TheA PUBLICATION OF POLITICAL RESEARCH PublicEye ASSOCIATES WINTER 2004 • Volume XVIII, No.3 RIGHTING CRIME Conservative Criminal Justice as Common Sense Crime and Political Ideology By Jean Hardisty whole, people of color, especially African its citizens rarely garners widespread pub- Americans, who cluster at the lower end of lic support. Introduction the economic ladder, are close at hand to However, even when liberal arguments n eye for an eye” captures the con- serve for White people as “the other,” as a gain political strength and acceptance, the “A servative model of punishment in source of criminal threat for the dominant policies that follow merely moderate the contemporary western societies. That is, population. (See Box on White Fear). And punishment model. A period of such mod- when a wrong is done to an innocent per- it is often true even for people whom White eration occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, son, the wrongdoer must be severely pun- people have labeled as “the other,” but when liberalism became strong enough to ished in order to “even the books” and don’t see themselves as attached to, or iden- challenge the existing criminal justice stand as an example to deter other wrong- tified with, those labeled criminals. system. Liberal publications, speakers at doers. Its advocates often call this punish- A convergence of several of the condi- demonstrations, and political leaders talked ment model the “law-and-order” model.” tions that create social tension—for about “equality” and “the dead-end life of In contrast, the liberal punishment instance, hard economic times, rapid social the ghetto” as a place of no opportunity, and model emphasizes the rights of the accused, change and/or a high crime rate—create a promoted a model of rehabilitation for humane (not “cruel and unusual”) pun- hospitable climate for an upsurge of the criminals. This model focused on acknowl- ishment, and rehabilitation of those con- law-and-order paradigm. If rightists hold edging that criminals were often the prod- victed of a crime. Conservatives and rightists political power and rightist cultural values uct of poverty and economic segregation, belittle this model as “soft on crime.” In the are dominant at the time these conditions and that society should respond to behav- United States, the two opposing models prevail, they are likely to work to strengthen ior deemed criminal with education and compete in the realms of culture and pub- public support for this paradigm, usually opportunity as a form of crime prevention, lic policy. For most of U.S. history, the by emphasizing an “us/them” dichotomy and training while the criminal paid his/her harsher punishment model has been so that demonizes criminals and expands the debt to society. dominant that it is part of our international definition of criminal behavior. Crime and Political Ideology continues on page 3 image. We are the country where we “hang Only a powerful political force can push ’em high.” Only in an exceptional period against the historical U.S. preference for a does the principle and practice of redemp- harsh punishment model. A strong pro- IN THIS ISSUE tion gain the upper hand. gressive movement can mount a counter- What explains the U.S. inclination to vailing political analysis that promotes an Crime and Political Ideology . .1 understanding of the root causes of crime, favor the law-and-order punishment Guest Commentary ...... 2 model? Certainly in times of social tension critiques the law enforcement and crimi- and economic unpredictability, the pun- nal justice systems, and emphasizes reha- Calvinism, Capitalism, ishment paradigm is especially appealing. bilitation and rights for criminal defendants Conversion, & Incarceration . . . .8 and prisoners. Such an analysis is associated When people feel vulnerable and insecure, Books Received ...... 16 rationally or not, they often look for some- with liberal politicians, activists and one, some thing, or some group to blame. advocates. A progressive analysis that ques- Eyes Right ...... 22 tions the very right of the State to incarcerate Because racism pervades U.S. society as a Eye Lashes ...... 22

THE PUBLIC EYE1 WINTER 2004 The Public Eye Guest Commentary ThePublicEye By Rose Braz Editor Nikhil Aziz, Ph.D. ondemning the abuse of Iraqi prisoners as “fundamentally un-American,” Don- Design/layout Cald Rumsfeld ignores the strikingly similar circumstances facing two million U.S. Hird Graphic Design prisoners. Printing While Congress, the military and pundits alike argue that the Abu Ghraib photos Red Sun Press do not depict conditions in American prisons, they forget that a few months before atroc- Mailing ities were caught on tape at Abu Ghraib, we watched our own videotape of guards at Walnut Street Center the California Youth Authority beating youth under their watch. PRA A few years earlier, at California’s Corcoran State Prison, guards staged and wagered POLITICAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATES on “gladiator fights” between prisoners. As in Iraq, there have been deaths in custody. Founder and President Emerita For example, in Florida in 1999, guards beat prisoner Frank Valdez to death. And if Jean V. Hardisty, Ph.D. there was any doubt that prisons beget torture, one need only remember Pelican Bay State Prison, where prison guards immersed a mentally ill prisoner in a tub of boiling Staff water. Roberta Salper, Ph.D. Executive Director These are not isolated incidents, and the similarities do not end there. The Iraqi Nikhil Aziz, Ph.D. Associate Director prisons are now run by the same people who run our prisons at home: two of the seven Chip Berlet, Senior Analyst soldiers accused in the Abu Ghraib scandal are prison guards in the U.S. The man Pam Chamberlain, Researcher appointed to reopen Abu Ghraib last year was the director of the Utah Department of Shelly Harter, Database Manager Tom