Loose change - loosely based in reality

At the CIR meeting on Monday one of the other teachers was talking about this video that presents a conspiracy theory for the Sept 11 attacks in the US, Loose Change. He was talking like a person on the brink of actually believing this crap. I have not seen this video - but I have heard some of the points they attempt to make in order to prove their own government's involvement in taking out the World Trade Centre. It is merely an apparently highly ostensible argument for the undereducated, underinformed and those who do not critically examine the world. For the rest of us it is simply a stunt pulled by a couple of smart arse college kids with too much spare time and a great instinct for how to excite an increasingly paranoid plebian crowd. They'd do well in journalism, and better in advertising. In fact, following the hype their video seems to have created among so many skeptics (although funny how unskeptical of this video they are) in the States they should be releasing Anti-corruption slogan T-shirts for all those who wish to protest the government involvement in 9/11 - for $25 a pop... If everyone who bought into their crap also bought the T-shirt they'd be rich in no time.

What concerns me most isn't that so many people are willing to believe the contents of a random video without question - although that is a huge disappointment in itself - but that there are so many people who are willing, more than willing, desperate it seems to believe that their own government orchestrated and carried out a massive act of terrorism against its own citizens. Where's the American patrotism and nationalism of old? It seems that a lot of people - or I should say college students because these are the people who seem to be making so much noise about this video - are only too glad to finally find a reason to condemn their government. They announce the US government was involved in 9/11 as though it is something to be proud of - look at the scandal we've got happening now! People should be outraged by 9/11 and they should be asking questions, but they are asking the wrong ones. Why is it so hard to believe that this act of terrorism was performed by foreigners without help? Is it because the citizens of the US really believe their homeland security is that good - or rather is it because to admit that it was terrorism plain and simple means the only question worth asking is "why were we targeted?"... All this searching for an alternate explanation for the incident is wasting time and energy that should be spent on examining why the US is a target of terrorism in the first place.

So this is why if I hear one more person saying "Oh my god, have you seen Loose Change - it makes you wonder!" I might scream because the ony thing it is making me wonder is if there is any end to intelligent people's stupidity.