Timothy McVeigh has been found guilty on all counts. Cheers of "Justice Done!" erupt across the country. As the sentencing portion of the trail begins, I listen to the conversations around me and discern a general consensus for a quick execution. McVeigh's actions went beyond the pale of human acceptability. He doesn't deserve to live. I get the feeling that people don't want to delve into the deeper discontent amongst many of our citizens of which the Oklahoma City courthouse bombing was simply the most extreme outbreak.

I must confess that I haven't followed the trial closely. From what I have discerned, Timothy McVeigh felt that the federal government had become so oppressive that he was justified in attacking one of its outposts. He perceives himself as a soldier in a war for freedom. He timed his attack on the anniversary of the destruction of the religious compound in Waco to call attention to what many in the patriot and militia movements perceive as the tyrannical abuse of power by the national government. Apparently, he believed that his action would trigger a general revolt against the government by people across the country.

Obviously, he miscalculated. His heinous killing of 160 people repulsed the nation. Even the most radical anti-government militias immediately disassociated themselves from any connection to McVeigh and denounced the illegal use of violence or terrorism as a mean to achieve their ends.

Yet, the fact remains that, though they dissociated themselves from the act, hundreds of thousands of Americans in patriot organizations and militias across America have a similar viewpoint toward the federal government. The Oklahoma city bombing is not the only evidence we see of such sentiments. Last year we had the confrontation with the Freemen in Montana, and this year we saw a showdown with the so-called "Republic of Texas." Furthermore, millions of people who do not belong to militias or armed patriot groups share a belief that the elite forces who wield our nations power are involved in a conspiracy to deprive Americans of their fundamental rights and sacrifice our national sovereignty to a new One World Government. We have heard these ideas articulated in recent years by such prominent spokesmen as Pat Robertson and Patrick Buchanan.

The scenarios vary; and there may be slight differences in the identification of the enemy, but generally groups such as the Council of Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, the Federal Reserve, the Carnegie Institute, and the Rockefellers are at the core. Some conspiracy theories go so far as to weave an obscure thread through history tracing events in international politics and finance to the workings of such secret societies as the Illuminati or Skull and Bones.

Most of the adherents of this point of view are not ignorant people. They are well read. They are well versed in our nations history and tradition. They love the Constitution and have studied it thoroughly. For the most part, these people are probably better informed on events than the general populace.

It is a truism nowadays to say that the world is changing. There is no doubt that a new world order is forming. We are living in a global economy. Trade, finance, and communications demand international coordination and regulation. The problems of the environment, drug-trafficking, and international terrorism are too large from any one nation to deal with alone. The situation of the modern world demands international cooperation.

The international system has been developing for a long time. In the nineteenth century, London was the financial capital of the world. British courts to a large degree regulated international trade. During this period America was still relatively isolated. While the European nations were developing their colonial empires, America was in the process on expanding across the continent and developing our native resources.

World War I drew us into the international system as a reluctant partner. President Wilson proposed the idea of the League of Nations, but it was rejected by the U.S. Senate. Americans perceived themselves as independent of the machinations of the colonial powers.

World War II thrust us to the center of a new world order. The United States was the dominant power, militarily and economically, after the war. The U.S. bankrolled the reconstruction of Europe. America was the author and cornerstone of the United Nations. The dollar became the dominant currency of the world.

Yet the post war world was divided by a fundamental difference in ideology. The Soviet Union and her allies rooted in materialist ideology of Marx challenged the democracies of the West rooted in Christian humanism. This conflict has now been resolved. The Soviet Union has crumbled and the communist states of Eastern Europe have tumbled. The last vestiges of the communist age remain only in East Asia and Cuba. Soon, they also will be past.

As we move into the post cold war era, the mechanisms for international action and interaction developed after World War II are no longer adequate. As the nature of the new global economy and political community becomes clearer, it is imperative that we develop the institutions necessary to promote international harmony and cooperation.

As a result, we see a number of developments in the past few years. The United Nations is being afforded an expanded role in international peacekeeping. International trade agreements are being renegotiated. The role of NATO is being redefined. On a regional level, we witness such events as the signing of NAFTA and the movement toward the unification of Europe. These are merely the most newsworthy of a number of events heralding the trend toward a new world order.

It is these events that are causing uneasiness amongst a large number of our nations citizens. They sense what is happening but they don't understand it. The sweeping developments in the world are not widely discussed in the public arena. People experience a sense of powerlessness. People feel that they are merely the pawns in secretive plans by big banks, large corporations and nebulous bureaucracies. One Worldism is not popular in America. One presidential candidate, Wendell Wilkie ran on a one world platform and he was overwhelmingly defeated. Since that time, no major politician has espoused One Worldism. While Washington makes obvious moves toward the formation of a global system they continue to talk in terms of Americanism. Yet people sense that something is going on. Americans with a strong sense of nationalism who witness global developments feel that our national sovereignty is being undermined and that their individual rights are threatened. This feeling is fed by a strong tradition of populism in the American polity, particularly in the South, the West, and the rural areas of the East. Many Americans traditionally mistrust Washington, the financial centers, and the large corporations which are involved in the global transition. It is thi current of discontent which has given rise to conspiracy theories and the militia movements. In the extreme, it has resulted in unfortunate incidents such as the Waco bombing.

Yet the trend toward global unification is inevitable. People who fear One World are out of touch with reality. There is only one world. That world is increasingly intertwined. What are those who oppose a new world order advocating. World disorder? The question is not whether there will be a new world order. That is a given. Rather the issues for us as Americans are: What will be the nature of the new international order? And, what role should America play in developing that new order?

Rather than shying away from developing a framework for our world in the 21st century, Americans should be striving to play a leading role. We should desire to see our nation serve as an example. The United States of America is potentially a good model for a unified world. We are an international nation which was born through the federation on separate sovereign states. The American federation was the product of hundreds of years of practical constitutional development rooted in Christian tradition and British Common law.

The American experience has been a success because we were had a moral populace rooted in religion and a legal system rooted in tradition which balanced the rights of individuals, private property, and the local, state, and national governments. This combination allowed us to grow together as one nation under God. It is time now to apply this formula to the world in the development of One World Under God.

Unfortunately, in recent years we have strayed from our original principles. We have lost the original spirit of the nation. Beset by the skepticism of the twentieth century, we have lost our moral compass and strayed down a path of relativism and secularism. As we have lost our moral compass, we have seen the decay of our families, communities and society. We have lost the spirit of moral self-government.

Godlessness is the primary threat the modern world. We have seen in the communist state the extreme form of a godless society. Might makes right. In the name of high ideals freedom is abolished and atrocities become the order of the day. Without God the absolute moral values necessarily for human freedom and happiness are absent.

As the world comes closer together and the mechanisms of international cooperation are developed the question is will we have one world under God or will be see the development of an international superstate misguided by relative values and dominated by human arrogance?

The challenge to us as Americans is twofold. First, we must return to the original founding spirit of the nation. We must regain a moral foundation to build a strong national character. We must restore the strength of the family as the cornerstone for peaceful communities and a prosperous society. Secondly, we should strive together for a world based on these principles.

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