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Good Morning, I enjoy a good conspiracy theory – lizards taking over our bodies, or a sinister cabal running the world – as long as it’s an entertaining fiction in which I am free to suspend belief. But in recent years a belief in sinister plots that once belonged in the Twilight Zone or Dan Brown novels has been slowly rising and crossing into a more mainstream understanding of reality. Conspiracy theories are now seen as one of the single biggest threats to democracies. And with more countries holding free elections this year than ever, a flood of disinformation is anticipated. Telling the difference between a conspiracy theory and the truth matters – for if enough people belief a bogus theory about, say, Covid or Climate Change it can have dire consequences. As Naomi Klein observed: ‘Alternative theories once deemed too ridiculous to take seriously, have become too serious to be ridiculous.’* When a friend of mine shared a video that endorsed some of these ideas, I felt obliged to go down the rabbit hole, if only to see what was there. Rabbit hole is the right description. It was a dark, confusing, exhausting place - and there are no rabbits. What I did find was a strong sense of grievance. Sometimes legitimate anger at institutions, or powerful individuals; but also a disengagement from trying to solve the actual problems people are facing in favour of focusing on fantastic ones. How quickly these grievances are being exploited. Weaponised by people trying to make money or win votes. ‘Fake news!’ I hear someone cry. If conspiracy theories have a tone, it is one of blame. It is often someone else’s fault. Just never the fault of the one doing the accusing. There seems a total absence of self-examination. When asked what is wrong with the world, GK Chesterton replied ‘I am.’ This seems like a good place to start. It’s certainly where the Gospel starts. When Jesus announced the good news to a rabble of tired and probably fearful people, he didn’t point the finger of blame at others. Nor did he seek to delegitimise the government or the law. He said, ‘Come all who are heavy laden’ and ‘my burden is light.’ He then called them to examine themselves – their actions, their thinking, their hearts – for this was where his kingdom would be established; to bring what was in the dark into the light. Some have described the Kingdom of God as a divine conspiracy. If it is, it’s a conspiracy built on love. To conspire means to breath together. This is impossible if we are gasping for breath out of panic from fear. Perhaps we need a great breathing together, to join a conspiracy of kindness, in which words and actions are not performed in the dark but in the open for all to see and share. *The quote uses a Phillip Roth line from Operation Shylock.