Axar.az presents the article “Conspiracy Theories” by John Samuel Tieman.

A few years after I got out of the army, I lived in Dallas. I often went through Dealey Plaza, the very plaza where John Kennedy was shot. For all the conspiracy theories I've heard over the years, there's one detail I've never heard mentioned. It's not a hard shot. I had roughly the same training with a rifle in the Army as Lee Harvey Oswald had in the Marines. For a lone gunman, with military training and a military grade rifle – it's just not a hard shot.

So why do we need conspiracy theories? For the same reason that we like a good murder mystery. At the end of the narrative, the universe is set right. We have understanding, security, predictability and, in a word, control.

We all want explanations because sometimes the questions are overwhelming. Where did all the money go? Why can't the Palestinians and Israelis figure things out and leave the rest of us alone? Why do we hurt the ones we love? No one wants a life filled with questions. We want a life filled with answers. A good conspiracy theory helps. The Deep State steals my money, keeps the Middle East in turmoil, and turns my family against me.

Conspiracies are different, however, from simple misinformation. We all have false beliefs. I once thought Long Island was north of Massachusetts. But I had no profound emotional attachment to this misinformation. One look at a globe and I changed my mind.

Conspiracy theories are also misinformation, false beliefs. But they are misinformation in which folks often invest a great deal of effort. They work to maintain the conspiracy theory. When I finally took a look at a globe, when I realized Boston was northeast of New York City, my emotional investment took no more to end it than a shrug of my shoulders. I didn't think the globe was fake news. People who believe in conspiracy theories often fervently maintain them. For one thing, they usually have put a lot of effort into the conspiracy theory. They've read websites, watched YouTube presentations, chatted with like-minded conspiracy theorists, and on and on. They feel certain that they understand this. They feel secure. They feel in control. Their beliefs provide a feeling of predictability. It's comforting.

People need to feel that they are in control of their lives. Many conspiracy theories are a response to a threat. How could just one man kill the president? How could a handful of terrorists bring down the Twin Towers? There's no climate change, is there? We need an explanation, a narrative, that makes us feel in control.

Conspiracy theories give their believers a sense of control and security when the alternative accounts are threatening. For example, if global temperatures are rising catastrophically due to human activity, then I’ll have to make painful changes to my comfortable lifestyle. But if pundits and politicians assure me that global warming is a hoax, then I can maintain my current way of living. This kind of motivated reasoning is an important component of conspiracy theory beliefs. Personally, I think control is vastly overrated.

Perhaps people need to believe that profound events must have complicated causes. But about the Kennedy assassination. On one hand, there's this charismatic president. On the other, this wretched wastrel. Could a lone gunman with a cheap rifle really undo Camelot? Of course not. There must be some nefarious group that meets in secret to plan and carry out this and so many other malevolent goals. Except there is this one consideration. For a lone gunman, with military training and a military-grade rifle – it's not a hard shot.