Obviously, I’d like to think that the tin foil hat crowd is a minority, here in the U.S. and abroad. Still, I’ve read and heard the following conspiracy theory enough times that I feel compelled to post it and ask Europeans two questions: how widespread is this conspiracy theory, and how seriously do people take it?
Simplified version of theory: “The U.S. is controlled by religious fanatics who hate and fear the idea of a unified world government more than anything. They regard a unified Europe as just the first step toward world government. Hence, it’s only a matter of time before the insane Christians who control the U.S. make a preemptive military strike against Europe.”
Nothing would please me more than a rash of replies along the lines of, “Nope, I’ve never heard that one” or “Oh, there are a few nut jobs who spout off drivel like that, but no sane person takes it seriously.” But I’m not as nonchalant about nonsensical theories like this as I used to be (or would like to be).
This isn’t an answer, since I’m not really a European anymore.
Still, the much more common theory both here and in Europe is that a shadowy cabal of Jews (or occasionally Catholics) is secretly pulling the strings in world politics with the eventual goal of a one-world government.
The EU is supposed to be a step in that direction, but the U.S. Federal government is also supposedly under their control.
The Christian Patriots, Neo-Nazis, and various antifederalist militia groups roaming the midwest and plains states are all afraid of similar tinfoil plots.
In that form, especially regarding the conclusion of a military strike, this is certainly very obscure.
However certain elements can be found in different forms. Europeans are to a certain degree alienated by the influence of christianity in the US. There is a feeling that the US are opposed to too much EU integration, and tend to downplay the importance of the EU - not the european countries but the EU organization. But this is not connected to the idea of a world government at all.
I’d say that fear of the US is rare, but some europeans perceive a certain kind of arrogance.
I live in Australia now, but I lived in Europe until a few months ago. Even among tin hats, I have never heard this theory. The US sees the EU as a rival, the US will compete with the EU, sure. The US will play dirty in competing with the EU, even. But that’s about it.
And I think most Europeans are aware that there is a tinfoil hat brigade in the US who obsess about One World Government and the Book of Revelations. (Presumably this brigade exists in Europe also, though I’ve never seen it.) But most Europeans are also aware that this is a fringe belief in the US, and certainly not one which controls the US government. And probably most Europeans would think that the fear and hatred of this group was directed towards the UN and to the US federal goverment than towards the EU.
Never heard of it. I’ve often heard the claim that Jews and sometimes fundamentalist right wing Christians (never Catholics) have an inordinate big influence on American policy – though never to the extend of a world government.
Naturally the US sees the EU as competition, but there’s nothing tin-hat about that. It’s the truth.
But I don’t doubt that there are some in America that think taking on Europe is inevitable, along with the Catholics, the Jews, the U.N. (especially the U.N.), the blacks, the Japanese, the Irish and the Vesuvians. Something about remote, insular American life that brings out the paranoia in people.
And it’s not as if there’s not plenty of other of real things to worry about with American foreign policy.
**who hate and fear the idea of a unified world government more than anything. **
Not really a widespread belief. The distrust of the US’s right toward the UN is usually thought of as more of a secondary effect (being against anything that might be in the way of using the US governmeent in furthering their agenda) but not as a primary motivation.
They regard a unified Europe as just the first step toward world government.
I don’t think this view is ascribed by many Europeans to that notional US conspiracy because being a step to a world government is not what Europeans think European unification is about - European unification being about unifying Europe, not about unifying the world.
A more common view is that significant political forces in the US regard an unified Europe as a rival and seek to thwart this process by using stooges in Europe, and by encouraging the EU to prioritize widening (taking on more members until the EU reaches the Bering Strait and cannot agree on anything) over deepening (integration).
Hence, it’s only a matter of time before the insane Christians who control the U.S. make a preemptive military strike against Europe.”
That’s the part that I think would be regarded as extremely far out, tinfoil hat league by most Europeans. After all under this strategy the US would seek to expand not reduce their bases in Western Europe…
Also the reference to “Christians” is not how this would play in European political discourse. Self-identifying as Christian just means that you are part of the mainstream culture (an European-European, as it were). It doesn’t mean you have an extremist agenda.
It works the other way, too, of course. Occasionally I come across “religious right” types in America who believe the EU is the first step towards a revival of the Roman Empire which will, of course, be ruled by the Anti-Christ.
A mild form is this belief is widely held - that the US govt (and Bush particularly) is overly influenced by (Christian) religious beliefs.
Again, a mild form of this view is widely held - that the US govt is against the UN. Given the current administrations attitude to the UN and multilateralism generally, i’d say this view has some justification.
Never heard this one before.
Or this one. Although many people distrust the US, they wouldn’t ever think that the US will attack Europe.
I agree with the others here that this is predominately a US-based tinfoil hat brigade fear. I’ve encountered some really odd beliefs about the U.S. when traveling abroad but never this one.
As a matter of fact, I was passionately informed by an Eastern European that all U.S. Presidents are/have been Jews. It is only because we here in the U.S. buy into the propoganda of our media that we do not know “the truth” about this. :eek: To think, people were really upset over the idea of a Catholic (JFK) in office. Imagine if they knew the truth - he was a Jewish Catholic! Lordy, Lordy, Lordy!!
Of course, I do not ascribe the above to “all Europeans”. I realize that the person who believed this only represented his own membership in the Euro-Tinfoil Hat Brigade!
Daft idea, and not one that’s widespread enough to have reached me before. As Planet of the Shapes says, it’s given some marginal vestige of credibility by the fact that the US is perceived as being anti-UN … but I don’t believe anyone (with all his/her marbles remaining) seriously thinks the US is liable to attack Europe.
I never heard such a theory exist in Britain. Though I am sure some (maybe many) consider George Bush to be a religious fanatic after the way he speaks of being on a crusade from God or some such similar drivel.
Yep, never heard of it either. I did take comfort in the knowledge that history tells us democracies don’t go to war with each other, but I guess the question implies the definition of a ‘democracy’ is stretched even more than it currently is way over yonder.
Never heard of it! Except maybe a certain vague wariness toward the rather outspoken (christian) religiosness of president Bush. Politics and religion often don’t go very well together. It’s definitely not thought of as a conspiracy thery.
