Everyone holding a position of power is a lizard. This is not a poetic metaphor. I am not making a profound statement about the behavior of people in power. No, everyone with power is a vicious, monstrous, extraterrestrial, shape-shifting reptile.

This is a surprisingly well-known and believed conspiracy theory. Some people actually believe that all governments and economic structures are controlled by reptilian aliens. While this theory is crazy and not founded on fact or logic, does this mean that there is no merit in the existence of conspiracy theories?

Conspiracy theories make us think. They make us question our commonly held beliefs. In order to disprove the theory that the powerful are scaly extraterrestrials, we have to ask ourselves, “Have I ever seen a senator with a greenish complexion?” “Has the CEO of Chase Bank ever snatched a fly out of the air with his tongue?” “Did President Obama accidentally call himself the President of the United Planets of Andromeda?”

However silly this theory is, other conspiracy theories might not be so far fetched and can be useful to us. As a society, we cannot become apathetic and believe everything we are told. We need to have a conversation before accepting what we are told.

The moon landing conspiracy is a perfect example. Some people think that the US never landed on the moon in 1969. International scientists and NASA officials refuted these claims. There is an ongoing international debate.

These debates, although damaging to our undying patriotism, are healthy to have. They make us think and look up information. We might even pick up a scientific journal. It allows people to make a fact based decision on what their convictions are.

Conspiracy theories have also been proven true. There was a rumor circulating in the 1970s that the U.S. government was practicing mind control. In 1975, the government finally had to release reports that the CIA and the Department of Defense had conducted a series of experiments from 1953 to 1973 to influence and control human behavior using psychoactive drugs such as LSD and mescaline. The program’s name is MKUltra.

Because of the work investigative journalists and conspiracy theorists, the MKUltra program was exposed. The public needs to be informed about what is going on with the government. The government should be as transparent as possible and conspiracy theories expose some actual conspiracies.

It may be fun to laugh at crazy theories like the one that Elvis Presley and 2Pac are still alive or that the moon does not exist. Even the more existential theories like nothing actually exists and that everything is a conspiracy are laughable. However, conspiracy theories should be accepted as a valuable part of our society.

Aliens do not exist. The government is not covering it up. At least, that’s what the lizards told me to say.