Louie, Director of Development Corrections. He resigned that position in 1997 after a prisoner died while shackled to and Communications a restraining chair naked for 16 hours. Namorya Nelson, Office Manager With additional revelations of more atrocities, the call rises to court martial and Bookkeeper Lynndie England and other abusers, get rid of the few “bad apples,” reduce the num- Palak Shah, Researcher ber of prisoners held at Abu Ghraib and possibly even close the prison. Unfortunately, history and research show that eliminating torture requires more than Board of Directors Michael Chapman just removing so-called bad apples from the barrel. The Abu Ghraib catastrophe, and Heeten Kalan the atrocities that occur in American prisons everyday, should instead make us rethink Vivien Labaton the use of prisons as answers to what are social, economic and political problems—both June Lorenzo in Iraq and here at home… Rev. Katherine Ragsdale …Today, there are 78,000 prisoners 19 years old and under, and two million adult Mohan Sikka prisoners. Our society continues to label prisoners as less than human, lock them in Wendy Volkmann Paul Watanabe, Ph.D. cages, strip them naked and even allow their murder and rape… …On top of it all, prisons don’t make our communities safer. In the first national The Public Eye is published by Political Research study on the impact of imprisonment on crime, the Washington, DC-based Sentenc- Associates. Subscriptions are $29.00 for individuals and non-profit organizations, $39.00 for other ing Project found that people in states with more prisons and more people in prison organizations, $19.00 for students and low-income individuals. Outside U.S., Canada, and Mexico, add were no safer than people in other states. $9.00 for surface delivery or $14.00 for air mail. Since 1997, Critical Resistance has been working to debunk the myth that the prison Please make checks payable to Political Research Associates, 1310 Broadway, Suite 201, industrial complex (PIC) will make our communities safer. After September 11, 2001, Somerville, Massachusetts 02144-1731. we found ourselves also working to debunk the myth that expanding the prison indus- 617.666.5300 fax: 617.666.6622 PRA is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. All trial complex, internationally and domestically, would make this nation safer. The same donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted flawed principles of retribution and retaliation that have driven the growth of the PIC by law. © Political Research Associates, 2004. Website: www.publiceye.org as an answer to what we label “crime” at home have now been employed as an answer All rights reserved. ISSN 0275-9322 Guest Commentary continues on page 20 ISSUE 47

THE PUBLIC EYE 2 WINTER 2004 The Public Eye

But in those same decades, a conserva- lack of opportunity, the Right’s view is that keep people on the correct path stems tive backlash began to gain popularity. By people are bad by nature. Rightists see from a philosophical belief that society in the end of the 1970s, the New Right, a urges to sinful, aggressive, and selfish behav- its “natural” state is chaotic. Therefore growing social and political movement ior as human nature. Therefore, conserva- society’s first obligation is to establish a for- whose central program was to attack lib- tive rightists often accuse liberals and leftists midable authority.2 Authority naturally eral ideas and practices, had labeled the lib- of being “idealists,” who fail to understand resides in the State, the Church, and the eral model the “coddling” of criminals. The that people are fundamentally flawed and family/community. In the words of New Right directed its message—that the prone to anti-social acts. Thomas Hobbes, the 17th century English country appeared to be spinning out of con- For many rightists—especially those philosopher who is the father of the con- trol—to White men, conservative Chris- in the Christian Right—the only fruitful servative worldview, “Before the names of tians, and White Southerners. just and unjust can have place, “Middle Americans,” feeling they there must be some coercive were losing status and financial power.” security in a time of social change, What explains the U.S. inclination to Rightists, despite their occa- were encouraged by rightists to sional adherence to values of love fear “chaos” in the streets and in favor the law-and-order punishment model? and charity, believe that private life. Subtle messages humankind is divided into good appealed to racial stereotypes by Certainly in times of social tension and (worthy) people and bad (unwor- implying that the reforms of the thy) people. Bad or unworthy 1960s and 1970s had strength- economic unpredictability, the punishment people are irresponsible and/or ened the position of “undeserv- anti-social because of weakness, ing” welfare recipients (usually paradigm is especially appealing. When self-indulgence, and lack of the stereotyped as people of color) will to overcome their baser and criminals at the expense of people feel vulnerable and insecure, rationally instincts. The definition of “good” White people. Soon mod- or not, they often look for someone, some “good” and “bad” has many erate Democrats and even some dimensions, including moral, liberals began to collaborate in the thing, or some group to blame. Because cultural, economic, and political. promotion of the backlash The designation “unworthy” can slogan, “tough on crime.” racism pervades U.S. society as a whole, be stark and unforgiving. Lack of It wasn’t simply economic and discipline should earn a “bad social tensions that underlay the people of color, especially African Americans, reputation” and a watchful eye New Right’s success in promoting from law enforcement officials. its message on crime. “Law and who cluster at the lower end of the economic The character trait of a strong order” resonated with a powerful and law-abiding person, on the ideological strain within the U.S. ladder, are close at hand to serve for White other hand, is “social responsi- populace—the conservative people as “the other,” as a source of criminal bility.” For such a person, the worldview. You might think of first hurdle is to resist temptation this worldview as the ideological threat for the dominant population. and, by doing so, live a good default to which many White life. The story of Hester Prynne, Americans return when they are the Puritan woman in Nathaniel anxious, confused, or resentful. Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, path of redemption lies in conversion to captures the conservative worldview. The Prominence of the Conser- conservative Christianity. This path, pro- Prynne, who became the town minister’s vative Ideological Worldview moted most notably by Charles “Chuck” lover, was forced to wear a large, cloth s with so many of its policies, the Colson, whose conversion occurred while scarlet A for “adulterer” on her chest for ARight’s conservative view of human he served time in prison for crimes com- the rest of her life, making a clear statement nature and a preeminent desire for an mitted as part of the Watergate scandal in that she was an undisciplined person. orderly society drives its law-and-order the 1980s, has become a small redemption The public policy implications of this agenda. While the liberal, humanistic vision industry.1 worldview are enormous. For instance, if, of human nature is that people are basically The conservative view of humankind as as in the liberal model, all people are poten- good, but are made bad by oppressive sinful and in need of self-discipline, harsh tially good, preventive measures to keep poverty, abuse, addiction, racism, and/or punishment, and religious redemption to them from coming under influences that

THE PUBLIC EYE3 WINTER 2004 The Public Eye will turn them “bad” are not simply justi- fied, but a practical response to a rising crime rate. But if, as in the rightist world- WHITE FEAR view, all people are born with a strong It is a tragic irony that the European settlers greeted by native peoples when they arrived in urge to be “bad” and some are unable to what the immigrants called the “New World” evolved a xenophobic worldview called control those urges through discipline and “Nativism.” The term is used to describe the notion put forward by many immigrant settlers social responsibility, punishment and and their offspring that the ideal citizen is a White, northern European, native (U.S.) born, isolation are the appropriate responses to Protestant. their behavior. Xenophobia is a fear of (or a distaste for, or a hatred directed at) people, ideas, or customs The theme of law and order, as it stems thought to be strange or foreign. In the United States, this often involves White racial nation- from the conservative worldview, sets up alism. When the new nation was founded in the late 1700s, there was an example of Xeno- a stark us/them dichotomy that makes it phobia prompting government policies in the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts. possible for “deserving” people to place Periodically throughout U.S. history xenophobic Nativist movements have gained a mass “them” outside the boundaries of an orderly following; spreading their ideas and pushing for federal action and legislation to limit immi- and godly society. From this perspective, gration by people of color. Roberto Lovato calls the current manifestation of this phenome- once outside the boundaries of legitimate non “White Fear.” “In white fear’s eyes, any shade of brown is suspect,” writes Lovato. And society, “the other” is no longer the respon- just like previous periods of anti-immigrant bigotry, this fear justifies a “war against those sibility of those who are good and worthy. perceived as 21st century barbarians.” Lovato explains that “White fear mobilizes Republican In order to advance the message that and Democratic voters to defend their perceived racial interests under the guise of patriotism.” attention to “them” is misplaced by liber- als, the Right launched its campaign to pro- Acording to Lovato, “Even though ideas about race, ethnicity, culture and civilization are mote “victim’s rights” in the 1980s. fluid and murky, white fear is cohesive and entrenched.” He notes that “White fear is Building on the conservative worldview, profitable. Bond issues for prison construction managed by major investment banks are a “victims’ rights” campaign allowed right- more profitable than school construction bonds for improving the decrepit, crowded public ists to introduce conservative tough-on- schools.” He adds that “prison construction bonds also depend heavily on a steady flow of crime policies without appearing to be young, brown bodies of former students of de-funded schools, as do the crowded barracks racist or opposed to individual rights and in Iraq’s deserts.” liberties. Part of contemporary White fear is driven by demographic trends that suggest White people How Does Law and Order Play will become a “minority” group sometime during the 21st century. Lovato warns this is creat- Out in Racial Terms? ing a “new wave of minority politics: white minority politics. Though rooted in California, n the United States, existing institu- this new politics of fear is cropping up across the country as its promoters redefine who is Itional, systemic, and individual racism racial victim and who is racial oppressor, neatly inverting—and co-opting—the arguments magnify and reinforce this us/them and terms of the civil rights movement.” dichotomy.3 Because the criminal justice Source: Roberto Lovato, “White Fear,” Pacific News Service, May 18, 2004 system of every country serves as a means http://www.alternet.org/story/18734/; Roberto Lovato, “Fear of a Brown Planet,” The Nation, June 11, 2004, online archive. of control over some