Think [the box] ing discussion

I've read a lot of stuff that says that 9/11 was orchestrated by the US. Government. It would be interesting to hear what other peoples thoughts on the subject is...

It has been my experience that the human mind can be influenced to accept the most incredible and wondrous things, both from external agents, and also from internal imperatives. This seems to be the nature of things, rather than any sort of specific anomaly. Do you remember wrist magnets, pyramid power, pet rocks? Or how about the presidency of George Bush? The reasons why this is so are probably numerous.

In a sense we are all adrift on a darkened sea, and only those who work to keep the generators going and the lights on have any chance of seeing. In this sense that means read, and keep reading. Not those authors whose motivations are quick money, but those who have had the advantage of a liberal education, and have taken the time to study a broad range of issues, and who have explored, validated, and referenced the material that they present.

Sadly, in places such as Saudi Arabia today, there are many who do not have the above academic advantages. Much is not explored, and many ideas about the world open to debate and evaluation elsewhere, are rejected or censored. The education many young people receive can be skewed towards extreme religious ideas, and narrow and limited in scope. Far fewer books are translated into Arabic than into any other major language. Not having a broad base of information to draw from can lead to faulty decision-making. The smaller the database, the more likely the decisions will be off track, problematic, or even bizarre.

In the case of the 9-11 hijackers (many of whom came from Saudi Arabia), or course I don’t know, but I suspect that personal issues, perhaps submerged and unknown even to them, were also at work. Most have political, religious, or philosophical convictions of some sort, and many would argue for them energetically. But my guess is that those who act out extreme rage in the form of violent exploits have their own personal, unresolved demons lurking somewhere in the recesses of their psyche. I think it is also common to project these demons onto the outer world, rather than do the often painful self-examination necessary to find them within ourselves.

I think that those who believe that 9-11 was orchestrated by the US government ought to get a room - a padded one. That these same folks call themselves (or others call them) "truthers" is a perverse co-opting of language.

I think people choose to believe things based on their own agenda. Those who distrust government are I believe more likely to subscribe to this theory. Just as people in the US are more willing to believe that the Iranian elections were rigged because it suits their own purposes.

In a way, the US government did orchestrate 9/11. They armed and trained the mujahideen in Afghanistan, they support the corrupt and dictatorial government in Saudi Arabia. Our government supports those who it believes are good for its economic prosperity regardless of "bad" behavior. Of course, this is going to lead to the oppressed peoples fighting back by any means at their disposal.

Key word: orchestrate: (from dictionary.com) to arrange or manipulate, esp. by means of clever or thorough planning or maneuvering.

Somehow, I don't think orchestrate fits, even under the premise that Carlie describes.