I actually think, Joe, that Anglos are more prone to conspiracy theories, and that Christians are just a subset of that group. The explanation is easy to understand. Let me use an image to show you quickly what I am talking about:
Anglos tend to live in nations with two parties in (full) control. Just like the image to the right reveals, a lot of green is not found in the Anglo system to the left. Instead we find spinning as an ordinary aspect in the political system with just two parties. To tell the story, they have to turn green into some form of red or blue.
What is fascinating about the two-party system is that red and blue will and must take care of whatever is mainstream. Establishing a good freeway system and building a suburban American life style is, for instance, something both parties embraced in the fifties. This is the setup for conspiracy theories.
But it is not about the freeway system or building suburban lifestyles; it is actually with the opposite. Bicycle infrastructure, transit, or keeping inner cities alive got neglected. The majority does not care about them. Both red and blue did not share any love for these matters in the fifties, sixties, seventies, or eighties. Only when society changed as a whole (in particular, the center) did the parties change (ever so slightly).
It is therefore easy to see where conspiracy theories come from. They come from the systemic neglect we see in two-party nations. No individual advocates can rise in the district system, not until a very large group (i.e. the majority) has gathered of like-minded individuals. There is therefore a severe threshold in place before even the words are spoken in our public chambers.
Being separated in district is of course perfect. It is divide-and-conquer, and all you need are a few believable reasons why folks should be herded into districts to keep everyone quiet. In district elections, even a super-large minority ends up without a spokesperson. They will be represented instead by someone who can turn green into red or blue.
Not the systemic actions, but the systemic neglect can lead to people seeing patterns. It is the silence in the outcomes that speak volumes.
I think we can agree that the following is true:
Health care is not well organized for all in this nation. Transit is absent or not well organized in most but a few locations. Our education system needs a lot of attention. We have more prisoners than any other nation. The poor are poorer than in other rich nations. Life expectancy is higher on paper than in real life. Politics is not just about money, it is money. Our democratic best moments are often found before the elections, not after.
The hard part is that telling our truths need to fit in that red-and-blue image. When a person sees what is going on, then it will be very difficult to explain this to others because the story can only be told in red-and-blue words.
The person trying to tell the truth (but missing the right words) is not declared a conspiracy theorist immediately. After the first five or ten stories about how life is unfolding, and then not being believed, only then will the stronger stories come about.
The wilder the story, the more people start listening. But they got wilder, because no one of importance was listening before.
It is therefore very simple: our system neglects parts of what all believe should be done, and it is about society that as a whole is not listening well enough to everyone. It is what can’t get traction by red-and-blue and it is about what isn’t in place (but what can get organized for the rich and well-connected without much problem) that leads to conspiracy theories.
Neglect feeds conspiracy theories.
Christians that live in a two-party system may believe in conspiracy theories. Christians in nations with proportional voting? A lot less, amigo.
This article is meant for those that want to abandon the two-party system and embrace the full-colored truth. It is possible today, US Constitution approved. Amen, brother.