members of that soci- ety (and others who get caught up in it), it always reflects the need of the State for con- to promote “law and order,” conservative Through this sleight of hand, rightist pol- trol, the political desire of leaders to stay in strategists have been careful to avoid any icy-makers have constructed law-and-order power, and the norms and mores of behav- mention of its agenda’s racial implications. policies as a series of supposedly race-neu- ior favored by those leaders and usually sup- After arguing for criminalizing certain tral policies, although the outcome of these ported by at least a portion of the society’s behaviors, especially drug consumption policies has been to criminalize, to a vastly members. In a country with the racial his- and distribution, they never mentioned disproportionate extent, the behaviors of tory of the United States, we cannot be sur- how this would disproportionately affect certain targeted groups, especially racial prised that Whites have always controlled communities of color (where the State’s minorities. Whether or not these law-and- the criminal justice system and used it to arrests for such behavior are higher than in order policies were intentionally racist control people of color, especially African White and suburban communities). Some may be open to debate, but many people, Americans and increasingly all dark-skinned of the academics who promote law-and- especially people of color, connect the dots people, including those from the Middle order arguments have even maintained an and see their outcome as both intentional East and South Asia. identity as liberals, and claim to be writing and systemic. In the ideological and political campaign in the interests of “the community.” You might imagine that an increased

THE PUBLIC EYE 4 WINTER 2004 The Public Eye emphasis on law and order would result in lation increases government spending in and drug laws that continually escalate increased attention to all forms of law- both the long- and short-term. Between rates of imprisonment.7 breaking. But addressing police brutality 1985 and 1995, states and the federal gov- Widespread imposition of the death and other forms of State violence clearly is ernment opened one new prison a week to penalty also creates dissonance for some not the focus of law-and-order policies. Nor cope with the flood of inmates into the rightists. Between 1995 and 2003, pris- is it the focus of the ideological camp that prison system.6 Much of this increase oners in the United States were executed promotes these policies. Such neglect of a resulted from the increasing criminalization at an average rate of one per week.8 whole class of “victims”—those victimized of non-violent offenders, through three- Although execution is a more expensive by police or military power—supports strikes laws, mandatory sentences, and form of punishment than life-long impris- the assertion that illegitimate race- onment (due to the cost to the based practices are the single most State of legal appeals), until salient feature of the contemporary recently its use has been steadily criminal justice system. Rightists The conservative view of humankind as increasing, driven, in large part, often blatantly deny statistical by the Secular Right. Some evidence of unequal rates of incar- sinful and in need of self-discipline, harsh conservatives are disconcerted ceration, arrest, and punishment by by the revelation, as a result of race or class for identical crimes, as punishment, and religious redemption to DNA testing, that innocent well as evidence of police and crim- keep people on the correct path stems from prisoners have been executed. inal justice officials’ presumption Others more critical of the of guilt according to the race of the a philosophical belief that society in its criminal justice system, have accused.4 Rightist Professor John not been surprised by these J. DiIulio, Jr., a prominent law- “natural” state is chaotic. Therefore society’s cases. and-order proponent who inac- Finally, some rightists are curately predicted a growing wave first obligation is to establish a formidable uneasy with the growth of fed- of “super-predator” children, stated eral domination over state that data on the administration of authority. Authority naturally resides in the criminal justice systems. capital punishment “disclose no Despite the traditional conser- trace of racism….”5 But it is nearly State, the Church, and the family/community. vative commitment to “states’ impossible to study the discrep- rights,” criminal prosecutions ancies between incarceration rates In the words of Thomas Hobbes, the 17th usually conducted at the state for people of color and those of century English philosopher who is the level have increasingly been Whites for similar behaviors and taken over by the federal gov- not conclude that these policies, father of the conservative worldview, “Before ernment, as the law-and-order and those who defend them, are crime model has grown in racially motivated. the names of just and unjust can have place, influence. For decades, crimes that involve crossing state lines Ideological Contradic- there must be some coercive power.” have been classified as federal tions in Law-and-Order crimes and are prosecuted in Policies federal courts. Organized crime ach sector of the Right does not nec- drug laws. Referring to the many economic cases and many drug and firearms crimes Eessarily support the same policy solu- interests that now have a vested interest in have swelled the number of federal cases. tions to the issues of crime and punishment. maintaining high rates of incarceration, But journalist Ted Gest describes a “creep- Various anti-crime policies create splits some critics, notably Angela Davis, have ing federalization of criminal prosecu- and disagreements within the Right. For called this the emergence of a “prison- tions” of crimes that occur