As Tam stated Europeans can go from 0 to Jackboot faster than anyone else on the planet.
This is really one of my responses to the "it can't happen here" argument:
Before WWI, Germany was the country EVERYONE wanted to be like. German government, intellectuals, culture (ok, not art), all were considered best in the world.
In just 20 years they were ruled by Nazis and murdering their own countrymen.