Czeslaw Milosz, The Captive Mind. (Depicts life in Poland under the Nazis and then under the tightening grip of the Stalinist Russians as they reformed the thought of eastern Europeans under their control. Almost every page could be easily turned into a description of life or a life lesson under Mormonism, or maybe made into a post on RFM.)
Any other books that, without mentioning the LDS church, reach a high level of quality and power in their depiction, denunciation, exposure, or discussion of the sorts of things that make Mormonism repugnant?
Anorther category is books that simply promote critical thinkimg. Sometimes people on this board will point out books that are very successful at promoting or inducing critical thinking, and that that itself is anti-Mormon. Any books that you would put in this category?
Easily one of the best books I have ever read. 1984 is right up there too.
There are some movies that have always struck a note with me too: Soylent Green, Minority Report, ( based in Philip k. Dick's short story), and Margaret atwood's the handmaids tale, both the book and
the movie were eye openers to me as a young teenager/ woman.
I would want to add works of feminist literature. It's probably terribly dated now, but Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" influenced me deeply and helped to lead me away from the Catholic church. She laid out the reasons why being a SAHM could lead to feelings of low self esteem, depression, and lack of fulfilment. That and similar works started me on the road to believing that I was not "less than" just because I happened to be born female.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2012 08:07PM by summer.
"Combatting Cult Mind Control" by Steven Hassan. It doesn't refer to Mormonism at all, and Hassan's experiences were actually with the Moonies. But the whole way through it I was nodding my head. He could just as easily have been talking about Mormonism.
Mormonism is a cult, but the Unification church is definitely worse. Either way, it's a matter of degree. The tactics can all be distilled down to the same basic general principles.
It's interesting that he said cult members tend to have IQ's in the 130+ range, because in the LDS Church we were taught that it's to be smart is good so long as you do what you're told (or however the quote went). They also demonize what they call "intellectuals." Very interesting presentation. I may have to look through his book again.
Reading that and Steve Hassan's book was like an eerie trip down memory lane. The kind of trip where you realize you were being mind-molested and used by Joseph's Myth and the subsequent moneygrubbing corporation.
"The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves" by B.R. Myers is a fascinating look at North Korea's internal propaganda, which is very different from the propaganda face it presents to foreigners.
The gist of the book is that North Koreans are told they are morally superior to non-Koreans, but are also so innocent and childlike that they need the guidance and protection of powerful leaders. Other races live evil, debauched lives, and often threaten or try to persecute North Koreans, but they also look up to North Koreans because of their purity. North Koreas leaders, Kim Il Sung ("the Parent Leader") and Kim Jong Il ("the Great Ruler") are admired throughout the world.
William Shakespeare. Especially The Tempest,The Merchant of Venice, King Richard II, Tomon of Athens, Julius Caesar, MacBeth, Hamlet, Othello, Henry IV (both),Henry V, Titu Andronicus, Love's Labour's Lost, Measure for Measure, King Lear, Much ado about Nothing, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Lucrece.
Couldn't be anti-Mormon-- the timeline is wrong. LOL
Good point "me"! Good literature will always triumph over mind control.
If you have children at home just leave a full range of English and American literature around the house. They will naturally gravitate to good writing especially if they are used to seeing the insipid magazines of the church. And their English teachers will thank you.
The Believing Brain From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies—How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths
By Michael Shermer
A comprehensive theory on how beliefs are born, formed, nourished, reinforced, challenged, changed, and extinguished. This book synthesizes Dr. Shermer’s 30 years of research to answer the questions of how and why we believe what we do in all aspects of our lives, from our suspicions and superstitions to our politics, economics, and social beliefs. His thesis is straightforward:
"We form our beliefs for a variety of subjective, personal, emotional, and psychological reasons in the context of environments created by family, friends, colleagues, culture, and society at large; after forming our beliefs we then defend, justify, and rationalize them with a host of intellectual reasons, cogent arguments, and rational explanations. Beliefs come first, explanations for beliefs follow."
Shermer's full of it. He just believes that crap for a variety of subjective, personal, emotional, and psychological reasons in the context of environments created by family, friends, colleagues, culture, and society at large.
he does get overly simplistic and reductionistic at times, but he is writing for a popular audience.
I think he makes a good point that what an individual believes is overdetermined.
His point from "Weird Things" is that humans survived better by being able to detect patterns better. But that we still have problems distiquishing valid patterns from merely apparent ones. When accepting a false pattern does not immediately and obviously affect our survival, it tends to hang on, especially when there are other reasons, such as social ones, that make it's acceptance attractive.
But with time, effort and experience, humans can learn which patterns are valid and which are not, roughly what science does. Finally, overall and long term, it is better for us all to go with the valid patterns and not with the merely apparent ones.
Edited 8 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2012 11:07PM by lulu.
This book is about a lot things, but one of the characters chooses to leave the strict sect of Judaism he was raised in to pursue an education in psychology. He is terrified of telling his father and waviers between rebellion and trying to obey. It spoke to me...