I believe in the power of Karma­–even when you think you are alone there are always observers.

Most people view Karma in a negative light, as something that will come back to haunt you in the future. While Karma is essentially life’s version of cause-and-effect, Karma can work in your favor. Do something good, and you will be rewarded.

In March of 2011, my sophomore year in high school, a catastrophic disaster hit northeastern Japan. The Great East Japan Earthquake hit a magnitude of 9 out of 10 on the Richter scale, and this earthquake triggered powerful tsunami waves. The statistics of these events were appalling: over 18,000 deaths, 1.5 million households left without water, and of course, a nuclear meltdown, which led to 300 tons of radioactive water leaking from the power plant affecting aquatic life in the Pacific Ocean.

After hearing of the news, my Junior State of America chapter set up a fundraising effort called “Operation Japan.” We held a food and clothing drive at our high school the following day and shipped all that we had collected to Japan the following week. We did our jobs as members of the world community, and didn’t expect anything in return.

When my senior year began, my advisor had been notified of a wonderful exchange program opportunity. He was notified by the Japanese consulate that 150 Japanese high school students would come to visit our high school, expressing their appreciation for our support and gave us an offer of a lifetime: an all-expense paid two-week trip to Japan in March of 2013. As part of the Kizuna Bond Project, a group of 22 students and 3 chaperones from my Junior State of America chapter were selected to go to Japan as Youth Ambassadors of the state of New Jersey. We spent those two weeks venturing through Toyko, and visiting the prefectures that had been devastated almost two years ago by the earthquake and tsunami.

I made memories that will last for a lifetime during those two weeks in Japan, and I am still amazed that Operation Japan led to staying two weeks in Japan. I was given something worth so much more than my action, and it supports the notion that “what goes around comes around.” I believe that if you are good to the people surrounding you, the same treatment awaits you from your peers. Whether the act is grand or small, Karma will have her say.

The first conspiracy theory I will discuss this semester is “Operation Northwoods.” Operation Northwoods sought to stage terrorism within the United States and use these false acts to infiltrate Cuba. This was drawn up over fifty years ago (in the early 1960s), when Communism was a large threat and the U.S. felt it was losing its grip on the Cold War. One powerful Communist nation (Cuba) was deemed such a threat that a huge amount of military activity was devoted to finding ways to oust or assassinate Fidel Castro.

In 1997, the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Review Board released documents from the Kennedy era, and one startling document that came up was a 1962 document titled “Justification for US Military Intervention in Cuba.”

Operation Northwoods was a plan that included committing acts of terrorism in U.S. cities, hijacking a plane and sending fake distress calls, killing innocent people, and blowing up a U.S. ship, among other things. Why would the United Stated consider doing this? Well all of this would be done to point the finger at Castro and Communist Cuba. These phony terrorist attacks would garner the public and political support necessary for direct military intervention against Cuba. This plan was sent from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Secretary of Defense at the time (Robert McNamara), proving high officials seriously considered putting this plan into action.

Ultimately, Operation Northwoods never went beyond the stage of being planned and written in a document. Nevertheless, it’s impossible to escape the feeling of creeping horror when you realize that such a plan was even considered at such high levels of the U.S. government. So what are your thoughts on Operation Northwoods, and do believe that if this was actually implemented, it would have been successful?

For the “This I Believe” assignment, I have narrowed down my ideas to one topic, the idea of “what goes around comes around.” I have a strong personal connection to this topic. In March of my sophomore year of high school, a tragedy hit japan: the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. This devastated much of East Japan, leaving thousands without a home, lack of electricity and clean water, high levels of nuclear radiation, etc. My Junior State of America (JSA) Chapter at Secaucus High School immediately held a food/clothing drive to send to those in need. We expected nothing in return. In the beginning of my senior year, our Chapter Advisor received a letter from the Japanese Embassy thanking us for what we had done, and offered 25 kids in my Chapter the opportunity to go to Japan for a two-weeks, all-expense-paid, study tour. I was one of those 25 selected, and I was appalled that we were given a return gift for something we had done nearly a year and a half ago. This act of kindness is what led me to truly believe that good deeds are rewarded, either immediately or in the long run.

Last semester, I focused on controversies in the world of sports. This semester, I will shift my focus to conspiracies, many of which you may or may not have heard of. To many, conspiracy theories are just human nature, and for this reason believed to be false. So how did the term “conspiracy theory” get grouped in with fiction and fantasy?  Maybe that’s a conspiracy, just kidding.  Or am I?

While some conspiracy theories are absurd, there have been quite a few conspiracies with fundamental evidence that support the claims. A conspiracy theory can be argued as an alternative to the official, or mainstream, story.  Therefore, when skeptics attempt to ridicule a conspiracy theory by using the “official” story as a means of proving the conspiracy wrong, in effect, they are just reinforcing the original “mainstream” view of history. Conspiracy theories are given a negative connotation in society, and through this blog I hope to bring to light some of the more credible conspiracy theories.

On a side not, I am not a conspiracy theorist.