Trust is an integral part of a democracy; the lack of trust in the United States government in the late 20th century gave rise to a new wave of conspiracy theory thinking in politics, as well as a general feeling of paranoia within the US. Specifically, the fear and unease during the Cold War, John F. Kennedy’s Assassination, and the Watergate scandal contributed to the surge of conspiratorial thinking. The heightened tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States “that emerged with the Cold War” created much concern about the spread of Communism, and launched an age of anxiety. Adding to the unease of the American people was the “new reality” that their sense of security that “their country was the only nuclear power vanished.” Prior …show more content…
Adding to this period of unease was the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November of 1963. Although Kennedy had his own controversies during his short presidency, he posthumously was revered as an eloquent speaker and respected president. Furthermore, his short-lived presidency “exuded an aura of youthful vitality” and hinted at the “possibilities for a brighter future.” Right when the US started to look forward to the future and leave behind the age of anxiety, disaster struck; Kennedy’s popularity, as well as the manner in which he was killed shook America to its core. In fact, his assassination “was not only a pivotal point in American history, it became the fountainhead of modern conspiracy theorizing in American culture.” The death of the beloved president marked the inception of modern conspiracy culture in the US, as seen in the cultural response to Nixon and the breakin at the Watergate complex. Prior to Nixon’s presidency, movies, radio, television, and books portrayed secret agents and government officials as “incorruptible” and honorable. Thus, the revelation that the President of the United States, along with other government officials, perpetrated the break-in of the Watergate complex deeply rattled the American