Do you accept that Lee Harvey Oswald was the sole assassin in the killing of President John F Kennedy?
The 1960s was my decade – I was aged 12-22, so it was the formative years for me and I remember it all: James Bond, the Beatles, the Cuban missile crisis, Vietnam …
I am currently watching the showing on British television of an American series called simply “The Sixties” and Episode 3 is devoted entirely to the assassination of President Kennedy.
The programme reminds viewers how independent were the members of the Warren Commission and how thorough was their report. I have always accepted their conclusion that Kennedy was shot by Oswald alone.
The programme looks at a few of the many conspiracy theories around the assassination, dismissing each. Indeed no alternative theory has ever been supported by credible evidence.
Yet, at no point since the assassination has a majority of the American public accepted the conclusion of the Warren Commission. Even today twice as many Americans believe that others were involved in the killing than accept that Oswald was the sole assassin – see polling data here.
Of course, the United States is the society where many believe that Area 51 is hiding evidence of aliens, that the Government was responsible for 9/11, and that Obama is not an American. Why are Americans so prone to believing conspiracy theories and why do they have such an ambiguous relationship with the truth?
October 23rd, 2014 at 4:14 am
You ask: “Why are Americans so prone to believing conspiracy theories and why do they have such an ambiguous relationship with the truth?”
3 of the many answers:
1 – Hollywood
2 – Rupert Murdoch, Fox News, and the right wing media
3 – Bad education system
October 24th, 2014 at 12:53 pm
These are very valid suggestions, David. But I wonder whether there are any more fundamental factors around the history and geography of the nation.
The USA was founded by immigrants who were often fleeing persecution and resentful of authority. The country is so large that federal government especially can seem so remote.
Whatever the reason, it is very worrying and needs to be tackled.
October 24th, 2014 at 11:26 pm
Actually, Roger, I believe the country was built, among others, by immigrants who were often fleeing persecution and resentful of authority. My feeling is that the founders were people who were disappointed by a distant and authoritarian government, and were not willing to accept its declarations what was better for them than the people themselves, nor were they willing to submit any longer to a ruling class more concerned with amassing more wealth from the labors of the people… Is today’s reality so different???