I pulled this off of The Other Side–Paul Kimball’s weblog. He pulled it off of something else, UFO update I believe.
“Conspiracy theories are to real-life politics, history, and current events what pornography is to real-life sexuality – in other words, and extremely distant approximation. Both conspiracy theory and pornography, not incidentally, have the effect of discouraging their consumers from becoming responsible, rational adults and finctioning in a real, somplicated world. It’s easier, of course, to rant about sinister forces rendering all of us into helpless pawns, and laying all human problems on the machinations of behind-the-scenes, all-powerful plotters, than to participate in civic society, inform oneself, weigh difficult, complex issues and choices, make on’es voice heard, and vote as an educated citizen. Besides being just plain crazy, conspiracy theory is an intellectually lazy way out of actually having to think.”
Now if that’¢s not, “pith”? is the proper word I think. Yes I like that word–very apropos.
Moreover; any publisher (or student of history) will tell you that one of the earliest forms of expression in any new medium is pornography. In the Internet we have a medium that can reflect almost any expression instantly– to a world audience. Is it any wonder that it’s a fertile breeding ground for various forms of porn, the sexual and non-sexual kind?