at the local example, rightist libertarians—who favor industrial complex.” Police departments, level. Liberals have supported some of this the most limited role possible for govern- private prison corporations, unions of growth in the role of federal courts. Because ment—object to a punishment model that prison guards, rural communities eager for they hope, for instance, that hate crimes, requires a huge investment of government prison jobs, and businesses that provide pris- abortion clinic bombings, and stalkings will funds, even when incarceration is privatized, ons with food, security, and maintenance often be prosecuted more vigorously at the and prisons eliminate training and treat- serve as pressure groups to assure the con- federal level than at the state level. But, as ment. The cost of building new prisons to tinuation of ever-increasing funding for pris- both political parties compete to appear house and police a swelling prison popu- ons and to support tough on crime policies tough on crime, much of the federalization

THE PUBLIC EYE5 WINTER 2004 The Public Eye Reprinted with the kind permission of the artist. of the criminal justice system is directed at weak. Thomas Hobbes’ admonition that or who are disproportionately subjected to drug offenders and non-violent criminals. States must establish a strong power that can the excesses of “tough on crime” policies It thereby diminishes the role of the states exert control undergirds the idea that a and practices, find it hard to understand the in fighting even local crime.9 So much for massive program of incarceration is ideo- widespread vicious, mean-spirited atti- states’ rights, a key principle of the Right’s logically acceptable for conservatives who tude toward people labeled as criminals. For ideology. don’t believe in “big government.” In this instance, what would make a crowd gather Why would rightists persist in favoring case, many conservatives who believe that outside a death penalty execution to cheer these “big government” aspects of tough- criminals are bad and must be punished in it on? What beliefs could make the public on-crime policies? The prevention and order to protect good, responsible (read indifferent to the horrific conditions and rehabilitation model, which has largely White) people accept a strong role for gov- physical abuse so common in contempo- been defunded, ultimately costs less in tax ernment as appropriate and consistent with rary U.S. prisons? Why has “tough on dollars because it addresses the causes of a conservative ideology. All sectors of the crime” become a bottom line necessity for crime and the rehabilitation of prisoners. Right oppose the one policy solution that any successful politician, even when peo- The answer lies in the ideological compat- is most likely to solve the problem of crime ple know that a substantial number of ibility of apparently contradictory ideas in the long term – the creation of jobs, hous- innocent people have been imprisoned, or when they are held within an overarching ing, economic opportunity, and universal even executed, through overzealous or worldview that explains the contradictions. health care that includes treatment for malicious prosecution, lack of adequate Two especially strongly held conservative addictions. legal defense, and/or racism? beliefs are not subject to debate —crimi- As I mentioned above, several factors nals must be punished, and government Why Is the Law-and-Order that might inspire such attitudes are: should remain small. But “smallness” does Model so Widely Accepted? racism; fear and anxiety for physical safety not mean that the government should be People who are ideologically progressive and security; economic anxiety that leads

THE PUBLIC EYE 6 WINTER 2004 The Public Eye people to seek a scapegoat who becomes the becomes more confused every day, causing respond with economic apprehension and “other;” and a sense of growing chaos and status and identity anxiety. Changing def- status anxiety. Further, private enterprise declining order. These conditions clearly initions of “good” and “bad” can make tra- responds almost exclusively to its pre- lead to a more punitive-minded general ditional rightists resentful and angry, dominant goal – maximizing profit. To sell public, especially when political leaders and leading them to charge progressives, sec- products, family values can be mobilized, the media reinforce their inclinations. ularists, and others who disagree with but if individualistic, “anti-family” attitudes Perhaps another important part of the them as being “moral relativists.” When can more successfully sell goods, the mar- answer lies in the widespread acceptance of social mores change—for instance, when ket will promote those values. This the conservative ideological worldview, obtaining an abortion or living together as “amoral” profit-driven ethic often con- especially its view of human nature, by an unmarried heterosexual couple becomes flicts with established notions of good and many average Americans. I sug- bad or right and wrong, adding to gest that many in the United States the sense of dislocation on the part see themselves in much the same way of many people, who then seek a tar- that philosopher Thomas Hobbes Perhaps another important part of the get for their resentment over all saw humans—prone to sinfulness that has changed “for the worse.” in the form of sloth, moral deprav- answer lies in the widespread acceptance Such an environment offers the ity, envy, covetousness, lust, and “criminal”—whose very existence aggression. And they see their lives of the conservative ideological worldview, defines those who are not criminals as a process of self-discipline to as “good”—as a convenient and overcome these urges. especially its view of human nature, by serviceable scapegoat. And in a soci- The struggle to live a life of ety characterized by institutional virtue and dutifulness