Dark Side of the Moon

Given the extent of talk regarding the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, I have, quite inevitably, been drawn towards the conspiracy theorists. There is quite a spread of opinion out there, many of which do formulate some adequate motives: a rush to fulfil JFK’s initial prophecy; a means of getting one over on the Russians at the height of the Cold War; an elaborate distraction from failure in Vietnam. Plausible, but too far fetched. I particularly like the opinion of crackpot forum AboveTopSecret.com who say, “NASA is full of Masons and Nazis.” Then there is the scientific argument, most if it seems slightly ill informed: there is too much radiation up there; the astronaut suits were flimsy and impractical. And then there is the photographic evidence: there are no stars in any of the pictures; the flag flaps slightly between different shots, despite there being no wind on the moon. Back to AboveTopSecret for this one: “They had enough money and technology to put men on the moon, but they couldn’t spring for some color video?”

These conspiracy theorists may be seen as nonsense on planet Earth (according to a 1999 poll by The Gallup Organization, 89% of Americans are said to be convinced that we walked on the moon), but the sheer weight of these opinions prove a more abundant truth: that we seem to carry a huge amount of mistrust towards the authorities that rule over us. It’s true that these conspiracy theories quickly followed on from the Watergate scandal, when the inner machinations of Nixon’s government were exposed as one steeped in corruption and sleaze. It’s easy to see, during the hardnosed activism of the 1970s, how the hippy generation borne of the 1960s would turn against their former leaders, but the trait has evidently continued ever since. Spin and manipulation is generally seen as a part of our current political landscape, utilised by leaders to twist the truth, while even your slightly amateur neurotic conspiracy theorist will tell you confidently that the CIA killed Kennedy, Diana was mowed down by Prince Phillip and Elvis was poisoned by a rival peanut butter company. That last theory is one of mine, and as such is completely unfounded. Not that any hard evidence is particular important when it comes to these things, so it doesn’t matter what you say: I heard that Buddy Holly‘s plane crashed while trying to avoid Chubby Checker, who was putting off the pilot by doing the twist on the top of a telegraph pole. It‘s complete bollocks.

It seems implausible that a government would spend $30 billion on a giant swindle, and one that would inevitably involve up to thousands of participants. But then I would say that, because I don’t have a subscription to ’X Files’ magazine, and I don’t make my own 9/11 documentaries on YouTube. But it is reassuring to know that there are people out there who, no matter what, will actively go against the tide of public opinion and dare to question the reality of the world that we are so blindly presented with. It’s a trait that we should all regularly indulge in - within the boundaries of basic sanity, obviously.