From the October 2006 Idaho Observer:

Cleverly widening the gulf to divide us better

With each passing event, a minority of conspiracy "factualists" are becoming more convinced that an illuminist/elitist plot to rule the world is in the final stages of unfolding. In parallel, those same events are causing a majority of rank-and-file Americans to become more fearful of the (mostly Muslim) "terrorists" plotting America’s destruction because they "hate our freedom."

I believe the fundamental division being exploited here is between those whose K-through-college conditioning is still intact against those whose K-through-college conditioning has evaporated. This is a clever (and intentional) campaign to divide Americans in two extremist camps: Those who believe the U.S. government is protecting everyone from terrorists and those who believe the real terrorists are the U.S. government.

The deepening levels of absurdity emanating from D.C.—and how people are responding to them—proves my point. When political power is used to divide people, the intent of the politically-powerful is to conquer them.

To the conspiracy factualists: Do you remember what your perception of the world was like back in the 60s when JFK was assassinated and Neil Armstrong took that "one giant step for mankind?" How does the memory of your immediate reaction to the assassination of JFK and the "first" moon landing compare to your understanding of those events now? What would the world of today look like to us if our K-through-college conditioning were still in place? What if you still had no idea that the world is now and always has been governed by competing and conspiring elitist cabals hell-bent on ruling everyone and everything in the known universe?

To the rank-and-filers: I can only suggest that you recall a time in recorded history or in your personal life where you knew for a fact that government lied. Then consider the likelihood that government is lying about other issues (take your pick). If your response to charges that "9/11 was an inside job" or "President Bush is an idiot" are emotional rather than based upon facts to the contrary, go out in search of facts to support your emotion-based beliefs—or be prepared to accept the intellectual consequences when the evidence indicates 9/11 truly was an inside job and the president really is an idiot.

So, events like 9/11 occur, the official explanation, as reported by the corporate media, defies evidence, logic and reason; people must accept or reject what they are being told. Dissidents predictably see through the absurdities and, in this way, are continually updating their deepening dissent; rank-and-filers predictably accept the absurdities on faith and are, therefore, continually updating their deepening dependence on the state. This dynamic is widening the gulf between conspiracy factualists and rank-and-filers. One believes government is serving and protecting while the other believes government is seeking and destroying. Sure, a few people are awakening from their public instruction/mainstream media-induced hypnosis to see the conspiracy for what it is, but mostly we are being polarized as a people. Make no mistake, this is an intentional and effective campaign to widen and deepen the gulf dividing us.

The importance of understanding what each camp is perceiving cannot be understated: With every traumatic event/media propaganda piece/government reaction, independent thinkers are more certain that our leaders are betraying our freedom and dignity to those who desire our servitude or death; dependent thinkers (those whose opinions are created and shaped by the state and its organs in the corporate media) become more dependent upon those they believe are protecting them from enemies (or "terrorists" in modern vernacular). In real terms, the former are dissidents flirting with political imprisonment or assassination; the latter are trading essential liberty for an illusion of safety. One step further, Big Brother is preparing for the day when the outspoken dissident minority will be rounded up and destroyed so the silent acquiescent majority can be more easily harvested—and then destroyed.

An illuminating analogy: Following investigations into how our modern world operates to their ends often leads to darkness. The eyes of veteran investigators have adjusted to the darkness and they are able to see well enough to bravely plod forward into the ever-deepening darkness. For those who have never investigated how the world really works, sudden exposure without the benefit of knowledge or experience is like being jerked out of a comfortable and familiar day-lit world and thrust into a dark unfamiliar room—where the only possible reactions are fear of the darkness and an all-consuming desire to be returned to the light.

To both intentionally-created "camps": Our own futures and the futures of our children and grandchildren will likely be determined by our willingness to walk a mile or two in each other’s moccasins and share a pipe before resolving to attack one another. (DWH)