Happy Easter! Because of the day, you would think that I would write about something religious in nature. And while I have given some thought to the topic of God, that is not what is on my mind at the moment. No, my current obsession is with QAnon. My fascination is not due to my belief in the tenets behind QAnon but in the people that do.

I find conspiracy theories entertaining. Anyone who knows me can testify that there isn’t a conspiracy that I haven’t read about. I don’t believe in any of them because most depend on secrecy and some kind of cover-up. As a group, people do not have a history of being tight-lipped which consequently means that the odds of maintaining the secrecy of a cover-up are astronomically small. Take the flat Earth conspiracy theory as an example. (And if you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know how much this one irks me.) The idea that the earth is flat is not a new concept. The belief that it’s true and how it’s hidden is what is new. The conspiracy implies that the truth is being hidden by scientists, astronauts, pilots, sailors and pretty much anyone that is in a position to act as a witness that the Earth is round. Australia and New Zealand don’t actually exist on the planet and anyone saying otherwise is part of the conspiracy. We’ve all been brainwashed to believe the Earth is round. That’s a lot of people that are hiding the truth. Too many people. Whistleblower wouldn’t even be a term if people could maintain that kind of secrecy. The key to keeping a secret is to limit the number of people who are in on the secret. In my belief, the flat earth fails because too many people have to be in on the secret in order to keep fooling the world.

QAnon is the exception and has grown to be so much more than your average, run-of-the-mill conspiracy theory. When I first heard about QAnon, it was in relation to the Pizzagate stories that came out during the 2016 election. Quick recap –

During the 2016 presidential election, Wikileaks published emails from John Podesta’s hacked email account. At the time, Podesta was overseeing the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. He was also a very powerful and important member of the Democratic Party. These emails were linked to a DC pizza restaurant where it was said that the restaurant was a front for a child pedophile ring whose members are the rich and powerful members of the liberal left. (Yahoo, 2016)

The connection between the emails and restaurant were nebulous at best. And certainly, there was nothing ever said about a child pedophile ring. I wrote it off as one of those conspiracy theories that had its five minutes and would disappear just as quick. I was wrong.

The interesting thing about QAnon isn’t the mystery of who is behind Q or the varying beliefs that is spouted by the members of the group. What is interesting is how quickly people came to believe and how willing they are to put these beliefs above all else, including their families and friends. Not even facts will dissuade them from believing it’s real. The Q “drops” are much like that of the daily horoscope printed in the newspaper. Vague and ambiguous, it’s left up to the reader to interpret. Those that believe will see signs to indicate they are true and non-believers will declare it as bunk. Q faithful believe there is an awakening coming where people will be “woke” to the truth. That there is a secret cabal that practices Satanism and regularly takes part in child pedophilia and human trafficking. The members of this cabal are all wealthy, high powered individuals that are trying to turn the world against God and good. Those of us that do not believe are sheep and unaware of the truth that exists in the world. That’s the gist of it, anyway. For the most part, it’s all been proven false. The fact that pedophilia and human trafficking exist in the world is undeniable. And that’s where the truth of it begins and ends.

From the beginning, Q dogma has incited violence. I haven’t decided if that was intentional or an unintentional by product. As to Pizzagate, one man decided that he was going to prove, once and for all, that in the basement of that DC restaurant children were being held. He armed up and drove to the restaurant ready to protect and kill for this belief. Law enforcement were tipped off and a standoff occurred outside the restaurant. The man did not stand down until he was shown the restaurant and was able to see that it didn’t even have a basement much less a secret meeting room with cages of children. At that point, you would have thought that QAnon would have disappeared into oblivion. But because of the election, it didn’t disappear. It played into the narrative that the liberal elites were evil and that a democratic win in the elections would be catastrophic to the future of the country. The Trump campaign was quick to pick up on this and use it for political purposes. Whether anyone really believed in the Q messaging is a different matter. And so, it grew.

QAnon has grown to be more than just a conspiracy theory. I refer to it now as a cult as it meets the definition of a cult. Blind devotion aside, to believe in Q is to ultimately cut yourself off from those that do not. Be it family or lifelong friends, belief in Q is not compatible with those that do not. When a person turns their back on the ones they love because of a belief system that fosters that divisiveness, then you have to question whether that person is a member of a cult or not. It’s not that people go looking for a cult to join. More often than not, they are looking for something that is missing in their life. From Jim Jones and Jamestown to David Koresh in Waco and now, to Q. People looking for something to either believe in, as a form of connection, to give their life meaning or just something that is bigger than themselves.

