Conspiracy theories

We have a general tendency to believe in conspiracy theories. Whenever there is no plausible explanation for some phenomenon, we blame it on our demons; CIA, RAW, Mossad, etc. If it’s still beyond comprehension then we can even blame in on the Devil himself. With this, we find solace, a sense of satisfaction and probably the answer to our problems.

There has been a conspiracy behind ever modern invention. The television was once called the ‘Devil Eyes’ prying in our homes. We issued decrees against the loudspeaker equating it with the harsh bray’s voice. From guitars, jeans, pop music, Coke, MTV, KFC, McDonald’s, or Facebook; we have been told there is a conspiracy behind everything.

Then we are told that media is lying to us and this is part of a grand conspiracy to control our lives and mind. We are taught to be pessimistic toward everything in life and look at things with doubt and suspicion. Have you ever wondered why we fall prey to these conspiracy theories? Why don’t we just go with the flow accept the mainstream rather than making our conclusions?

During the coronavirus pandemic, all sort of bizarre conspiracies have been thrown at us. There was an initial denial that the virus was hoax, a mild flu, followed by claims that the threat was exaggerated. The unhindered flow of information on social media spread these conspiracies like wildfire that the virus was an attempt to reduce global population, forced vaccinations, and ensure we were tagged. Some even blamed Bill Gates for being the evil genius and mastermind behind this grand conspiracy.

We need to realise what is our contribution to the world today. There is a race to develop a coronavirus vaccine but the research is being done in Western world or non-Muslim states. We are still in a deep slate of slumber since centuries hoping that that they invent a vaccine that will also benefit us. The crème de la crème of the Muslim world are not serving in the West as doctors, engineers and scientists. We have failed to retain our talent and faced a massive brain drain.

Yet, we have a tendency to believe there is a conspiracy behind everything and a tendency to ban everything we dislike. In the past, we have banned Facebook, YouTube, Bollywood, films, songs and a lot more. Now we have banned PUBG and want a ban on TikTok just because we believe short videos spread vulgarity. Probably it has become habitual for us to merely criticise rather than find alternate or address the core issue rather than banning it.

We are our own worst enemy and don’t need any conspiracies to stop. The closure of our mind has forced us to believe in conspiracy theories. It is an opiate that takes away our power of reasoning and we find solace in it. While we remain in our euphoric mindset, the west continues to progress in almost every field, while we are left behind hoping there the answer to our problem lies within a concocted and baseless conspiracy theory.