Thinking Conspiracies…

On this day in 1782 the Congress adopted the Great Seal of the United States.

Its symbolism has been the subject of conversation from that day…

According to Wikipedia, “the only official explanation of the symbolism of the great seal was given by Charles Thomson upon presenting the final design for adoption by Congress. He wrote:

The Escutcheon is composed of the chief & pale, the two most honorable ordinaries. The Pieces, paly, represent the several states all joined in one solid compact entire, supporting a Chief, which unites the whole & represents Congress. The Motto alludes to this union. The pales in the arms are kept closely united by the chief and the Chief depends upon that union & the strength resulting from it for its support, to denote the Confederacy of the United States of America & the preservation of their union through Congress.

The colours of the pales are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valor, and Blue, the colour of the Chief signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice. The Olive branch and arrows denote the power of peace & war which is exclusively vested in Congress. The Constellation denotes a new State taking its place and rank among other sovereign powers. The Escutcheon is born on the breast of an American Eagle without any other supporters to denote that the United States of America ought to rely on their own Virtue.

Reverse. The pyramid signifies Strength and Duration: The Eye over it & the Motto allude to the many signal interpositions of providence in favour of the American cause. The date underneath is that of the Declaration of Independence and the words under it signify the beginning of the new American Æra, which commences from that date.“

Of course there are those who assert a deeper symbology, particularly pointing to the eye above the pyramid as proof of Masonic involvement, and with only a half step away, how the Illuminati are actually running the show.

I have to admit in very small doses, or as themes for adventure movies, such claims have real entertainment value.

But having run ins with people who really believe such and similar (think of those who believe that 9/11 was engineered by the Bush administration…) conspiracy obsessions, it is a very unpleasant experience. I stand with such folk and often the miasma of craziness is tangible. Very sad…

And it makes me think about how we think. In particular I ruminate on our human capacity to and our profound need to find order. No doubt this is our great gift and makes us the greatest among animals. And, very much it casts long shadows. Several, actually. One of which is in that need to find order, if we don’t we will, often, manufacture it.

So, in a messy world with roughly a gazillion moving parts all interacting, and in those interactions all creating the world in which we live including, very much, you and me, and then in a moment re-creating it, and then in the next moment, re-cereating it; the chances of us encountering things that are subject to clean obvious causal conditions, well… It’s hard to put complete pictures together. With most things we see through a glass darkly, in part, almost always, in part…

And then, sadly, our need to find order with this moving target, gets further mixed up with our triple psychological threat, our individual propensity to grasping or to aversion and either of those mixed up with all sorts of certainties about things. But our perspective, how we see things, is always in part informed by our stance in the world, always partially, hey largely, misinformed is nonetheless part of how we see things…

What a mess…