by Eve Stenson

Allegations have it that last week, Buzz Aldrin was confronted by filmmaker Bart Sibrel, 37, of Nashville, Tennessee. Sibrel, who makes "documentaries" detailing why the Apollo 11 trip to the moon was faked, had approached the former astronaut other times, as well. Thus, when he shoved a Bible into Aldrin’s face and demanded a sworn statement upon it that the moon landing really happened, the 72-year-old did what any other reasonable person would have done: he decked the guy.

According to "CNN Headlines News," though, at least one out of 10 Americans would have had a warmer welcome for the persistent skeptic. The station reported last week that a Gallup poll found six percent of people surveyed believe the moon landing was faked and five percent aren’t sure. While this statistic may not be as shocking as it seems once you factor in a reasonable margin of error, that the question was asked in the first place has implications all its own.

I would expect it to be asked by the National Enquirer, not a reputed news source like Gallup. I could have placed it alongside, "Do you believe President Bush is Elvis, post resurrection?" not "Do you believe President Bush is effectively leading the country?" Then again, maybe that’s not the best example of credulity . . .

You know, when you think about it, perhaps Sibrel and other conspiracy theorists have a good point. I mean, "Star Trek" and the "10 o’clock News" are aired back to back; what proof do we have that weathermen aren’t as mythical as Ferengi? It might just be time to re-evaluate some of the "facts" we learned from the news or history books and currently take for granted.

Dinosaurs: The ones in Jurassic Park looked as real as they come, and they already admitted those were faked. Yet, they think they’ll convince us from a few pieces of "petrified bone" that giant lizards used to roam the earth? I bet I could come up with something much more creative if I had that much plaster of paris to work with.

World War II: No matter how hard he tried, Roosevelt simply couldn’t get the U.S. economy out of the Great Depression. What other options did he have, but to go to "war" with Germany and Japan? Just think about it; hasn’t the "bombing" of Pearl Harbor always seemed a little bit too convenient?

Richard Nixon: Obviously a creation of Jim Henson. How could you even question those eyebrows?

Canada: Sure, you can cross the "border" – besides somewhat affected speech and an obsession with hockey, though, how is what you find there any different from what they admit is the U.S.? Admittedly, there’s French Quebec, but we have Spanish California.

Foreign countries: Have you ever actually seen "Germany" or "France," let along "Afghanistan"? Even if you think you have, just because you can’t understand what they’re saying and why they wear funny clothes doesn’t mean that that’s a whole other independent nation. That eight-hour flight was probably just an elaborate roller coaster ride (so as to trigger the occasional bout of motion sickness) designed to produce the illusion of being halfway around the world.

Copernicus: For that matter, what proof do we have that "around" is really accurate? All the pictures we have of the allegedly spherical Earth were taken from space, and we’ve already discussed how believable that is. The Flat Earth Society has existed for thousands of years, much like the Catholic Church; it wouldn’t still persist today if there weren’t some truth to their claims, would it?

As you can see, when you really take the time to examine some of the outrageous tales perpetuated by the government today, you start to realize that things may not be as clear cut as we believe. Sure Aldrin defends the moon landing because he claims to have been there, but I’ve never me the guy – how do I know if he’s reliable? How do I even know he’s not just a computer simulation? Come to think of it, I never met Sibrel, either . . . Which brings me back to my original question: Is this guy for real?

(published in The Ram, 19 September 2002)