Interesting discussion with a quite a few strong opinions. It is amazing what emotions a good conspiracy theory can stir up. That is not meant to be a derogatory term directed at one side of the debate, because both sides are subject to the belief in one conspiracy theory or another. The one side believes in the story that a group of 19 poorly trained and educated Muslim men evaded the largest and best trained multi-national security net in existence to perpetrate the acts on September 11, 2001. The other side believes that the United States government either committed these attacks, or allowed them to happen, against their own people without remorse. Both are great theories, of diabolical conspiracies, but I don’t think either withstands the light of day.
What allows these theories to resonate is the specific mythology we choose to accept. Again, on one side you have a strong belief that the government is our protector and would never harm its own people. On the other you have a belief that the government is a Machiavellian cabal where any means to achieve a goal is acceptable. These are powerful myths supported by many narratives on each extreme. We choose to believe these extremes because they support our own beliefs and the narratives we have developed on our own which frame our individual reality. People ignore important issues or questions that challenge their reality simply because they don’t fit their own narrative.
One thing that has always struck me as strange is how quickly information was made available to the press. This was arguably the greatest crime ever to have taken place, simply because it happened on live television, and a complete dossier of information on the responsible parties was being broadcast within an hour of the last plane going down. This included names of people on the planes, security footage of hi-jackers going through security and voice messages from heroic passengers fighting their attackers off. All of this available without processing by law enforcement agencies. None of it made sense and only provided for developing more the great narratives and further mythologies for people to embrace.
Where does the truth lie? I don’t know and I doubt we will ever know. Both stories have a lot of holes and both require you to suspend disbelief to accept them as fact. Who is right and who is wrong? It doesn't matter because neither side are privy to the details that would actually allow the right to claim certainty.
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