The AP has an interesting piece today: Analysis: Obama's new world order.
I'm hesitant to admit this on the blogosphere, but I grew up reading right-wing conspiracy theory books. Gary Allen's None Dare Call It Conspiracy. Phyllis Schlafly's A Choice Not an Echo. The writings of ex-Armstrongite David J. Smith. The Left Behind series. And, although I emphatically do NOT associate any of the above names with Nazism, Holocaust revisionism, or support for Hitler's atrocities, another book to add to the list is Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf. Their premise was that there is an elite that wants to merge America into a one world government, ruled by a socialistic or (according to members of the Nation of Islam) fascistic dictatorship.
There are people I know who believe we are heading toward this goal, which (for them) will culminate in the Antichrist's rule of the world. Right now, we see a lot of emphasis on globalism in the news. Sean Hannity mocks conspiracy theorists as he plays the Twilight Zone theme song, but he and Dick Morris acknowledged that they may have a valid point, now that Obama is allegedly pushing for an international system of economic regulation. Treasury Secretary Geithner said that he was open to the idea of a global currency, before backtracking on the idea. And the AP article above remarks that Obama is moving away from the idea of American exceptionalism, towards greater cooperation with the nations.
Good or bad? There are probably conspiracy theorists who will say that Bush took this country down to set the stage for a coming New World Order. You know what Palpatine did on the Star Wars prequels: creating crises for him to solve so that he could gain power for himself and create a dictatorship? Some believe that this happens in real life, and they view wars, the current economic crisis, and the scare over global warming as coming excuses for a one world government. While Obama talks about peace, conspiracy theorists will say that such talk is often a cover for an attempt to gain power.
Do we have cause to fear? I don't know. We should keep our minds open. On some level, all of the countries of the world are in this together, and we shouldn't be afraid of cooperation. And, while many would consider "American exceptionalism" to be insulting because it implies that America is better than other countries, we should value all nations as exceptional in their own way. Hopefully, our current push towards globalism won't lead to the destruction of nations as nations, but will respect their (and our) sovereignty.
Apocalyptic forecasts do not always pan out. Armstrongites grew up hearing that Germany would unite and become the Beast power, and we thought that was about to happen when the Berlin wall came tumbling down. But it hasn't panned out that way.
Maybe we shouldn't always expect the worse or fear cooperation among countries. But we should also remember that human nature has a selfish, power-hungry dimension, so we should keep on our guard, in some way, shape, and form.