Communists and Conspiracies

One thing that has surprised and even confused me in recent months has been the assertion that our U.S. schools and mainstream, progressive political parties / leadership circles are “filled with  communists.” This “fringe argument” has sadly become more mainstream. It is instructive as well as sad to read more about the historical roots of this argument. Before I share some quotations I read this morning on these topics, I’ll share a bit more of my related backstory.

I am continuing a lifelong effort to better understand our U.S. history, changing society and political culture. This desire is a big part of my motivation in continuing to work on the media literacy inquiry project, “Conspiracies and Culture Wars,” which I started in the summer of 2019 as a result of my participation in the (sadly now discontinued) Summer Institute in Digital Literacy.

Specifically that summer, a wonderful exchange of podcast resources and ideas with my fellow institute participant, Brian Turnbaugh, led to a great deal of brainstorming, lesson planning, and unit design, which eventually became my “Fruitloop Conspiracy Theories unit.” I have been teaching this unit and continuing to iterate / improve it with middle schoolers the past five years: for three years in Oklahoma, and now two years in North Carolina.

With these goals in mind, I am now reading  “American Fascism: How the GOP Is Subverting Democracy” (2021) by Brynn Tannehill.

Although I have some knowledge of Jerry Falwell, “The Moral Majority” and their influence on evangelical Christianity as well as our society more broadly, I admit my knowledge in this area has been very limited. 

With the aforementioned educational and learning goals in mind, Tannehill’s  research and historical analysis in this book are extremely helpful. She writes on page 38 of 369:

Jerry Falwell, and other white evangelicals in the Southern Baptist Convention, however, embraced the Reagan administration’s focus on cutting taxes, building defense, and slashing social spending. Falwell had always been a staunch anti-communist, and, like the modern Republican movement, branded anything that looked like government spending on the poor and any tax on the wealthy as a form of godless, creeping socialism. To his mind this was basically the same as communism. He had founded the Moral Majority in part to fight this, declaring that “young people have been reared under the influence of a government that has taught them socialism and welfarism.” Civil rights were a form of communism in Falwell’s world, and he branded both Dr. King and Bishop Desmond Tutu as such.

One of many unfortunate trends we have seen in US political culture in the past decade is the call (by some on the right) to reject all political compromise and essentially promote single party rule. The demonization of ALL opponents of one’s political party, as evil, enemies of the state, and even “enemies of God” is both a fascist and a perilous political strategy.

In addition to motivating my academic and professional learning through the “Conspiracies and Culture Wars Media Literacy inquiry project,” this continuing thread of study, reflection and analysis has also motivated me to start the “Heal Our Culture” project.

As usual, I have multiple “irons in the fire” this summer. As an aspiring (repeat) author, I am striving to focus on getting one book project done at a time. However, in our current political climate, and in this moment, I am convinced that the need for us all to “amplify the cultural healers over the culture warriors” in our society is essential. This is a vital need which cannot wait.

If you are interested in these topics please check out, share, and consider joining our learning in my upcoming two week, online “micro-credential course” in July 2024, “Teaching the Conspiracies: Part 2.” I am teaching this mini-course through the Media Education Lab.

You can also follow the hashtag I’ve been using for years for the “Conspiracies and Culture Wars” media literacy project, #ConCW, on Mastodon. You can follow and access these shared links whether or not you have set up your own Mastodon instance account.

If you haven’t yet set up a Mastodon social media account, which is an open source and “federated” account NOT controlled by any single big tech company or individual… and is therefore advertisement free, check out my webinar from this past spring, “Mastodon For Beginners.”