I'm starting to get really fed up with the band-wagon jumping 'conspiracy theorists' who think it's fashionable to question the moon landings. When the subject comes up, their routine is always the same: "Oh so you
believe in it then?" they ask with a slightly pitying look in their eyes. Then with all the evangelical zeal of the recently converted, they proceed to hold forth about all the incontrovertible "evidence" they have seen to the contrary.
Normally this 'proof' centres on some dubious nitpicking originating from a Fox TV program that was aired about three years ago. You will note that this is the same Fox which won a court case last year effectively
allowing them to lie in their broadcasts and whose news network had to
apologise to John Kerry last week after their editors couldn't tell the difference between a joke report and the real thing.
So thank goodness for
Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy which systematically rips apart a lot of the Fox program - and questions their notion of 'fair and balanced' reporting.
Sadly however, most people prefer to believe what it suits them to believe no matter how much evidence they see to the contrary. They choose to be cynics and believe it's all a big scam, I choose to remember being a wide-eyed 5 year old watching the landings while my teacher told me "Remember this, it's
history".
It's like religion, the two sides can hammer away with proof and counter-proof and frankly we're never going to know one way or the other. Then again, what in life is 100% certain and provable beyond death and taxes?
So, the next time you want to patronise me with your latest conspiracy theory why not go tell Elvis instead? I've seen proof he's currently working with Princess Di in the Burger King off Piccadilly Circus, I'm sure you'll all get along famously.
posted at 11:53 AM
permalink 
