In today's article on Rigorous Intuition, Jeff Wells discusses the idea that agents of the Black Iron Prison (he doesn't use that term) work to propagate conspiracy theories that are easily debunked or refuted so that anything that looks like a "conspiracy theory" will automatically be rejected by most people, without even looking at the evidence or rationale.

He uses as examples several of the less credible (but more widely circulated) theories about the U.S. government's involvement in 9/11, and contrasts them with the relatively scant treatment given by the State Department to the more damning stuff, such as the rash of insider trading that occurred shortly before the planes were hijacked.

On a broader level, there are those who go around mixing racist ideologies with what might otherwise be valid critiques of the system, thus discrediting, in the public mind, anybody who questions the foundations of these institutions. Over the years, I've come across more than a few articles that, on the one hand, explore the treacherous history of the banking industry, but then go on to conflate that with a bunch of overarching statements about Zionist conspiracies and evil Jews.

I believe it is possible to reach some rough understanding of the truth, but it requires a great deal of sifting, critical thinking, and a continuous devotion to awereness of Self as well as Other. I also don't buy into the "Trust No One" philosophy. Some people, some sources, some websites (*wink*) will, with time, prove more reliable, both in terms of intent and factual accuracy. That doesn't mean we should automatically stop thinking critically after deciding to "trust" a source. (Who knows? If the CIA gets a hold of Ran Prieur (heaven forbid), he might start spouting stuff about how we should throw bombs at government buildings to hasten the crash, at which point I would have to seriously reconsider his vouchability.)

Though I have come to believe through reading him that Jeff Wells is an honest seeker, I still take every Rigorous Intuition article I read with a dose of doubt. But the same goes for snopes.com. (I have yet to hear a reply from them regarding the question I sent months ago about the "Conspiracy of Silence" documentary. Google it if you're curious, but be sure to get the documentary, not the more recent unrelated Hollywood film bearing the same title.)