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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Cleon_Skousen
Skousen was born on a dryland farm in Raymond, Alberta, Canada, the second of nine children of Royal Pratt Skousen and Margarita Bentley Skousen, who were U.S. citizens.[4] He lived in Canada until he was ten years old, then moved with his family to California where his father supervised the paving of some of the original Route 66. In 1926, Skousen went to the Mormon colony, Colonia Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico for two years to help his seriously ill grandmother. While there, he attended the Juarez Academy and was employed for a time as a race horse jockey. Skousen then returned to California, graduating from high school in 1930. At the age of 17 he traveled to Great Britain as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[5][6]
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/may/06/moms-for-liberty-john-birch-society-far-right-book-bans
Moms for Liberty is a Florida-based pressure group which campaigns for book bans in US public schools, an issue at the heart of the national debate as Republican-run states seek to control or eliminate teaching of sex education, LGBTQ+ rights and racism in American history.
But rightwing calls for school book bans are by no means a new phenomenon – and a look at the Moms for Liberty website indicates why.
Moms for Liberty seeks to organise “Madison Meetups”, events it describes as “like a book club for the constitution!”, featuring discussion of “liberty, freedom and the foundation of our government”. Under “resources that we have found helpful”, the only resource offered is The Making of America, a book by W Cleon Skousen.
In the early 1960s, Skousen was a hero to and a defender of the John Birch Society, a far-right group that campaigned against what it claimed was the communist threat to America.
Matthew Dallek, a professor of political management at George Washington University, is the author of Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right. He points out that though the Birchers were not the only ones promoting book bans in the 60s, “they were likely the most visible group promoting book bans or promoting the policing of content in schools, libraries, movie theaters, even on newsstands”.
The Birchers, Dallek adds, focused on “the so-called erosion of the moral fiber of the United States, but also the struggle to rid the country of what they regarded as really the socialist left wing”.
The society still exists but its influence is greater than its presence, most obviously through a resurgence of Bircher-esque thought and action in the Republican party of Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.
In the society’s heyday, Dallek says, book bans and school board elections, another current battlefield, “gave Birchers a way to take action in their community.
“They looked at where their kids went to school and their local library and the movie theater they would pass by. Part of their agenda was to insert what they considered Americanist publications, as opposed to communist propaganda.
“What’s frightening now is that I don’t recall a time where those efforts were so often successful. Moms for Liberty and the other successors to the John Birch Society, they’re having a lot more success at actually implementing their vision.”
After completing his missionary service, Skousen attended San Bernardino Valley Jr. College, graduating in 1935. He married Jewel Pitcher in August 1936, and they raised eight children together. He graduated with an LL.B. from George Washington University Law School in June 1940 (the school updated his degree as Juris Doctor (J.D.) in 1972 with its degree nomenclature).[7]
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/may/06/moms-for-liberty-john-birch-society-far-right-book-bans
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/2023 08:20PM by anybody.
Skousen was born on a dryland farm in Raymond, Alberta, Canada, the second of nine children of Royal Pratt Skousen and Margarita Bentley Skousen, who were U.S. citizens.[4] He lived in Canada until he was ten years old, then moved with his family to California where his father supervised the paving of some of the original Route 66. In 1926, Skousen went to the Mormon colony, Colonia Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico for two years to help his seriously ill grandmother. While there, he attended the Juarez Academy and was employed for a time as a race horse jockey. Skousen then returned to California, graduating from high school in 1930. At the age of 17 he traveled to Great Britain as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[5][6]
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/may/06/moms-for-liberty-john-birch-society-far-right-book-bans
Moms for Liberty is a Florida-based pressure group which campaigns for book bans in US public schools, an issue at the heart of the national debate as Republican-run states seek to control or eliminate teaching of sex education, LGBTQ+ rights and racism in American history.
But rightwing calls for school book bans are by no means a new phenomenon – and a look at the Moms for Liberty website indicates why.
Moms for Liberty seeks to organise “Madison Meetups”, events it describes as “like a book club for the constitution!”, featuring discussion of “liberty, freedom and the foundation of our government”. Under “resources that we have found helpful”, the only resource offered is The Making of America, a book by W Cleon Skousen.
In the early 1960s, Skousen was a hero to and a defender of the John Birch Society, a far-right group that campaigned against what it claimed was the communist threat to America.
Matthew Dallek, a professor of political management at George Washington University, is the author of Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right. He points out that though the Birchers were not the only ones promoting book bans in the 60s, “they were likely the most visible group promoting book bans or promoting the policing of content in schools, libraries, movie theaters, even on newsstands”.
