Rage Grows in America: Anti‑Government Conspiracies

Rage Grows in America: Anti‑Government Conspiracies

Introduction: A Year of Growing Animosity

Since the election of Barack Obama as president, a current of anti-government hostility has swept across the United States, creating a climate of fervor and activism with manifestations ranging from incivility in public forums to acts of intimidation and violence.

What characterizes this anti-government hostility is a shared belief that Obama and his administration actually pose a threat to the future of the United States. Some accuse Obama of plotting to bring socialism to the United States, while others claim he will bring about Nazism or fascism. All believe that Obama and his administration will trample on individual freedoms and civil liberties, due to some sinister agenda, and they see his economic and social policies as manifestations of this agenda. In particular anti-government activists used the issue of health care reform as a rallying point, accusing Obama and his administration of dark designs ranging from “socialized medicine” to “death panels,” even when the Obama administration had not come out with a specific health care reform plan. Some even compared the Obama administration’s intentions to Nazi eugenics programs.

Some of these assertions are motivated by prejudice, but more common is an intense strain of anti-government distrust and anger, colored by a streak of paranoia and belief in conspiracies. These sentiments are present both in mainstream and “grass-roots” movements as well as in extreme anti-government movements such as a resurgent militia movement. Ultimately, this anti-government anger, if it continues to grow in intensity and scope, may result in an increase in anti-government extremists and the potential for a rise of violent anti-government acts.
Part One: Anger in the Mainstream
The Tea Parties

The rapid growth of anti-government anger in the wake of Obama’s election first became apparent in the spring of 2009, when conservative groups and grass-roots activists organized a nationwide series of anti-government rallies dubbed “Tea Parties.” At these events, and later sequels, anti-government sentiments and conspiracy theories proliferated, with a common theme being that somehow Obama had “stolen” the country from Americans.
The Town Hall Meeting Disruptions

More evidence of anti-government animosity appeared in the summer of 2009, when a variety of anti-government protests and disruptions occurred at town hall meetings organized by senators and representatives across the country to discuss healthcare reform. These events became a fertile ground for anti-Obama protests and stunts, with some protesters angrily launching verbal attacks against the president as well as other officeholders. A number of protests explicitly compared the Obama administration and its policies to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.
A Building Anger

The angry protests at town hall meetings seemed to give a “green light” to expressions of anti-government and anti-Obama hostility, as when South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson shouted “You lie!” to Obama himself during a speech to Congress in September. Tea Party events in September, especially a large rally in Washington, D.C., itself, were characterized by extreme sentiments, including Nazi imagery, racist imagery, and imagery that implicitly or explicitly promoted violence. Other events, such as a “How to Take Back America” conference in Missouri and the rally against health-care reform held by conservatives in D.C. on November 5, 2009, saw similar expressions of anger.

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