rather than many average Americans. I suggest that and individual racism, a “crimi- sinfulness is an abiding source of nal” or “bad” identity is dispro- pride in mainstream U.S. culture. many in the United States see themselves portionately attached to To be a “good man” or a “good in much the same way that philosopher dark-skinned people. woman” is no small accomplish- ment. Average people know how Thomas Hobbes saw humans—prone to Conclusion much effort it takes to accomplish The Right’s law-and-order cam- this identity. Accompanying the sinfulness in the form of sloth, moral paign has led to an increase in the pride felt by those who work to severity and duration of incarcera- maintain their virtue is a deep depravity, envy, covetousness, lust, and tion since the early days of the resentment of those they feel do not Ronald Reagan Administration. work and sacrifice to overcome aggression. And they see their lives as Political moderates, and even lib- their sinful urges. This resentment erals, collaborated in policies that can turn especially bitter when a process of self-discipline to have embodied reactionary inten- “good people” perceive that “bad overcome these urges. tions and racist outcomes. The people” are reaping benefits that mainstream media, by elevating should rightfully be theirs. The sensational stories of criminals and resulting hatred is a major factor victims to attract audiences and driving the country’s support for tough-on- socially normalized behavior—the former advertisers, have promoted a view of crime crime policies and the law-and-order definition of “good” and “bad” becomes as rampant and frightening. By associating model. The common sentiment – “The bad contested territory. Most progressives hail inner-city residents of color with guns and people ruin it for all the rest of us” – cap- such expansions of individual rights as drugs, rightist politicians have promoted tures much of the rightist worldview. To progress for human rights. For conserva- an ideological message that criminals are coddle the “bad” people is to devalue the tives, they represent a blurring of the lines, individuals who have choices and choose hard work of the “good.” and a further erosion of the status of “good” crime and victimization of those weaker To keep this system in place, two things people who resist “decadent” urges and than they. are necessary: 1) there must be widely model “virtuous” human behavior. Driven by a conservative ideological shared agreement on what is “good,” and As free-market capitalism becomes more worldview, rightists and average people in 2) there must be a strict separation between dominant and unregulated in U.S. society, the United States now support a huge the “good” and the “bad.” But in modern subjecting workers to increasing job insta- prison industry that incarcerates people at society, the definition of what is “good” bility and pay fluctuations, many workers Crime and Political Ideology continues on page 20

THE PUBLIC EYE7 WINTER 2004 The Public Eye Calvinism, Capitalism, Conversion, & Incarceration By Chip Berlet however, is foolish belief for another. again conversion to change individual According to author George Lakoff, a lin- behavior, but still linked to some Calvin- Introduction guist who studies the linkage between ist ideas of punishment.2 hy are increased sentences and the rhetoric and ideas, there is a tremendous Wsevere punishment of those con- gulf between what conservatives and lib- Coalition Politics victed of crimes so popular and prevalent erals think of as common sense, especially epublicans have forged a broad coali- in U.S. culture? Since the late 1970s our when it comes to issues of moral values. In Rtion of two of the three tendencies that society has accepted increasingly rigid and his recent book Moral Politics, which has involves moderately conservative Protestants vengeful ways of punishing those con- gained attention in both media and pub- who nonetheless hold some traditional victed of crimes. Behind this trend is the lic debates, Lakoff argues that conservatives Calvinist ideas; Free Market advocates momentum of 250 years of a strain of reli- base their moral views of social policy on ranging from multinational executives to gious philosophies brought to our shores by a “Strict Father” model, while liberals base economic conservatives to libertarian ide- Pilgrims, Puritans, and other colonial set- their views on a “Nurturant Parent” model.1 ologues; and conservative evangelicals and tlers influenced by a Protestant theology Other scholars have looked at these fundamentalists with a core mission of called Calvinism. Today, many ideas, con- issues and found similar patterns. Accord- converting people to their particular brand cepts, and frames of reference in modern ing to Axel R. Schaefer, there are three main of Christianity. This is a coalition with American society are legacies of the history ideological tendencies in U.S. social reform: many fracture points and disagreements. of Protestantism as it divided and morphed Liberal/Progressive: based on chang- The Calvinist/Free Market sector is already through Calvinism, revivalist evangelical- ing systems and institutions to change a coalition based on shared ideas about ism, and fundamentalism. Even people individual behavior on a collective basis individual responsibility and successes in who see themselves as secular and not reli- over time. Free Market or Laissez Faire capitalism— gious often unconsciously adopt many of Calvinist/Free Market: based on chang- sometimes called neoliberalism to trace it these historic cultural legacies while think- ing individual social behavior through back to an earlier use of the term “liberal” ing of their ideas as simply common sense. punishment. by philosophers who opposed stringent What is “common sense” for one group, Evangelical/Revivalist: based on born government regulation of the economy.

