The earth is flat, that vapor trails contain chemicals designed to alter our perceptions, that aliens traverse interstellar space to doodle in wheat fields, abiotic oil, mars civilization artifacts, and the myriad of other things we have witnessed on this site alone, you can get them to believe anything. And not only believe it, but champion it, devote their lives to proving it, even if it destroys their relationships across the landscape of their belief system.

America was ripe for this; cultivated for years. If not cultivated, then observed. "These idiots will believe anything! Let's give them something to talk about." And at this point in the late adolescence of the internet, it doesn't take much. A nudge here, a push there, and we'll dig our own damn rabbit hole.

I just finished watching the HBO series on Qanon. (recommended) And I cannot help but think about Foucault's Pendulum, which we have discussed before. All it takes is a suggestion and a shopping list and people will buy into all kinds of silly things, to the point of murder.

The condiment that makes it all go down? Fear. And these people are fear merchants, whatever country they may inhabit. Fear is enticing. Fear is addictive. Fear controls the mob beyond careful thought. And money can be made. Governments toppled. Lead tossed into my neighbors at a local grocery store. MY local grocery store. Maybe yours.

I've been doing my best to counter this crap for more than thirty years, long before the internet became the means of propagation.

And I'm tired. Perhaps my tactics have been ineffective. Sun Tzu said that a nation has to believe in itself to succeed against its opponents. Convince a population that its government, or science, or fellow citizens are not to be trusted and you've cracked the foundation.

I don't deny that there is a certain irony of warning against fear mongers as I post this commentary of the danger of fear mongers. But that's where we are.