Editing 1274: Open Letter

{{comic
| number    = 1274
| date      = October 7, 2013
| title     = Open Letter
| image     = open_letter.png
| titletext = Are you ok? Do you need help?
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to the {{w|United States federal government shutdown of 2013|US government shutdown in 2013}} that had been ongoing for a week and was still current as of the time of this comic. Under some circumstances, the United States Federal Government {{w|Government shutdown in the United States|can temporarily shut down}} pending budget legislation being passed by the United States Congress. These shutdowns are typically due to political disagreements between the President, the House of Representatives, and the Senate. Due to the shutdown, numerous government services and facilities are shut down, often resulting in many logistical issues for the public.

Over the years, various conspiracy theories have been proposed claiming that the United States Government is not controlled by publicly-elected officials, but rather by one or more organizations that secretly control the actions of the government (sometimes termed a {{w|Shadow government (conspiracy)|"shadow government"}}). In this strip, [[Randall]] writes a letter to the shadow government, telling them that the situation (having the country's government shut down) is embarrassing and asking them to fix the problem.

This comic also implicitly argues against the plausibility of the aforementioned conspiracy theories if one assumes that a shadow-controlled government would be more likely to operate with a singular purpose and therefore be less susceptible to paralyzing political disagreements. Randall previously alluded to this in the title text to [[1081|comic 1081]]: "Really, the comforting side in most conspiracy theory arguments is the one claiming that anyone who's in power has any plan at all." This is one of several comics in which Randall expresses dismay at how many intelligent people can fall for absurd conspiracy theories; see comics [[258]] and [[690]], among others.

The title text addresses the leadership of the shadow government in more colloquial terms, asking if they are suffering from personal problems that are impeding their ability to keep things under control. This is patronizing, and thus hilarious.