The Birchers, Dallek adds, focused on “the so-called erosion of the moral fiber of the United States, but also the struggle to rid the country of what they regarded as really the socialist left wing”.
The society still exists but its influence is greater than its presence, most obviously through a resurgence of Bircher-esque thought and action in the Republican party of Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.
In the society’s heyday, Dallek says, book bans and school board elections, another current battlefield, “gave Birchers a way to take action in their community.
“They looked at where their kids went to school and their local library and the movie theater they would pass by. Part of their agenda was to insert what they considered Americanist publications, as opposed to communist propaganda.
“What’s frightening now is that I don’t recall a time where those efforts were so often successful. Moms for Liberty and the other successors to the John Birch Society, they’re having a lot more success at actually implementing their vision.”
After completing his missionary service, Skousen attended San Bernardino Valley Jr. College, graduating in 1935. He married Jewel Pitcher in August 1936, and they raised eight children together. He graduated with an LL.B. from George Washington University Law School in June 1940 (the school updated his degree as Juris Doctor (J.D.) in 1972 with its degree nomenclature).[7]
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/may/06/moms-for-liberty-john-birch-society-far-right-book-bans
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/2023 08:20PM by anybody.
Because of course they do. It was predictable.
As we all know, these groups are not fringe elements in Mormonism. They are its core.
I don't think they are at the core of Mormonism.
The core is the 2/3 who are Romney Republicans, not the 1/4-1/3 who are Trumpian nativists. The latter certainly are a big enough constituency to put the fear of God in the Q15, since offending them could lead to a rift that would cripple the church, but they aren't the main body of saints.
The point of this article, however, is different: namely, that Skousen's political extremism has found a new audience, a non-Mormon one. Ron DeSantis and his gaggle of harridans aren't reading The First Thousand Years, only Skousen's implicitly white-nationalist stuff.
Quite a phenomenon, methinks.
The core is the 2/3 who are Romney Republicans, not the 1/4-1/3 who are Trumpian nativists. The latter certainly are a big enough constituency to put the fear of God in the Q15, since offending them could lead to a rift that would cripple the church, but they aren't the main body of saints.
The point of this article, however, is different: namely, that Skousen's political extremism has found a new audience, a non-Mormon one. Ron DeSantis and his gaggle of harridans aren't reading The First Thousand Years, only Skousen's implicitly white-nationalist stuff.
Quite a phenomenon, methinks.
Oh get real. Most TBMs thought the Birchers were nuts.
I inherited my mom's collection of Mormon books about 7 years ago.
She had one written by a woman I had never heard of, but it was all about who gets the priesthood and who doesn't, and it had a forward by James Talmage, so women wrote doctrinal books back in the day. I think it was from the 40s or early 50s.
She of course had Skousen's books. I had seen them as a kid, but looking at them now, especially volume 1, I was astonished at how racist it was. The basic subtest was the darker your skin, the less God likes you, and the less successful/educated you will be in life.
It was Racism 101: Fundamentals.
She had one written by a woman I had never heard of, but it was all about who gets the priesthood and who doesn't, and it had a forward by James Talmage, so women wrote doctrinal books back in the day. I think it was from the 40s or early 50s.
She of course had Skousen's books. I had seen them as a kid, but looking at them now, especially volume 1, I was astonished at how racist it was. The basic subtest was the darker your skin, the less God likes you, and the less successful/educated you will be in life.
It was Racism 101: Fundamentals.
Exactly.
Those books were in my home, along with such masterpieces as "The Church and the Negro." I remember attempting some Skousen but finding it by turns appalling and imbecilic. I mean, God moved the planet after the flood?
Those books were in my home, along with such masterpieces as "The Church and the Negro." I remember attempting some Skousen but finding it by turns appalling and imbecilic. I mean, God moved the planet after the flood?
I grew up in the '60s. My parents were what was known then as "Goldwater Republicans," which is to say that they likely had a libertarian streak. Mom and Dad were not extremists, and were reasonably tolerant of gays and minorities, especially for the time. I remember that they looked askance at the John Birchers -- they considered them to be whack-a-doodles. Mom took me to the public library at regular intervals, and I was allowed to choose any books I wished, even the adult books.
> Mom took me to the public library
> at regular intervals, and I was allowed to choose
> any books I wished, even the adult books.
That's what happens when you don't have Ron DeSantis around to protect you from evil influences. Surely it explains a lot.
More seriously, Goldwater was one of the GOP senators who in 1974 told Nixon he had to resign because in an impeachment trial they would vote against him.
That was back when the party had integrity.
> at regular intervals, and I was allowed to choose
> any books I wished, even the adult books.
That's what happens when you don't have Ron DeSantis around to protect you from evil influences. Surely it explains a lot.
