When Conspiracy Theory Replaces Thought The US is threatened by Americans who believe Washington is part of a plot to enslave us in a 'New World Order' ALL 05/13/96 Edition

What is the milieu in which criminal groups of "freemen" and Oklahoma City bombers grow? It is the underworld of conspiracy theory, a subculture in which people share fantasies of fighting heroically against a huge Conspiracy that is taking over the world. For decades, the John Birch Socie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Christian Science monitor (1983)
Main Author Ira Straus. Ira Straus is US Coordinator of the Committee on Eastern Europe and Russia in NATO
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Boston, Mass The Christian Science Publishing Society (d/b/a "The Christian Science Monitor"), trusteeship under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 13.05.1996
Subjects
International relations
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Summary:What is the milieu in which criminal groups of "freemen" and Oklahoma City bombers grow? It is the underworld of conspiracy theory, a subculture in which people share fantasies of fighting heroically against a huge Conspiracy that is taking over the world. For decades, the John Birch Society has spread word of the Conspiracy: The international bankers who pull all the strings. The ones who really control both the Communist conspiracy and the United States government. The Trilateral Commission. The Federal Reserve, which is ruining our money. The Council on Foreign Relations - psst, they're out to destroy the Constitution, take away our guns, and enslave us in a United Nations One-World Communist government. Their code words: "New World Order." So runs the Birchist fantasy, spun out in dozens of books distributed in millions of copies. An estimated 5 million to 10 million Americans believe this stuff. Tens of millions more are under its influence. Pat Robertson and Pat Buchanan have built on it, mixing it in with popular fears of elite cults and alien cultures. The NRA has fanned it with mass TV ads about how "they" are going to take away all our guns and all our freedoms. Once a mind is trapped in the circular logic of conspiracy theory, it rarely finds a way out on its own. Even those who only half-believe in the conspiracy are deeply affected by the suspicions it arouses.
ISSN:0882-7729