Not everything is a conspiracy theory

Well, OK, some things are, but....

Not everything is a hoax either. You guys, just because a belief is not widely held, doesn't make it false. I feel like, in life, you have to think about the things that are presented to you more deeply and not simply accept things because they're common place. Don't take someone's word for something just because that's the way it's been done for forever and a day, either. That's not evidence. That's herd mentality.

Try doing your own research outside of the normal channels. For instance, you will quickly see that when it comes to research done by those who profit from it, well, that type of research is generally jaded. Oh sure, those who don't profit from their research can be jaded too. But I personally find that happens much less often.

You might be surprised how many textbooks, for instance, are paid for by special interest groups. Isn't that somewhat suspicious? I'm no genius, but if the national pickle board funds a book about how great pickles are, well, you get the point. I don't have to be a genius to know that some of the information in that book might be off a tad, due to the monetary influence of the pickle board.

And folks, don't be so quick to judge, either. Mull things over. Not everything is a hoax. Those sponsored online articles and posts, for instance. Now, we all know they're there to sell something. But that doesn't mean what they're selling is bad. It just means they're getting the word out about their product. There is a difference between honest advertising and a hoax.

A hoax means they misrepresent their product or just plain don't give you anything for your money, yes? And yet, online at least, a hoax has come to describe any unwanted or annoying advertisement. And speaking of advertisements, there are certainly misleading ones.

You know, for many years cigarettes were advertised and promoted by doctors as a health product. It was commonplace. And yet, it was oh so wrong, right? Today we know that cigarettes are horrible for you, cause cancer, emphysema, etc. So, not every tradition is a good tradition, either.

What is my point? My point is that we shouldn't allow ourselves to be swayed by herd mentality and hearsay. When it comes to our lifestyle choices, diet, political beliefs, religious beliefs, etc. etc., we should make our own decisions, based, not on what everyone else is doing or saying, but on our own independent and preferably non-monetarily influenced research.

Not everything that's unpopular is a conspiracy theory or a falsehood. Not everything advertised is a hoax. And the only way to tell the difference is to do your due diligence. Look it up. And hey, who knows? You might find out that pigs can fly. After all, they can certainly swim and did you know that they can also play video games. Smart little buggers, aren't they? I bet they do their research.