Courier Editor
Illustration by Cynthia Tran Vo
First of all, I need to preface this column by telling you that I could probably write not just one, but two dissertations on this topic. It’s simply not one that can be covered in the span of 800 words, and its complicated roots go as far back as the 1700s (arguably). Nevertheless, as my time here at the Courier ends, I felt an obligation as the paper’s resident conspiracy theorist to talk about the New World Order, and, of course, the Illuminati. For the sake of wordcount and brevity, this is the abridged version. The cliffnotes, if you will.
The phrase “New World Order” has graced the covers of several books, albums and other forms of popular media for years, and can take on several different meanings depending on how it’s used. It was popularized by President Woodrow Wilson after the first World War, when he used the phrase in discussing the League of Nations. After Wilson, other powerful world leaders like Mikhail Gorbachev, President George H. W. Bush and his son, George W. Bush, have uttered the words “a New World Order.” Of course, none of these men were using the term menacingly, but rather to describe shifts in power, typically after a war or significant political event.
To conspiracy theorists however, the term New World Order means something much more secretive and sinister – to them, it refers to a group of ultra-powerful elites who are hellbent on world domination, made possible through various acts of mind and population control. The elites in this case include the likes of oil tycoons, royal families, political and world leaders, influential financiers and even international organizations like the European Union, NATO, the United Nations and the World Bank.
Many theorists argue that evidence of the New World Order’s existence is “hiding in plain sight” and can be found almost anywhere if you look hard enough. The most telling example to them, however, lies within the Great Seal of the United States. Just underneath the “all-seeing eye” (which in itself is a conspiracy) reads “Novus Ordo Seclorum”. When (badly) translated, this reads “New World Order.” Other examples include the dedication marker outside of the Denver International Airport which reads “New World Airport Commission”, an organization that is non-existent, and the use of the “all-seeing eye” on the American dollar bill. The eye, which sits in the middle of a pyramid, is often seen as a symbol of the New World Order as it has connections with another ultra-secretive group, the Freemasons.
The Freemasons are an integral part of this conspiracy theory, and they’re often linked to being part of the Illuminati. Although the word “Illuminati” has taken on a different face since, it was an actual secret society in the 1700s, leading many theorists to believe that it’s still in existence to this day. The Illuminati of the 1700s, however, was not out to rule the world. Instead, the fraternal group was made up of free thinkers who advocated for things like liberalism and gender equality. Many conspiracy theorists will argue that the New World Order and Illuminati groups are simply runoffs of older Freemason practices, and is now heavily made up of members from the Rothschild, Rockefeller, Du Pont and Morgan families.
The New World Order conspiracy is a complicated one because it’s made up of several sub-conspiracy theories (which we’ll touch on in just a second). For the most part though, the group’s focus tends to be on population control via mind control. Now, if I haven’t lost you yet, there is one real-world example of the government’s attempt at mind control: Project MKUltra. Several parts of the CIA-run project were declassified in 2001 which revealed experiments that took place over the course of nearly 20 years – experiments on human test subjects that focused solely on mind control using substantial amounts of drugs like LSD and heroin.
Now, nearly 50 years later, conspiracy theorists believe that our governments have gotten craftier in their mind control techniques. This involves things like chemtrails and the contamination of our water supply to create a more docile and passive population. Other methods include the expansion of military power, mass surveillance of ordinary citizens and distraction through corporatism. The idea is that the easier we are to control, the easier it will be to establish the New World Order, one in which we have no power and will lack the ability to exercise any form of personal autonomy. Essentially, a global dictatorship, a one-world government run by the powerful few.
The conspiracy of the New World Order and Illuminati groups remained mostly dormant until the age of the Internet. Since then, it’s arguably become the most well-known conspiracy theories out there. Secret conferences attended by the ultra-wealthy and powerful, like the annual Bilderberg Meeting and Cremation of Care, only add more tinfoil to the hats of conspiracy theorists, and as more CCTV cameras are introduced globally, the argument for population control only gets stronger. I can’t stress enough that I’ve only barely scratched the surface on this topic, and strongly encourage anyone who’s interested to do some extra “research”. If I can recommend one thing especially, watch something on the Cremation of Care. Just don’t watch it in the dark.