Since the late 1970s our society has accepted increasingly rigid and vengeful ways of punishing those convicted of crimes. Behind this trend is the momentum of 250 years of a strain of religious philosophies brought to our shores by Pilgrims, Puritans, and other colonial settlers influenced by a Protestant theology called Calvinism. Today, many ideas, concepts, and frames of reference in modern American society are legacies of the history of Protestantism as it divided and morphed through Calvinism, revivalist evangelicalism, and fundamentalism. Even people who see themselves as secular and not religious often unconsciously adopt many of these historic cultural legacies while thinking of their ideas as simply common sense.

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Libertarians are against government gists to enlist evangelical and fundamen- Resentment,” the title of a book by PRA economic regulations and believe in a Free talist leaders, especially television evan- founder Jean Hardisty.5 While much of this Market, but libertarians generally also gelists, in building a voter base. resentment openly targets women’s rights oppose government regulation of social The Christian Right has used populist and gay rights, it is also a reaction against matters such as gay marriage and abortion. rhetoric to build a mass base for elitist the Civil Rights movement and changing These and other social issues, however, conservative politics.3 This process leads racial demographics in the United States, are central to the conservative evangelicals many people to vote against their eco- which has created a backlash that author and fundamentalists in the Roberto Lovato calls “White Republican coalition. This can Fear.”6 (See Box on White Fear). get complicated. For example Today, the Christian Right is the evangelical idea that it is per- While most mainline Protestant the single largest organized vot- sonal conversion and salvation ing block in the Republican that will make for a more perfect denominations and evangelical churches have Party. These are predominantly society, not government pro- White evangelical voters. Most grams and policies, sometimes jettisoned some of the core tenets of Black Christian evangelicals ends up supporting (in a com- overwhelmingly vote Democ- plementary and parallel way) the Calvinism, ideas about punishment and ratic. The voting power of White goal of libertarians and economic retribution brought to our shores by early Christian evangelicals has meant conservatives to reduce the size of they are now political players government. Calvinist settlers are so rooted in the on the national scene. For exam- As the Bush Administration ple President George W. Bush’s has shifted government social American cultural experience and social first term selection as Attorney welfare toward “Faith-Based” General of the United States of programs, it has diverted gov- traditions that many people ranging from John Ashcroft, a hero to the ernment funding into privatized Christian Right and himself a religious organizations (which religious to secular view them as simply member of the ultra-conserva- raises serious separation of tive evangelical denomination Church and State issues), but “common sense.” What Lakoff calls the Assemblies of God, was a polit- the amount of funding applied to “Strict Father” model gains its power among ical reward to White evangelical “Faith Based” projects is small voters. compared to the large budget conservatives because it dovetails with their Some of the goals of many cuts in previously government- White evangelical conservatives funded government-run social ideas of what is a common sense approach are shared by another group of welfare programs. Libertarians people who call themselves the approve of the overall budget to morality, public policy, and crime. To Neoconservatives. These are for- cuts, but would prefer cutting out mer liberals and leftists who the government funding of understand where this “common sense” rejected the social, cultural, and “Faith Based” projects. political liberation movements Not all evangelicals and fun- comes from, and why it is tied to the Strict of the 1960s and 1970s. Neo- damentalists are political con- conservative social and cultural servatives, although most are. Father model, requires that we trace the politics echo many Calvinist The Christian Right is that group influence of Protestant Calvinism. themes such as the need to of politically conservative Chris- defend traditional morality and tians—primarily evangelicals and the patriarchal family; the spe- fundamentalists—who have been cial role for America in world mobilized into a social movement around nomic self-interest, as Thomas Frank affairs, and the righteousness of economic social issues and traditional moral values; observes in his book What’s the Matter capitalism. and who have sought political power with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Neoconservatives defend this combi- through elections and legislation. The Heart of America.4 The Christian Right and nation as necessary not only to preserve Christian Right became a political force in their allies in the Republican Party have American civil society, but also for the the Republican Party in the 1980s as part used fear, demonization, and scapegoating extension of true democracy worldwide. As of a strategy of right-wing political strate- as part of a strategy for “Mobilizing elitists, they see themselves as a secular