More seriously, Goldwater was one of the GOP senators who in 1974 told Nixon he had to resign because in an impeachment trial they would vote against him.
That was back when the party had integrity.
So, those folks meet to talk about the US Constitution and want to ban books? Did they skip the First Amendment?
I grew up a fan of comics, books, and horror movies, so I'm no fan of moral guardians. Plus, I suspect that groups like Moms for "Liberty" are just bigoted control freaks hiding behind their kids. I wish I'd paid more attention in math so I could calculate how many levels of cowardly that is.
Finally, I imagine these people would find pornographic content or "leftist" propaganda in a Rorschach test.
I grew up a fan of comics, books, and horror movies, so I'm no fan of moral guardians. Plus, I suspect that groups like Moms for "Liberty" are just bigoted control freaks hiding behind their kids. I wish I'd paid more attention in math so I could calculate how many levels of cowardly that is.
Finally, I imagine these people would find pornographic content or "leftist" propaganda in a Rorschach test.
I wish this story surprised me. It only depresses me--I had read or heard somewhere (Daily Kos, NPR?) before that Moms for Liberty was extolling the historical correctness of a religious fanatic non-historian. There is no way in hell that the Bible could be the basis for the U.S. Constitution--not least of all because that religious tome says that all power comes from above (God) and not from below (the people).
was Skousen in cahoots with E T Benson?
ETB wrote that the civil rights movement was just a commie tool.
ETB wrote that the civil rights movement was just a commie tool.
Their friendship us well known. Get "Watchman on the Tower" by Matthew Harris. Together with Ernest Wilkinson, they pretty much commandeered modern Mormonism.
Benson wanted to join the John Birch Society. David McKay, church president at the time, pulled rank and forbade it.
Benson wanted to join the John Birch Society. David McKay, church president at the time, pulled rank and forbade it.
For Anybody and anybody else reading this, the positions being taken by Moms for Liberty with regard to Cleon Skousen didn't just come out of the blue.
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2011/fringe-mormon-group-makes-myths-glenn-beck%E2%80%99s-help
The above link is to a 2011 report written by the Southern Poverty Law Center and it traces what happened to the Freeman Institute, a group founded by Ezra Taft Benson and Cleon Skousen in the 1970s. It also discusses in detail some of Cleon's ideas and how they shaped Ezra Taft's thinking and how, as of 2011, a lot of younger people who didn't know (or didn't trust) actual history have come to believe the tripe that Cleon authored as being actual history and where the U.S. should be heading. The behavior of Moms for Liberty is just the latest update in this bizarre retelling of U.S. history that is trying to create a myth that bolsters white racial superiority.
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2011/fringe-mormon-group-makes-myths-glenn-beck%E2%80%99s-help
The above link is to a 2011 report written by the Southern Poverty Law Center and it traces what happened to the Freeman Institute, a group founded by Ezra Taft Benson and Cleon Skousen in the 1970s. It also discusses in detail some of Cleon's ideas and how they shaped Ezra Taft's thinking and how, as of 2011, a lot of younger people who didn't know (or didn't trust) actual history have come to believe the tripe that Cleon authored as being actual history and where the U.S. should be heading. The behavior of Moms for Liberty is just the latest update in this bizarre retelling of U.S. history that is trying to create a myth that bolsters white racial superiority.
Thanks, Blindguy.
"Among the sources Skousen cited to substantiate this claim was is a former czarist army officer named Arsene de Goulevitch, whose own sources included Boris Brasol, a White Russian émigré who provided Henry Ford with the first English translation of the Jew-bashing classic, Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and later became a supporter of Nazi Germany."
The above quote from the aforementioned article tells you all that you need to know about these hate filled fanatics.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2023 12:50AM by anybody.
"Among the sources Skousen cited to substantiate this claim was is a former czarist army officer named Arsene de Goulevitch, whose own sources included Boris Brasol, a White Russian émigré who provided Henry Ford with the first English translation of the Jew-bashing classic, Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and later became a supporter of Nazi Germany."
The above quote from the aforementioned article tells you all that you need to know about these hate filled fanatics.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2023 12:50AM by anybody.
She of course had Skousen's books. I had seen them as a kid, but looking at them now, especially volume 1, I was astonished at how racist it was. The basic subtest was the darker your skin, the less God likes you, and the less successful/educated you will be in life.
It was Racism 101: Fundamentals.
-----------------
It is Mormonism reality. "lazy & loathesome, cursed with a dark skin". Solid Core Mormon Doctrine.
It was Racism 101: Fundamentals.
-----------------
It is Mormonism reality. "lazy & loathesome, cursed with a dark skin". Solid Core Mormon Doctrine.