Thank you for your well reasoned response.

If you look closely, all civilizations are pyramids. Western civilization has the seeing-eye shadow government at the top, the political class, the military class and then the working classes that form the base.

Anger is the pro-active form of fear. They are two faces of the same emotion. Fear is incapacitating while anger is empowering. Governments walk this tightrope to keep the people in line. They instigate just enough fear to keep us supporting them but try not to push hard enough to make the people angry. Angry people revolt. Fearful people comply.

Maslow's pyramid might be a useful tool for children as they develop. They need the basics of survival, they need to feel secure and loved, they need to feel good about themselves and to seek higher aspirations, but once they are on their own, the pyramid often doesn't apply. It certainly doesn't apply to me. And sometimes when some of the needs aren't met, it motivates them to seek self-actualization. That is why some of the most famous and talented people arise out of the most unfortunate of childhoods.

I also love conspiracy theories, and don't discount any unless I've personally examined them. The term "conspiracy theory" is not unlike a symbol; it is designed to initiate a programmed response in the individual, that of discounting the validity of the issue in question. It is quite effective on the vast majority of the people who never question authority.

Symbols do have power, and until we all recognize that and can see what each symbol represents and what message it is trying to convey, that message can blast past our critical faculties and trigger an unconscious response. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.