I awoke recently with an insight that explains why so many people find it difficult to listen to so-called conspiracy theories about what happened to our country before, and after, 9-11: Reviewing the evidence is at least as traumatic as it would be if someone were to tell you that your spouse was cheating on you. Perhaps too painful to face, at least at first, and the mind would automatically be on overload trying to come to terms with all the things you believed and experienced since you were together.

“Were all those memories I treasure really nothing but lies? And what kind of fool must I have been not to have seen what was going on right under my nose.”

Eventually you would begin to connect the dots from memories that never quite made sense before, but now are beginning to. Would you wish that no one had told you? If you knew your friend was being cheated on, would you tell them — knowing how much the news would hurt them? What does it mean to be a friend?

The thing is, with respect to our country, we share the same memories, you and I, and the same pain. If it were about a spouse, we might be able to work things through and get on with our lives — there are more fish in the sea — but alas, no more empty continents to sail to. Uncovering the truth about 9-11 was uncomfortable, painful and tedious. The conspiracy was real, and the theory true. Establishing the Federal Reserve in 1913 was another coup that now threatens us a century later. Are they connected? I’m willing to share what I have learned, if you think you can handle the truth.

— Mark Goldman