David McElroy

The most cherished myth among pretty much any political group is that there’s media bias against the group. Almost as common, though, is the idea that there’s a conspiracy — that sinister people are plotting together to make your group look bad.

I know it’s hard to believe this, but your conspiracy theories just aren’t true. The world doesn’t revolve around you and your group — and there isn’t some plot to make you look bad. (In fact, every group does a good enough job of looking bad that nobody needs to help.)

Conservatives complain about liberal bias. Liberals complain about conservative bias. Libertarians complain that pretty much everybody hates them. I’m not sure what socialists complain about these days, but it’s probably about the anti-Marxist bias all around them.

(For the language purists among us, let me point out that I’m using “conservative” and “liberal” in their generally accepted mainstream definitions here.)

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When the news came Tuesday that Casey Anthony had been found not guilty in the murder of her daughter, much of the country screamed in outrage that a woman might be getting away with murder. I wish at least half of that outrage could be mustered for the innocent people sitting in prisons today.

I grew up believing that police officers were our friends and that the legal system protected the rights of the innocent. I’ve lost a lot of faith in both of those beliefs. Things I’ve seen and read lead me to believe the an arrogant, out-of-control police culture has taken root — and that an overburdened, inadequate and cynical legal system has lost the ability to protect those who are innocent.

I’m much, much more worried about these issues than I am in the possibility that one cold, remorseless and lying woman might have gotten away with causing her child’s death.

Have you heard of Cory Maye? If it hadn’t been for the tireless work of Radley Balko while he was at Reason magazine, I’d have never heard of him. (Click here to watch an excellent 24-minute video produced by Reason.TV about the case. And click here for the archives of stories about Maye at Balko’s blog, The Agitator, which is on my personal list of sites to check ever day.) And if Balko and some other people hadn’t brought serious legal talent to bear, Maye would still be sitting on death row in a Mississippi prison for murder when he was clearly only guilty of trying to protect his daughter from unidentified men with guns when police raided his home by mistake. Instead, he’s now awaiting release after paperwork is processed. In a plea deal with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter to avoid another trial — because he can get out of prison now because of the time he’s already served.

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Why do people remain in situations in which they’re unhappy? Why do people hate their jobs, but remain there? Why do people in miserable marriages remain, frequently producing children to join in the dysfunction? And why do people who see the sickness of a failing political system remain loyal to it rather than look for alternatives?

I suspect it’s largely because people have trouble dealing with uncertainty. They might be miserable with what they have, but they’re unwilling to give it up until they have proof that the alternative is better. They’re scared to step out into the uncertainty of taking a chance and they’re scared to have faith that they can build something better.

It’s uncertainty that makes people terribly uncomfortable with certain situations and even certain art. In the work of M.C. Escher, we see a perfect example. Instead of painting normal and understandable things in the world around us, this brilliant Dutch artist created works that feel uncomfortable to many people, because much of it feels contradictory and uncertain, such as the example above. (Which way is the water flowing, anyway? How can what you’re looking at even exist?)

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