156 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 69 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
Exclusive to OpEd News:
OpEdNews Op Eds    H1'ed 6/7/20

Response to "Right Wing George Floyd Conspiracy Theories"

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   39 comments
Author 1820
Managing Editor

Meryl Ann Butler
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Meryl Ann Butler
Become a Fan
  (81 fans)

OEN Article
OEN Article
(Image by Meryl Ann Butler)
  Details   DMCA

Reading Rob's oped, "Right Wing George Floyd Conspiracy Theories" got me ruminating.

It is a journalist's job to ask questions -- having an open mind to the possible answers is what allows creative minds to explore all the possibilities and finally figure out what is going on. Does that mean sometimes we are barking up the wrong tree? Sure, that's part of the process. Once you've barked at a tree for a while and nothing happens, well, it's time to check out the next tree.

In 1964 people would have said it was crazy to investigate JFKs murder as a conspiracy. They would have said, clearly it was one guy, there was proof. They would have said our own government wouldn't have had anything sinister to do with assassinating our own president.

And the very vast majority of people believed that.

And they were wrong.

But if the creative questioners had been stopped in their tracks at the beginning, none of that truth would have unraveled.

Another result of relentless questioning is that we seem to be closer to the truth of 9-11.

I believe in asking questions, especially when things seem odd, or too coincidental -- for instance, I am not sure, at this moment, whether Osama bin Laden or Jeffrey Epstein are really dead or alive -- I would absolutely not bet my life on either one. What I do know for sure about both of those stories is that there appeared to be multiple bizarre coincidences and multiple coverups. And when someone is doing some covering up, then there is usually something worth uncovering.

When George Floyd was murdered, it seemed very odd that Chauvin kept his hand in his pocket. That is not typical behavior for someone doing what he was doing. (I did not watch the video, but I have heard people mentioning this and wondering what to make of it) -- many people picked up on that as being very odd, most deduced that he was just being casual about murder. That might be correct, or not -- often questioning the little odd things that seem unimportant is what eventually leads to the answers, if we've learned anything from Sherlock Holmes. (OK, he's not a real person, but he's definitely an archetype, and archetypes are the symbols of greater truth.)

We must continue to ask questions without jumping to conclusions about what the answers to those questions have to be, because once we believe we have an answer, we stop looking for other answers. This is why Roger Von Oech (A Whack on the Side of the Head) talks about looking for the second right answer - and the third, and the fourth.

Our educational system squelches creativity and the quest for truth by teaching us to stop and move on once we have found the "right answer," but there is almost always more than one "right answer" on the path to the final truth, and the only way to get there is to support the people who are asking the questions and brainstorming an assortment of possibilities for what the answers might be.

Part of that key to success is not grabbing onto any one answer to a question - whether we think it is the right answer or the wrong answer. Moving through that brainstorming process is the only way to discover the holistic truth.

It is just as dangerous to fall into an endless conspiracy hole as it is to fall into the hole that prevents one from clearly looking at a variety of evidence.

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Well Said 7   Must Read 5   Valuable 4  
Rate It | View Ratings

Meryl Ann Butler Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Meryl Ann Butler is an artist, author, educator and OpedNews Managing Editor who has been actively engaged in utilizing the arts as stepping-stones toward joy-filled wellbeing since she was a hippie. She began writing for OpEdNews in Feb, 2004. She became a Senior Editor in August 2012 and Managing Editor in January, (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

CEO Ridiculed for Raising Minimum Wage to $70K Has the Last Laugh

The Bizarre Theft of Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski's Miracle Cancer Cure

Mysterious Bayou Sinkhole Continues to Cave In: Radiation, Hydrocarbons Detected

Tips for Avoiding Coronavirus

Relentless Bayou Corne Sinkhole Nearly 30 Times Original Size (UPDATED with Cave-In Video)

Sex, Love, and Jesus: A Few Surprises in the Easter Basket

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend