‘Conspiracy U’ – an Urgent Read for Our Times
What happens when an ugly false narrative – a conspiracy – takes hold in our culture’s most prominent institutions? On this topic of how ideologies masquerade as scholarship and pollute our public square, I had the opportunity to interview Scott Shay, the author of Conspiracy U.
Shay’s writing offers a profound wakeup call on the alarming grip conspiracy theories have at universities – specifically the anti-Zionist antisemitism of the far left and far right. Critics have described Conspiracy U as “much needed,” a “shining light,” “well researched,” “compelling,” and “urgent.” I would add important, unsettling, and necessary. Anyone in the business of ideas must put this book on their must-read list.
Scott Shay’s father was a Holocaust survivor; and it is impossible not to recognize his father’s presence on every page and every chapter. In fact, Shay told me the story of how his father was deported and later how he suffered through the work camps and concentration camps. However, that is not how or when the Holocaust began. No, the Holocaust began much earlier with the widespread conspiracy theories about the Jewish people throughout Europe. The rise of the conspiracy set the stage for the Holocaust. His father’s neighbors did nothing. They stood by or worse they betrayed their Jewish neighbors to the Nazi regime.
Conspiracy U tells the horrific story of how these conspiracy theories about Jews are now plentiful in academia. Ideologies soaked in antisemitism are being taught in American college classrooms, posted in peer-reviewed journals, and promoted in books published by venerated universities.
When the facts are plain and the truth is indisputable, how is it that so many promote what we know to be false? Shay’s answer is not surprising, but it is revealing – tribalism is how false ideologies take hold. Many people have biases, but conspiracy theories are different in their religiosity. It is dogma – and once you are captured it is near impossible to escape.
Facts no longer matter to those captured by the conspiracy.
Our words – our stories – can last longer than empires. And like empires our narratives can endeavor for good or for ill. Today’s public discourse is a swamp of cancel culture and character assassination. Fake news and false narratives are used as political cudgels to stifle debate, or worse, to objectify political opponents.
Conspiracy U helps us understand how so many can be so wrong about so much… and not know any better. If we are to change the public discourse, we must understand Conspiracy U.
