspiracy theorists, responsible for heinous conspiracy theories. If we don’t…
Those conspiracy theories simply become deeper entrenched into the consciences of the party that has proved itself susceptible to any type of conspiracy theory.
The only answer to false narratives is to fight them with far better narratives, proactively, not in the usual methods of the Pentagon and other natsec communities that are built around counter-narratives alone.
The problem here is many-layered but counternarratives alone, employed by the inexperienced and misinformed is a failure waiting to happen.
This is why the US natsec community has failed us for decades.
Even if we began wielding narrative professionally to protect our citizens, it would take generations to cure the American people. After a near collapse of American democracy during the Trump administration, you would think that the natsec community would want to become proficient in their fields but NO, this is not nor will be the case. So long as over-paid and under-performing defense contractors hold sway in the nepotistic world of contracting, we are at significant risk.
It’s time for our nation to stop debating conspiracy theories. We must employ logic, reason and critical thinking if we are to move democracy forward while concurrently defending reality.
As the title of this article implies, the Trump era was the first time in our long history as a nation, that we did not unify to face a common, external threat. This should tell you just how perilous, is the fate of our way of life. Based on my long experience in the influence realm, in support of US national security, I don’t truly believe our MAGA threats are conscious of how much they are working against American Democracy. Narrative principles are the most powerful of all influence knowledge, tactics and other operations.
Today’s GOP will continue to swing the conspiracy theory clubs, to intimidate those who don’t agree with them. The only answer to these assaults, will be to stand firmly for truth and to learn how to rehabilitate our population professionally. In its current form, the natsec community is clearly incapable. Until they catch up, if ever, it will be up to the American people to hold the line on our true American values, not the fake patriotism of MAGA.
I do wish that I could bring everyone better news on this difficult day, as we all recall the horror of that day, long ago. As horrific as 9-11 was, let’s all remember the good that came from it.
Red and Blue voters were unified against a common foe, for a couple of years.
The US, our allies and friends were unified for the same time frame.
We all became real patriots for a while with politics mostly in support of our efforts abroad.
“Mainstreet America” didn’t argue over the merits of a conspiracy theory vs. reality. The majority stuck to the facts for a while.
We may never fully recover from what 9-11 set in motion, but we must find a way back to being the “UNITED States” again, especially in matters of severe threats to our democracy.
I will simply part with a quiet, self-told prayer, for the souls of those lost on that fateful day, and the lives lost in all the wars since. We are capable of being the type of Americans that our founders foresaw for our nation, but at the moment, we’re going to have to try a lot harder to get there. The way that I will mourn today, will be to work harder to be worthy of the very citizenship… that cost them their lives.
