The only thing all these RightWing sites link to is themselves or each other. Why? Their view is that America is under the tight control of the Liberals, so you never hear a whisper of the Truth from any mainstream source. Why, the very fact that you hear nothing about this in the news, in government archives, or anywhere else out here except Fox News is proof that there's a coverup!

That's not to imply that you're absolutely wrong in what you're saying to Lindy, Tom, nor that RightWingers are necessarily identical to varieties of conspiracy theorists and cultists. Rather, the potential to think like that is present in everybody. It's encouraged by demagoguery and groupthink, and discouraged by self-examination and a spot of humility. Confidence in the rightness of one's beliefs is empowering up to a point, but beyond the point where beliefs diverge from reality, clinging to belief over reality leads directly to paranoia.

You probably can't hear how much the language of Conservatives is based on conspiracy thinking. What exactly is "the mainstream media" that's out to get you (collectively)? Who are these "Liberal elites" who sound suspiciously like the Elders of Zion? How can you (collectively) simultaneously represent the mainstream of America while being an embattled minority? Is it rational to believe that every Republican caught with his hand in the cookie jar or his pants around his feet (or stance too wide) was set up?

If you listen carefully, you might hear the faint strains of romanticism in those stories, and that's part of the seductive attraction of most conspiracy stories. They place the believer in the role of David battling Goliath, the plucky underdog fighting implacable enemies...and of course building up the enemies into fearsome demons builds up one's own ego at the same time.

It's also a common formula for protecting the ego; in sports the losing players always say "The other team played a great game" rather than admit that "my game sucked". Another amusing example comes from politics: "Only a candidate as bad as John Kerry could've lost to George Bush". Demonizing down as well as demonizing up can be a balm for the battered ego. But it's still demonizing, and demonizing is a necessary precondition for developing a conspiracy theory.

Watch out for that mote in the eye.