"the Belief In Plots Was Not A Symptom Of Disturbed Minds," [gordon] Wood

"The belief in plots was not a symptom of disturbed minds," [Gordon] Wood wrote in 1982, "but a rational attempt to explain human phenomena in terms of human intentions and to maintain moral coherence in the affairs of men. (Pasley, 2000)
The unseen hand of God -- real or imagined -- always shadowed Enlightenment rationalism, however. The phrase moral coherence above suggests that since morality is commonly derived from religious influence, it is therefore not difficult to conclude that the metaphysical conflict between good and evil is always played out in any conspiracy theory worth its proverbial salt. American conspiracy theories, then, on one hand reflect the demand for rational explanations, but allow for the possibility that at the root of the rational explanation may very well be a metaphysical force or abstract manifestation of evil. These theories, then, are simultaneously subversive and superstitious; yet reinforce the political-social status quo by ruling out any inherent flaws in American political and social systems: Thus the basic soundness of American institutions and American society, and the existence of a consensual set of American values, could be validated by compartmentalizing the blame for any indicators to the contrary. (Pasley, 2000)
Put another way, God Himself ordained the basic soundness of American institutions, and when these institutions falter, it is a result of evildoers whose mission is to challenge God. If this sounds alarmingly similar to the philosophy of Al Qaida, it is because it is, in fact, alarmingly similar. Replace God with Allah and American with Islamic, and there you have a fundamentalist Islamic philosophy with enough potency to incite a thousand jihads. Osama Bin Laden's conspiracy theories blame America for the woes of the Islamic peoples; George W. Bush and the conservative Republicans who control the United States blame terrorists and evildoers this is a favorite word of Bush for all the current ills of the United States.The grotesque American budget deficits and decline in domestic social services due to war expenditures in Iraq could not possibly be a result of foolish fiscal and foreign policy they must certainly be the byproduct of the work of evildoers. It is not unreasonable, then, to assert that George W. Bush and Osama Bin Laden are themselves reflections of one another, and serve as leaders of ideological movements that are far more alike than they are different.
This is only a recent example of American exceptionalism making a strange bridegroom with conspiracy theories; it is only the latest, however, in a series of events where the former fueled the latter. The very first example, in fact, predates the American Revolution by a century the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts. Disease, mental illness, poor physical health, etc.