Art of the Skeptic: Under Control

Firstly, I want to apologize for my absence, hurrican Irene put me offline for awhile, but I'm back. Next, I want to answer a question I'm sure you're wondering, "What's with the post title?" Well I'll tell you. There are many theories that a group called "The Illuminati" controls everything from governments, to the press, to even influencing our actions! They supposedly do this through nearly unlimited resources, so they can sway the media as they please, and adding subliminal messages into videos and music we see all the time. Here is a related video, that also has more information. Part two should not be hard to find.

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Now the first issue I notice with these theories is that subliminal messages have been proven time and again not to work to any important degree.^[1]  Needless to say this severely diminishes Illuminati power, seeing as the primary use of full media control would be subconsciously swaying the public. Certainly, they could also feed false reports of what they wanted, but that would then require them to actually make it happen, lest someone in the area mention that nothing happened. For instance if the news said there was a bombing in my hometown, they would have to actually bomb a target, otherwise it would require VAST amounts of (ineffective) subliminal messaging to convince me. As for politics? They would encounter snags, no matter what.

While money is a powerful tool in political campaigning, the most important parts are charisma and having an opinion everyone agrees on. Now being the mightiest of skeptics, I struggle to believe that the Illuminati could, for any sum of money, gain complete control over government. The Illuminati would frequently encounter people coming to power that would not work for or with them. Now the obvious response would be to take them out of power. Most likely by assassination. This is a favorite of many Illuminati conspiracy theorists, who claim our unseen masters have killed numerous politicians, musicians, and really anyone who could influence many people that refused to work with them. Well, yes, presidents have been assassinated, but think about how often someone the Illuminati disagrees with would have come into power, more than once right? Exactly. Another issue, the video above mentions Eminem as someone who has spoken against the Illuminati. I certainly don't need to tell you he isn't dead, and his influence is more than great, it's quite possible that it's nearly unparalleled. Now you don't see people listening to his opinions on abortion or gun control. Or at least you don't think you do. You might say, "Politicians give press releases all the time, but Eminem never does, so ha! He doesn't have as much influence!" If you said this, I would be forced to respond with, "YOU AREN'T BEING SKEPTICAL ENOUGH!!!" First off, his songs are his opinions, that's just how it works. Next, he has an immense fan base, who are all affected by his opinion. Now I want to clarify the difference between this and subliminal messaging. Subliminal messaging involves images lasting fractions of a second or messages that people cannot hear. Eminem does neither of these things (At least not in the context I'm discussing, I haven't viewed all his music videos frame by frame or done a sound analysis of his songs) But he says things, and people listen, they may or may not agree with his opinions, but it has affected them either way. Now I have to admit I have digressed hugely, but it was for a reason. The point? Eminem is a powerful public figure, and if he spoke against the Illuminati, he would be removed. By this logic, I have to say there is really no way the Illuminati kills such people.

But, for the sake of argument, let's say the Illuminati is real, and does control many aspects of our life. Is it really an issue? Now certainly, the idea of us all being controlled by just a few is somewhat worrisome, but you have to notice that they clearly aren't (hugely) malevolent. Now certainly things are unfair, but I would compare this to the Matrix, where the machines, even with their complete control over "world" affairs, must make things imperfect. So while some people live in luxury, others rot. This might be an unfortunate necessity, lest we become aware of the mutually beneficial, albeit parasitic, relationship the Illuminati has with the world. Some people lose, but humanity as a whole is theoretically kept in a fairly stable situation. Some people would still be displeased, because they feel that no matter how well-intended someone is, another's life is not theirs to control. I would have to agree, I would rather have freedom than stability. After all, i think changes, bad or good, benefit both the individual and society, as they teach adaptability. All in all however, I'm going to have to say the Illuminati does not, and could not exist. If they do however, be ready to tear them down in my opinion.