Conspiracy theories will always be part of politics.
It comes about when people are not pleased with the truth and they are willing to say anything so they can to get their name out into the world. Their ideas are usually just laughable but sometimes incredibly desperate.
There is a Web site, Loose Change, whose purpose is to show government involvement in the attacks of Sept. 11 The Web site, loosechange911.com, is laughable. However, the fiction it contains is not. Experts have disproved Loose Change's evidence repeatedly.
The Web site lolloosechange.co.nr contradicts everything said in Loose Change.
In Loose Change they talk about Osama bin Laden attending a hospital on a U.S. Military base in Dubai to receive kidney dialysis. The story, published in the French paper "Le Figaro," was later debunked by bin Laden himself who said he was never at that hospital. It sounds like the people at Loose Change don't like to do their homework.
This goes on when the people at Loose Change use certain photos of the attack on the Pentagon to show their points. They claim there is no evidence of an actual plane striking the building. However, multiple other photos not displayed on the site show obvious parts of the fuselage and various mechanical parts, which were found at the crash site. The video on Loose Change claims that it was probably a Tomahawk Cruise Missile that caused the damage. But what they fail to explain is how a single missile can knock down five light poles on the highway, tear through a generator and then smash into the Pentagon. They also show the small 16-foot hole in the Pentagon and ask how a Boeing could make that hole. They fail to mention the hole to the left, which is about five times as big.
They only use sections of the critical photographs, hardly an accurate way to conduct an investigation.
The fact is this:
When you step back and look at the evidence, it is beyond a shadow of a doubt what happened.
If you pick only the parts you like out of a story, you can make it say anything you want.
But when you read the whole story, you get a different picture. When you use reputable resources and investigate your findings, you come to a far more accurate conclusion.
I don't explicitly trust the government. I think that in our 230 years as a nation the government has more than likely done a few things they don't admit to.
I do believe that Sept. 11 is one thing where the American people know what happened. We saw the tragedy unfold with our own eyes.
If the future Michael Moore's of the world want to run around with a video camera to make a statement, so be it. Just don't drag the deaths of 2,997 Americans into your little video.
Make your own decision. But be sure to get all the facts first. This is what it means to be an informed citizen. It means you use your mind.
Alex Carroll is a junior history major and writes 'Speak softly' for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper.
Write to Alex at apcarroll@bsu.edu.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
