Conspiracy Theories and The Breakdown of Rational Mind

The word conspiracy comes from “conspire,” which means to breathe together. There is really only one conspiracy that I believe in without question—the conspiracy between humans (and other mammals) and plants. (We breathe in what the plants breathe out, and they breathe in what we breathe out). Our partnership with the plants, trees, and phytoplankton should be honored and nurtured. Without them, we couldn’t be alive, just as we couldn’t be alive without the sun, fresh water, and fertile soil.

When it comes to political conspiracies, I normally exercise caution. So why did I, and many others, consider the possibility, however unlikely, that the events at the Correspondent’s Dinner were staged? It is partially a result of being repeatedly lied to about the war, the economy, the Epstein files, and most everything else. The timing was also suspect. The reputed assassination attempt came just as Trump had plummeted in the polls to a 32% approval rating, only 3% percentage points higher than Nixon descended before Goldwater and other party leaders insisted he resign.

It was also surprising that Trump agreed to come to a Correspondent’s Dinner at all, and even more surprising that the press welcomed him with open arms. The Correspondent’s Dinner is supposed to be an event that celebrates our First Amendment rights. Trump has consistently berated the press for more than a decade, especially women and people of color. The last time he attended a Correspondent’s Dinner was 2011, when he became the target of then President Obama’s many jokes about his “birtherism.” Obama’s jokes were funny, but arguably led to Trump running for president four years later. Now, the first time he returns to the Correspondent’s Dinner, this happens. Of course, none of this proves anything.

The would-be assassin Cole Thomas Allen’s “manifesto” seemed plausible. He stated: “I am not longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.” This sentence is arguably about the president, and Trump himself took it that way when Norah O’Donnell read the sentence aloud during a 60 minutes interview. As he does every time he feels threatened, Trump attacked the interviewer, but O’Donnell deftly countered with “Oh, you think he is referring to you…” feigning surprise, when surely, she anticipated the president would react exactly that way.

In an odd sort of way, the manifesto nearly exonerates the president (at least from direct involvement), as there is no way Trump would have written this, or allowed it to be written on his behalf. It seems more likely that Cole Thomas Allen truly accepted it as his responsibility to take out the president, believing mistakenly that history would remember him fondly, as John Wilkes Booth also believed when assassinating Lincoln.

So why do so many conspiracy theories persist in the collective consciousness? The answer is synonymous with why Trump rose to power in the first place. I unpack what I mean by this next.

Breakdown of Rational Mind

The Enlightenment worldview, associated with modern science, logic, and reason, has been responsible for great scientific innovation in physics, biology, medicine, and many other fields over the past three hundred years. These inventions have produced additional spinoff technologies that elevated the standard of living for millions around the world. However, all this began to change in the 20th century, when scientists created nuclear bombs and other weapons of mass destruction. At that point, the modern worldview had arguably begun to tear itself apart. Mental-rational consciousness has entered a deficient mode, according to the 20^th century Swiss philosopher Jean Gebser. In my view, this is the principal reason Trump rose to power in the first place. The society as a whole has stopped believing in a common set of facts, let alone values. Such a situation enables trickster figures to arise and manipulate people into believing falsities.

Alexander Hamilton foresaw this kind of scenario centuries ago when he cautioned:

When a man unprincipled in private life … bold in his temper… —despotic in his ordinary demeanour—known to have scoffed in private at the principles of liberty—when such a man is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity—to join in the cry of danger to liberty—to take every opportunity of embarrassing the General Government & bringing it under suspicion—to flatter and fall in with all the nonsense of the zealots of the day—It may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may ride the storm and direct the whirlwind. (Remnick, David, 2019).

Hamilton may have anticipated the coming of Trump and others like him who would promulgate conspiracy theories against their own government; however, he could never have anticipated how degraded the discourse would become, or how silly. Trump rose to power breathing life into absurd conspiracy theories, such as Hillary Clinton’s email server containing coded messages that connected several high-ranking Democratic Party officials and U.S. restaurants with an alleged human trafficking and child sex ring. One of the followers of this fringe conspiracy theory opened fire inside the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington, D.C. and was taken into custody. This is not to say that human trafficking of children does not exist. It absolutely does, and all throughout the world. But the idea that one political party or another is the sole depository of said child sex rings is naïve at best. The problem is far too widespread for that to ever be the case.

The Epstein saga is particularly instructive regarding how difficult it is to uncover human sex trafficking once it infiltrates the highest levels of society and government. It is a fact that Epstein and Trump were well-known friends, that Trump is in the Epstein files thousands of times, and that Epstein died under suspicious circumstances while Donald Trump was president (August 10, 2019). Yet Trump chose to breathe fuel into the Epstein conspiracy itself. Why? It helped him get reelected. His base naively believed he would release the full Epstein files if reelected. He has done the opposite, of course, obstructing their release at every turn. Only now is that strategy beginning to unravel, but it won’t unravel too far as long as Trump is in power.

The Larger Meaning to the Breakdown of Mental-Rational Consciousness

I am not disheartened by the events of today because I believe a better world is coming once the breakdown of mental-rational consciousness has run its course. That does not mean we are in for an easy time. To the contrary, many prophets and prophecies foresaw this time as one of chaos and destruction followed by a new humanity based in brotherhood and peace. Visionaries, such as the aforementioned Jean Gebser, Sri Aurobindo, Meher Baba, Swami Vivekananda, and Madame Blavatsky, saw this coming. Meher Baba spoke of war as having the power to transform consciousness, but only after immense suffering has transpired. It is then that humankind will realize it must change, moving away from greed and the illusion of a separate self that has fomented selfishness. The most substantive change we can make is to change the way we think. There is a new structure of consciousness coming once we set aside our complete reliance on mental-rational consciousness.

Gebser and Aurobindo called this new emergent structure integral consciousness. Integral thought is in its nascent beginnings, but will actively emerge when the current mentality that values ego and power begins to dissipate in strength. The current breakdown is a prelude to a breakthrough. An integral worldview will include all that came before, and is thus timeless and whole. It is an inclusive and loving way of being in the world. As someone who has just completed a book on love—Original Love—I know that love is the most powerful force in the cosmos, but also the most mysterious force impossible to fully understand.

Love has the capacity to integrate the wisdom of the ages. It is through love that we can move past our superficial differences to embrace each other and all of nature as equals. Love is the way we can leave a better world for the next seven generations, which includes restoring the air, water, and soil to its original clean and pure state. To be mindful of future generations in all our prayers, thoughts, and actions is a great act of love. Everything we think, say, or do has a profound effect on the entire circle of life.

I was moved to write the book Original Love because I believe love is the most important thing in the world. All the gifts and accomplishment we bring to the world, whether they be in science, technology, politics, or even faith and spirituality, do not matter—unless we treat people, plants, animals, and all of life with love and respect. We should treat them as if they were our relatives, because they are. Acting in kindness, compassion, and love is the most important thing we can do. Thank you for listening.

Much love and blessings to all,

Glenn