Conspiracy Theory

Conspiracy. Just the word has a flow and aura to it in English that people fall in love with the concept. We see conspiracies everywhere. Conspiracies have launched a thousand novels. The daVinci Code is a huge conspiracy story. My own novels deal with conspiracies, or more accurately, what happens when conspiracies fall apart.

Everyone claims conspiracy. A left-wing conspiracy to control the media. A vast right wing conspiracy against Hillary Clinton. And of course, the granddaddy of all conspiracies: The Kennedy Assassination.

I have spent my career amazed at how hard conspiracies are to keep together. The code of silence among anyone; gangsters, cops, thieves, drug runners, anyone at all, is a myth. People talk. In fact, they can’t shut up. Government employees are the worst. The U.S. government can’t even keep secrets from our enemies. Conspiracies don’t work.

I know, I know, what if they are so good we never detect them. I don’t buy it. Not a big scale. And if you say “What about the _____ conspiracy?” If you know about it the conspiracy failed. Someone knows about it.

I’ve read up a little on the Kennedy assassination. I don’t claim to be an expert but I can’t buy into a conspiracy. I have visited Dallas twice. This is me and my friend Bud Wilson in front of the Book Depository. We were there on a meeting for Internet predator investigations back before NBC made it fashionable. We got a great tour of the depository and I spent a long time next to the sniper’s nest. I could testify in court, based on my experience and training that the shots were nowhere near impossible.


Last weekend I watched Vincent Bugliosi on BookTV. I know I like to go wild on the weekends. Not only is he a good writer he’s about the smartest guy I’ve ever heard speak. His new book on the events in Dallas in 1963 is exhaustive and he is not shy about contradicting conspiracy theorists. His conclusion: Oswald acted alone. That, unfortunately happens all too often. One lonely, crazy person affecting history. No plan. No conspiracy, just coincidence and luck. From Gavrilo Princip and his act that led to World War I to Nathuram Godse who killed Gandhi history gets screwed up enough by nuts that conspiracies are superfluous.

What do you think? Did Oswald act alone?




Website updated.

http://jamesoborn.com/

Just a quick note to say my website was just updated. Among the new things is the cover of next year’s book, Burn Zone. I won’t waste time talking about a book six months before release but I’m happy with the revamped website. If you get a second drop by and leave a note on the repaired guest book.