The message, as titled, is in the form of an "Open Letter", being a directed and 'personal' message to a person or group of people which is nonetheless intended by the sender to be publicly aired (unlike a standard commentary or editorial, which is intended for public consumption, but addresses the concerned 'target' almost as an aside). In some cases this may be to ensure the correspondence is not kept confidential by the recipients and/or that the public as a whole are ''also'' indirectly addressed ('Cc'ed) in the correspondence, without having to compose a companion piece for that purpose. In this case, however, it may additionally be because the intended recipient(s) are not so easily identified for direct communication, and a public airing would ensure 'delivery' even without compromising the integrity of the message.  Open Letters are often aired (or pre-copied, verbatim, from actual correspondence) in one or area or other of the public media, and while web-comics aren't ''necessarily'' the most publicised of forums, the xkcd readership almost certainly leads to covering both the 'named' recipients and the intended public view.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Addressee !! Brief Description
|-
| {{w|Freemasonry|The Freemasons }}|| Fraternity claiming the legacy of medieval stonemasons. Some of the {{w|Founding Fathers of the United States}} were members of the organization. Organised in local groups, the so-called ''Lodges''.
|-
| {{w|Illuminati}} || Secret society formed in Bavaria to further the ideas of {{w|enlightenment}}. Although officially banned in 1785, many conspiracy theorists believe the organisation might have survived and is still secretly exerting influence.
|-
| {{w|Church of Scientology|Scientology}} || A church founded by science-fiction writer {{w|L. Ron Hubbard}}. Often criticised for alleged {{w|brainwashing}} of its members and accused of hiding commercial interests behind religious claims.
|-
| {{w|Federal Emergency Management Agency|FEMA}} || Agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, that has been granted extensive authorisations in cases of emergency and is therefore believed to act as an entity independent of governmental control.
|-
| {{w|New World Order (conspiracy theory)|The New World Order}} || Not a secret organisation itself, but rather the concept of establishing a totalitarian system controlled by any elitist group in this list.
|-
| {{w|Federal Reserve System|The Federal Reserve}} || Central state bank system of the United States, therefore to some degree able to control the monetary circulation of the {{w|US Dollar}}.
|-
| {{w|Citigroup}} || One of the four biggest American financial service corporations. Considered by the {{w|Financial Stability Board}} to be a {{w|Too big to fail|"systemically important financial institution"}}.
|-
| {{w|Halliburton}} || International corporation offering technical services, especially in the field of oil and gas production. Also a major supplier for the {{w|US military}}. Halliburton was in the headlines for unethical business practise and connections to the former US Vice President {{w|Dick Cheney}}.
|-
| {{w|Google}} || Corporation offering Internet services, most notably the Google search engine. Known for collecting massive amounts of data about its users in order to sell personalised advertisement. The idea of secret plans of Google has been mentioned in comic [[792]].
|-
| {{w|Holy See|The Vatican}} || Central government of the {{w|Catholic Church}} and residence of the {{w|pope}}. Historically important not only as a religious authority, but also as a {{w|Papal States|secular political power}}.
|-
| {{w|Bilderberg_Group|Bilderburg (correctly: ''Bilderberg'')}} || Annual conference of important politicians, bankers, directors of major corporations and other {{w|List of Bilderberg participants|people of influence}}, therefore considered the quintessential elitist meeting.
|-
| {{w|Walmart}} || American retail corporation, best known for the eponymous chain of warehouse stores. As of January 2013, Walmart is the world's largest public corporation by revenue.
|-
| {{w|Rothschild_family|The Rothschilds}} || Family of Jewish financiers that was later elevated into European nobility. Believed to exercise influence through considerable wealth. The subject of conspiracy theories since the mid-19th century, when they amassed the largest fortune in world history.
|-
| {{w|Knights Templar}} || Originally a medieval Christian military order of considerable influence, the Knights Templar were inspiration for many successive (secret) organisations that are sometimes believed to undermine governmental authorities. There is also an {{w|Knights Templar (Freemasonry)|eponymous order}} affiliated with Freemasonry. It may also be a reference to the ''{{w|Assassin's Creed|Assassins Creed}}'' video game series, in which several historical figures are claimed to have been Templars.
|-
| {{w|High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program#Conspiracy theories|HAARP}} || Ionospheric research project of the US military. Believed by some conspiracy theorists to conceal attempts to control the weather and trigger catastrophes.
|-
| {{w|United Nations|The UN}} || Large intergovernmental organization; most countries in the world are members. It has little direct power unless its member states choose to cooperate.
|-
| {{w|Skull and Bones|Skull & Bones}} || A secret society at the {{w|Yale University}} that has many influential American politicians amongst its members, including former Presidents {{w|George H. W. Bush}} and {{w|George W. Bush}}, as well as current Secretary of State {{w|John Kerry}}.
|-
| {{w|Bohemian Grove}} || Campground of the private {{w|Bohemian Club}} in San Francisco, known for hosting an annual encampment of club members and selected guests who are among the most powerful men in the world.
|-
| {{w|Political activities of the Koch brothers|The Koch Brothers}} || Owners of the second-largest private company in the USA, known for supporting libertarian and conservative political causes.
|-
| {{w|George Soros}} || Business magnate and investor, known for supporting liberal political causes.
|-
| {{w|The Trilateral Commission}} || {{W|Think tank}} and associated meeting, emphasizing cooperation between North America, Western Europe, and Japan; founded by {{w|David Rockefeller}}
|-
| {{w|Sovereign Military Order of Malta|The Knights of Malta}} || Religious order that was once a sovereign state; contemporary {{w|Malta|Republic of Malta}} is not controlled by this order.  Its exact status now is debated; it considers itself a "sovereign subject of international law" and has observer status at the United Nations.
|-
| {{w|Council on Foreign Relations|The CFR}} || Acronym for the {{w|Council on Foreign Relations|Council on Foreign Relations}}. Foreign policy think tank in the United States
|-
| {{w|ExxonMobil|Exxon Mobil}} || Major petroleum corporation; third largest company in the world, by revenue
|-
| {{w|Zionism|The Zionists}} || Political movement favouring the creation of a Jewish homeland, a goal achieved with the creation of the state of {{w|Israel}}. In a conspiracy-theory context, it references the belief that wealthy and powerful Jews (such as the above-referenced Rothschilds) control political and social institutions, as presented e.g. in the (fake) {{w|Protocols of Zion}}.
|-
| {{w|Vril#Vril society|The Vril Society}} || The "Vril" are a hidden subterranean race from the novel ''Vril, the Power of the Coming Race'' by {{w|Edward_Bulwer-Lytton|Edward Bulwer-Lytton}}. The novel allegedly inspired a "Vril Society" in Nazi Germany; however, there is no real evidence that the society existed, much less that it had the influence sometimes ascribed to it.
|-
| {{w|Reptilians|The Lizard People}} || Secret snake-men, similar to the aliens from {{w|V (TV series)}}. This is probably a reference to the conspiracy theories of {{w|David Icke}}, which include the idea that an ancient race of god-like, shapeshifting Lizards have interbred with humans, and that these half-bloods now secretly control the world.
|-
| and everyone else who secretly controls the {{w|Federal government of the United States|US Government}} || Note the implicit notion that so many different groups each have control, which makes no sense.
|}

==Transcript==
:[The picture shows a letter.]
:October 7<sup>th</sup> 2013
:To: The Freemasons, the Illuminati, Scientology, FEMA, the New World Order, the Federal Reserve, Citigroup, Halliburton, Google, the Vatican, Bilderburg, Walmart, the Rothschilds, the Knights Templar, HAARP, the UN, Skull & Bones, Bohemian Grove, the Koch Brothers, George Soros, the Trilateral Commision, the Knights of Malta, the CFR, Exxon Mobil, the Zionists, the Vril Society, the Lizard People, and everyone else who secretly controls the US government
:Can you please get your shit together?
:This is embarrassing.
:Sincerely,
:A Concerned Citizen

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]