A few years post 9/11, I got into conspiracy theories. I thought they were kind of fun, harmless fantasies that imagined a more sinister world than the one we lived it. It made me feel like a truth-teller, more intelligent than everyone else. I really loved 9/11 conspiracies. 1/?

I spent a lot of time watching internet videos and reading about how it was all a step up, the melting beams and controlled demolitions. 2/?

Watching one night, it occurred to me that my "fun, harmless fantasy" was a shield I made myself in deference to my own pride: I was a part of the elite who understood what was understandable, I was right. When really, my call has never been to be right. 3/?

My call has always been to mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice. Not prove my intelligence to those who mourn and make sure those who rejoice understand the intricacies of my position.

Also my "fun, harmless fantasy" was the worst day of someone's life. I can't do it anymore. But I understand the power they hold because there is nothing more sickly-sweeter than holding secret knowledge that others are not enough to understand. To be superior. 5/?

Anyway, conspiracy theories (or as they have been re-branded: "hard truths") aren't just awful for humanity, they are harmful to you. They put your pride on a pedestal for you to worship, create a callous on your heart, and render you unable to listen. Flee from them. 6/end