Whos' America?

Since last week, the New Zealand Immigration Service website has been getting over 10,000 hits per day, and a stream of enquiries from Americans wanting to escape the BushCo regime. It's interesting that this is happening at the same time as the resurfacing of the debate over whether New Zealand should become a republic. What do you expect from New Zealand? A country free from American influence? A free country? A niche for bleeding heart liberal dribble, where redneck reactionaries or Christian fascists have no influence? Ok, so the scale of the gun-toting, bible bashing, main-stream conservatism in this country is ridiculously small in comparison, but I definitely wouldn't underestimate the ability of a Brash to appeal to these elements of society and usher in a new era of 'lightweight' New Zealand politics, hand in hand with Johnny and George, reforging the ANZUS Alliance. And in that case, it might just be worse than being in America, being relegated to the status of a subordinate sergant in the South Pacific, following orders blindly, policies in lockstep, but lacking the excitement, the openess and potentiality for influence and critique that comes from being the center of an empire. At any rate, the base social dynamics and struggles for mass public appeal are quite possibly the same, no matter where you go.

Millenarianism is a defense mechanism of the disinherited. religious sects are organized dictatorially. Direct connections between the social roots of political and religious extremism have been observed in a number of countries, because rigid fundamentalism and dogmatism are linked to the same underlying predispositions which find another outlet in allegiance to extremist political movements.
Seymour Martin Lipset, Political Man