I knew this, because I watched an extremely-compelling documentary online called Loose Change. This movie explained the entire cover-up, how it was executed, why it was done, and who benefited. And believe me, if I had any doubts at the time about the intentions of the Bush Administration, and I did, well, this flick pretty much solidified them.
I mean, we were at war! And a terrible one. We watched on live tv this invasion of Iraq and read on the AP daily about another roadside IED that killed and maimed a bunch of 19-year old Marines, the hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis killed and displaced, the fact that our own government bungled this so badly. But without this false-flag operation we called 9/11 carried out not five years before, well, this wouldn't have happened. Without 9/11, there would be no pretext for war.
But even as a 21-year old, the second I found out that this "documentary" was nothing more than a movie project directed and produced by a few college students not much older than me, a project based on pure fiction and pot-induced imagination, I quickly disregarded it. It didn't change much about my opinion of Cheyney and Bush. But at least it made null and void any argument about the evilness of our current government for purposely destroying two huge buildings in downtown Manhattan and killing thousands of innocent US citizens just for an excuse to go to war, while engaging in heated and drunken political arguments with my more pro-Bush college peers.
I would always argue that Iraq was our worst foreign policy decision ever, that it actually created the very thing it set out to destroy: a terrorist safe haven. I would argue that it was poorly executed, and very stupid, and possibly even criminally negligent. I would also argue that the Bush tax cuts were detrimental to our economy, or that how is it fiscally-conservative to fight a war without raising taxes to pay for it, and turn an abundant surplus into a devastating deficit? And I still argue this, but never will I bring up the evil conspiracy argument.
Why?
Well among other things, it's just dumb. And incredibly pointless. And I know how stupid you look when you argue things such as Obama is a Kenyan-born Marxist Secularist while also somehow an Islamist...just as stupid as you look when you argue that Bush knocked down the World Trades. Yet I do believe that poor decisions, unintended consequences, innocent mistakes and stupidity sometimes are the reason these conspiracy theories exist. Like invading a foreign country for sketchy reasons or not thoroughly investigating the death of a sitting Supreme Court Justice.
I think that in this hyperpartisan foul year of our Lord A.D. 2016, political belief has become interchangeable with religion, and maybe it always has been. We are quick to blame the other side for any bad that happens on our side, while always seeing our side as the well-intentioned one. Some also say that we are innately hardwired to believe in conspiracy theories. I know I was at one point, as a child, when I became fascinated in UFOs and secret societies and government coverups. But, ya know, I eventually grew up. And even more significantly, I like to believe I gained some common sense and critical thinking skills along the way.
And if you let emotion or partisanship get in the way of common sense and critical thinking, well, you may or may not be an idiot, but you damn sure look like one.
Scalia died peacefully in bed, one year older than the current life expectancy of an American male. Let's try to give society the benefit of the doubt, that maybe just maybe, it wasn't the CIA smothering him with a pillow (then leaving the murder weapon on top of the body).
Maybe, just maybe, sometimes crazy awful life-altering things just happen. Sometimes it actually is a small group of hijackers with box cutters. Or the weather. Or just one guy with a gun.
Except with the JFK assassination...that shit was a goddam cover-up.
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