A View of America From Across the Ocean

"Without getting into any conspiracy theories, it is quite certain that [9-11] was the necessary event to make a more fascist-like takeover possible. Shock and fear were breathed into the minds of Americans and they have been kept alive by various ingenious methods ever since that day of horror.
And also, to help cement the support of the American people, religion took a front seat. Ok, George W. had all the way claimed to be a born-again Christian, ever since he had had the so-called revelation, when he turned 40, of the evil life he had been living until then as a drug-user, a drunk and a frat-boy womanizer. This image of a flamboyantly pious president was of course just made to camouflage his past, but obviously a lot of people were taken in by this conversion to God, the man's turning away from all the sins of his youth. In fact, it made him even more human. The guy with the folksy attitude and the ever-ready smile even shared their weaknesses.
It must be made clear that we are not talking about ordinary religion. What we are talking about is bigoted fundamentalism, self-serving piety that serves the purposes of usurers and religious hypocrites with highly materialistic aims in clear view.
How could the faith and the wisdom of the Founding Fathers turn into such utter depravity? How could people be made not to see the self-interest behind the veil of piety? The money grabbing of the high priests whom George W. lines up with, the tele-evangelists, is after all well known. Yes, but in the United States of America, it's a virtue to own money. We have not put behind us the mentality of the Puritans who first settled in New England. We subscribe to their commandments even today in the highly superficial and unthinkingly materialistic era we are now living in. It's now very much the façade that matters. The oh so moralistic right-to-life advocates totally forget about morals when money is concerned.
When you look at the basic differences between Europe and America, the value of money is an essential fact to grasp. In America you are honored because of the money you possess. It is a virtue to be wealthy. Oh, we are still subscribing to the Puritan belief that God is with those who succeed in life. It's so convenient after all, to believe that money is God's grace. Wealth by the grace of God. Power by the grace of God. You can't help wondering: where did we go wrong? In Europe where countries are steadily getting more and more secularized, the fundamentalist drive is seen as the essence of a Christianist Ayatollah. Whenever Europeans hear of Bush claiming that God told him to go to war in Iraq, that God is his ultimate advisor, they cringe. It is just the final proof that Bush is a crackpot, that he should be placed in a well-padded place with his puppet masters next-door."