David Barton is also the popularizer of a revisionist history of race in America that has become part of the Tea Party narrative. Drawn in part from the writings of Christian Reconstructionists, that narrative recasts modern-day Republicans as the racially inclusive party, and modern-day Democrats as the racists supportive of slavery and postemancipation racist policies. Barton’s website has included a “Black History” section for some time. Like Barton’s larger revisionist effort to develop and perpetuate the narrative that America is a Christian nation, the “Republicans-are-really-the-party-of-racial-equality” narrative is not entirely fictive. Some historical points Barton makes are true; but he and his biggest promoter, Glenn Beck, manipulate those points, remove all historical context, and add patently false historical claims in order to promote their political agenda. Barton appeared regularly on Beck’s show to disseminate his alternative reading of African American history, carrying with him, as he does, what he claims are original documents and artifacts that he flashes around for credibility.(Those are Ingersoll's words, not Fea's.)
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Julie Ingersoll's New Book
John Fea has the information here. It's noteworthy in that it's being published by Oxford University Press. A taste:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
The attempt to tie the Tea Party movement to Christian Reconstructionist theory is questionable. Correlation is not cause, nor does Ingersoll show more than a level of overlap via Barton. As Ingersoll admits,
Barton does not explicitly identify as a Christian Reconstructionist, and Christian Reconstructionists would not claim him as one of their own.
Rushdoony-type Christian Reconstructionism is much more theory than it is fact, that we should live under a Bible-ocracy--by our own popular choice, mind you. Neither does Barton even hint at the death penalty for homosexuality, and that sort of thing.
http://reason.com/archives/1998/11/01/invitation-to-a-stoning
Any attempt to link that stuff and the Tea Party is a noxious lie.
@Tom It's not at all questionable. Home school networks on the far religious right have a long, deep connection with Reconstructionism through people like Kevin Swanson. This group has been a natural base for the TP and far right conservative reaction in general.
Post a Comment