State Department Opens New Exhibit, Disappoints Conspiracy Theorists

Even when I was in China, locals about me about secret societies, the Freemasons, and the Iluminati. Associated Press reporter Matthew Lee recently wrote about the symbols of the official seal of the United States including the eye, the pyramid, the Latin, the bald eagle clutching an olive branch and arrows, and the number 13.

He listed some of notable theories, including:

"_That the Seal proves the domination of the United States by a powerful, quasi-religious cult. The Ancient Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is a perennial favorite of conspiracy theorists as some Founding Fathers were Masons and the Seal uses several Masonic symbols.

_That the Seal draws on Satanism or polytheistic ritual to promote a universal new world order under which Earth would be ruled by a single omnipotent government.

_That repeated references to 13 - the number of steps in the unfinished pyramid, stars in the constellation over the eagle's head, arrows in the eagle's claw, stripes on the eagle's shield, letters in the phrase 'Annuit Coeptis' - demonstrate the power of 13 American families.

_That there are two seals: one in which the eagle's head faces the arrows for times of war and another in which the eagle's head faces the olive branch for times of peace."

The secretary of state is the seals custodian. Condoleezza Rice, the 66th, inaugurated a new exhibition at the State Department to commemorate its 225th birthday.

The revealed claims include:

"_That known Masons like the first U.S. president, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin had no role in designing the final seal, which uses elements of traditional heraldry, such as the unfinished pyramid to symbolize a work in progress, arrows for war and an olive branch for peace. Masons share some of those symbols, but they have never been exclusively the domain of the order.

_That the phrase 'Novus Ordo Seculorum' below the Roman numerals for 1776 at the base of the pyramid translates as 'A New Order of the Ages' that began with independence and does not imply the United States will be the lynchpin of a sinister 'New World Order.'

_That the words 'Annuit Coeptis' ('Providence favors') and the eye of providence that hovers over the pyramid refer to unexpected interventions of fate that assisted the colonists in creating a new country.

_That the references to 13 refer to the number of colonies that formed the original United States."