In fact, with troubling economic times upon us, conspiracy theories, peculiar beliefs and harebrained philosophies will only flourish.

Gita Johar, a professor at the Columbia Business School, recently explained to Wired magazine that increasingly, once-normal rational adults are turning to psychics for guidance. "You have an illusion then that you can then control the outcome," she explained. "People want the illusion of control."

Surely, Americans are feeling that they progressively are losing control (or losing the perception that they ever had control) of the economy; the world is spiraling in unpredictable directions; and our personal futures are often nebulous.

It's frustrating. And when we start hearing preposterous phrases, such as "ruling class," and tales of furtive organizations that control our destinies, we are prowling to place blame on anything but the vagaries of history.

Science fiction writer Alan Moore once wrote: "The truth is, that it is not the Jewish banking conspiracy or the grey aliens or the 12 foot reptiloids from another dimension that are in control. The truth is more frightening, nobody is in control."

Yes, even more frightening than the Illuminati.