Why would patriotic Americans feel justified in carrying out a terrorist attack against the US government, such as the destruction of the federal building in Oklahoma City? What would lead self-proclaimed "Patriots" to organize and arm themselves for war against their own government? Why do they fear that any day agents of the US government will come to confiscate their property and arrest or even kill them? What leads them to believe that the United Nations and other international institutions are a grave threat to American sovereignty and the security of our Constitutional rights and liberties? Why would they see themselves as modern-day minutemen, citizen-soldiers prepared to defend their liberties against the depredations of federal agents and international elites?
Symbols from the American Revolution are common on far-right web sites. The
"Patriot" movement generally represents itself as the spiritual descendents of
the minutemen and defenders of American liberty.
According to the media, the political far-right is populated by paranoids and crazies, denizens of the "lunatic fringe". But people with political views which at first glance we find hard to understand might not necessarily be crazy or irrational. Rather, they may be trying to make sense of a complex and changing world in terms of the ideas and information available to them. Therefore, I would like to take a closer look at the political belief system - or ideology - which motivates far-right political activists. We want to begin to answer the question: How do they think about the political world, and how can this political orientation help us to understand - if not justify - otherwise seemingly unintelligible actions.
The goal here is not to arouse your sympathy for Patriot ideology, or to excuse the angry words or violent deeds of some Patriots. Rather, we will seek a critical understanding of their world view. Ultimately, we will want to ask about the political consequences of such a belief system. Were we to follow the path presented to us by such an ideology, what kind of country, what kind of world, would we end up in?
Fortunately for those of us who want
to understand far-right ideology,
the scattered and fragmented Patriot movement depends heavily upon
the internet to share information and represent their political positions.
According to the Militia Task Force of the Southern Poverty Law Center, hundreds of
computer bulletin boards and newsgroups, and 70 or more World Wide Web pages propagate the
world-views of various far-right sects from anti-government Patriots and militias to white
supremacists and neo-nazis (Klanwatch, 1996: 16; also Stern, 1996: 225-230). This means
that we will be able to read actual documents of the Patriot and militia movement posted
on the World Wide Web (WWW).
This Virtual Tour has six parts, each of which contains numerous hyper-text links to various sites on the WWW. By clicking on the highlighted text, you will be able to view these documents. After you read the linked document, you can click on the "Back" button on the Netscape screen (upper left) to return to the Virtual Tour.
I. The Foundation: Individualism and Fear of Democracy
II. Tyranny: A Government Out Of Control
III. The New World Order
V. Lunatic Fringe or American Mainstream?
VI. A Short Bibliography for Further Study
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