9 Aug 2022

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Conspiracy mentality and political attitudes: Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and Right Wing Authoritarianism (RWA)

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Academic level: College

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Among the four key words in the article, conspiracy mentality is more interesting and relevant to study. Conspiracy mentality can be described as a generalized attitude, usually political, distinct from other temporarily stable political attitudes such as Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and Right Wing Authoritarianism (RWA). Conspiracy mentality is associated with high rating of powerless sources and lower ratings of powerful sources. Conspiracy believers do not particularly distrust expert sources but rather, they refrain from accepting the authoritativeness of the sources. In most cases, people embrace conspiracy theories in events that demand further explanation. The events include terrorist attacks, appearance of diseases and assassinations of political leaders. The propensity to ascribe these events to secret plots by underground alliances of powerful persons has been reported severally. The killing of Osama bin Laden is a particularly important event in the history of the United States and the World in general. While some people believe that the incident was legal, others believe that the US was not justified to order or execute the plan to kill Osama. I believe that is proof of some sort of conspiracy mentality in that those who believed that the killing of Laden was without the legal borders, were just conspiring against president Obama and his troop. 

The argument that the killing of Osama was illegal is nothing but “fake news”. In 2011, President Barack Obama authorized operation Geronimo aimed at eliminating Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. The success of the operation was due to the combined efforts of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the armed forces. Osama had been a threat to the United States for many years and had even threatened to attack the US army. It was reported that the number of soldiers used to bring Osama down were more than required. Some argue that the aim of the attack was to kill rather than to arrest the culprit. However, the information lacks legal basis and would be considered as a mere accusation. 

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What is the truth behind the operation Geronimo? Osama Bin Laden had proven hostile and posed a great threat to the residents of the nation. The operation to capture/ kill Laden was a self-defense right provided by article 51 of the United Nations Charter. The operation followed the principle of military necessity, discrimination/distinction, and proportionality which is proof that legal procedures were taken into account. It implies that the power of the soldiers who entered Osama’s residence was equal to the resistance power of Osama’s crew. In addition, Osama was armed with all sorts of weapons and did not show any signs of surrendering. The constitution of the U.S. establishes the president as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and has the authority to lead the forces and to declare war; this gave president Obama the legal authority to plan and execute the Geronimo operation. The operation plan was executed according to the legal guidelines in the constitution. This explains why the accusation that the operation was illegal is just a critic from invalid/ powerless sources. 

The fake news of the operation Geronimo can be linked with the conspiracy mentality. The attitude of the opposing team is political without factual basis. The author of the article reports that conspiracy mentality is associated with high rating of powerless sources and lower ratings of powerful sources. Individuals who reported the illegality of the operation must have used powerless sources to make conclusions. The agenda of the “opposers” could be to challenge the United States, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), or president Barack Obama. Conspiracy believers do not particularly distrust expert sources but rather, they refrain from accepting the authoritativeness of the credible sources. It is therefore not justified to act or rule on the grounds of a conspiracy mentality. 

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StudyBounty. (2023, September 16). Conspiracy mentality and political attitudes: Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and Right Wing Authoritarianism (RWA).
https://studybounty.com/conspiracy-mentality-and-political-attitudes-social-dominance-orientation-sdo-and-right-wing-authoritarianism-rwa-essay

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