I tend to not judge people based on their beliefs. I have also said that everyone has a right to believe what they want and the Q cult is no different. I do find it heartbreaking that families are being torn apart. This is what I don’t understand and where I go down the rabbit hole. I have read so many articles talking to people that have lost their family to Q. Politico published an article about a Reddit forum that was created for “QAnon casualties.” In the article a woman described losing her husband to QAnon. She went from having a loving partner to someone that suddenly sounded bigoted and treated her as the enemy for not believing as he did. The Huffington Post describes a man who speaks openly of missing his mother and wanting her back. 19 years old and had recently lost his father, now feels like an orphan because he can no longer talk to his mother. The Atlantic did a great piece on how relationships could be permanently severed because of the Trump presidency which may not be specifically due to QAnon, but it’s hard to deny that the two go together. And that’s the sad part of QAnon. There is no room for discussion or any kind of exchange of ideas. People cannot even agree to disagree. It’s either agree or you are the enemy. And they mean enemy in the fullest sense of the word. In the Q world, enemies are a danger to the very fabric of this country.

I believe that we are in the middle of a major cultural transition. There are those battling for the status quo and those that are battling for change. The battle is real. And it’s not based on facts, science or even right or wrong. It’s primarily based on emotion and values. And that is why it is not easy to understand and even harder to argue. A person’s values are personal. You can’t tell someone that what they value is wrong. They have to come to that conclusion on their own. At best, you can be patient and open to listening. And that is a very hard thing to do when you vehemently disagree. Natural instinct is to argue to try and make a person to see reason. And yet it is that natural instinct that is causing the divide to become greater and more hostile. It is a vicious cycle. Also part of that cycle is the internet, social media, YouTube and every other platform that has given people a voice. Too many voices. Everyone is talking and no one is listening. The only way to bridge the divide that has formed in this country is if people start listening to one another. No political party or executive order can fix things. Silencing the Q cult won’t fix things. Only the collective we can do the listening and only we can create the unity that society needs.

Music memories –

My first concert was at the age of 13 or 14 and I remember the experience vividly. My best friend at the time had an older brother who was willing to take the both of us to the Pan American Center in Las Cruces. I’m sure his parents forced him to take us, because no teenager wants to be saddled with his younger sister and her friend. Corey Hart (of Sunglasses at Night fame) was opening up for Rick Springfield. Yes, THE Rick Springfield. Okay, so the cool people were going to see Corey Hart. I wasn’t one of the cool people. Not even close. Though to be fair, I did like Corey Hart’s music, though I preferred “Never Surrender.” No, I was going because I was a big fan of Rick Springfield. He was tall good looking and put out some great music. His career didn’t start in 1981 and his first album wasn’t Working Class Dog, but that’s the first time I heard of him. “Jesse’s Girl” hooked me, but it was “I’ve Done Everything For You” that made me buy the next album.

I’m going out on the town tonight
And get as wild as I can be
I’m gonna find out what it’s really like
To be lose, high and free
I don’t care what that the people say
I’m taking my mind, I’m changing to stay
I’ve done everything for you
You’ve done nothing for me

written by Sammy Hagar

It was the second album, Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet, with the hit “Don’t Talk to Strangers,” which fueled the concert tour that I was lucky enough to attend. Personally I think that it was the movie he tried to do at the height of his career that torpedoed his street cred as a musician. Which is a shame because the soundtrack for Hard to Hold had some incredible tracks. Don’t Walk Away is still one of my favorite tunes. The lyrics are poignant and have so much soul.

I don’t know where you’re going
But I know what you’ve got on your mind
And I think your fear is showing
You don’t leave things like fear behind

And I hate to be the one
To break it to you that
We’re only human after all
I can mend a broken wing
I’ll give you everything I have

Don’t Walk Away
Or are you looking for a price to pay
Is that your master plan
Don’t Walk Away
I’ll do everything to make you stay

written by Rick Springfield

That concert was the beginning of my love affair with live music. The crowd was energized. The lights, the smoke…any time I smell marijuana, it takes me back to that first concert. The music was so loud that it permeated your skin, reverberated through your bones and touched the soul. Music in a live venue takes you out of the real world. Your brain stops thinking rationally and you live in the moment. It’s just you, the crowd, the performer on stage and the music. And there’s a point in the performance where it’s just you and the music…freeing the mind and the soul.

Thank you, Rick Springfield for being my first concert and for my life long love affair with live music in all forms. I can’t imagine my life without being able to experience that release that comes from a great concert.

The last word –

“Stand up and hold on to your dream, Maybe this is your moment.” ~ Richard Springfield, “Hold on to Your Dream“, album – Rock of Life, 1988.