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“Elect” who must defend society against the sins; we must be ashamed of our wrong- which champions capitalism and all ignorant or radical rabble. And they doing; and we require the harsh yet loving its attendant inequalities. describe this as the natural culmination of discipline of our heavenly father to correct What Calvinism accomplished was to Judeo-Christian Western thought, which our failures. fulfill the psychic needs of both upwardly allows conservative Jews and Catholics to Calvinists also believe that “God’s divine mobile middle class entrepreneurs and join the team. providence [has] selected, elected, and pre- alienated workers. Middle class business- This conservative political coalition destined certain people to restore human- men (and they were men) could ascribe has shaped Republican Party policies and ity and reconcile it with its Creator.”7 their economic success to their spiritual transformed American society for over These “Elect” were originally thought to be superiority. These businessmen and others two decades. As the New Right gained the only people going to Heaven. To the who were predestined to be the Elect of power, Republicans—and Democrats— Calvinists, material success and wealth God could turn to alienated workers, and began to support repressive and punitive was a sign that you were one of the Elect, explain to them that their impoverished criminal justice policies that were shaped and thus were favored by God. Who bet- economic condition was the result of a spir- by one of the historic legacies of Calvin- ter to shepherd a society populated by itual failure ordained by God. Their place ism: the idea that people arrested for God’s wayward children? The poor, the in the spiritual (and economic) system breaking laws require punishment, shame, weak, the infirm? God was punishing them was predestined. This refocused anger and discipline. for their sins. This theology was spreading away from material demands in the here While most mainline Protestant denom- at a time when the rise of industrial capi- and now. Because of their evil and weak inations and evangelical churches have talism tore the fabric of European society, nature, those that sinned or committed jettisoned some of the core tenets of Calvin- shifting the nature of work and the patterns crimes had to be taught how to change their ism, ideas about punishment and retribu- of family life of large numbers of people. behavior through punishment, shame, tion brought to our shores by early Calvinist There were large numbers of angry, alien- and discipline. settlers are so rooted in the American ated people who the new elites needed to In England, the Calvinist Puritans devel- cultural experience and social traditions that keep in line to avoid labor unrest and to oped an “apocalyptic tradition [that] envi- many people ranging from religious to protect production and profits. sioned the ultimate sacralization of England secular view them as simply “common Max Weber, an early sociologist who saw as God’s chosen nation.”9 The word apoc- sense.” What Lakoff calls the “Strict Father” culture as a powerful force that shaped both alyptic means the idea that there is an model gains its power among conservatives individuals and society, argued that Calvin- approaching confrontation between good because it dovetails with their ideas of ism grew in a symbiotic relationship with and evil that will transform society; and what is a common sense approach to moral- the rise of industrial capitalism.8 As Sara for Christians this involves the Second ity, public policy, and crime. To understand Diamond explains: Coming of Jesus Christ. This Christian where this “common sense” comes from, Calvinism arose in Europe cen- Apocalypse involves the Battle of Armaged- and why it is tied to the Strict Father turies ago in part as a reaction to don where God triumphs over Satan and model, requires that we trace the influence Roman Catholicism’s heavy empha- then decides which Christian souls are of Protestant Calvinism. sis on priestly authority and on sal- saved and rewarded with everlasting life in vation through acts of penance. One the new Garden of Eden under God’s holy The Roots of Calvinism of the classic works of sociology, rule in a new millennium of peace. artin Luther founded Protestantism Max Weber’s Protestant Ethic and Puritan settlers transferred this notion Min a schism with the Catholic Church the Spirit of Capitalism, links the rise to the New World colonies, and apocalyptic in 1517, but it was John Calvin who liter- of Calvinism to the needs of budding fervor and millennial expectation was ally put it on the map in the city of Geneva, capitalists to judge their own eco- common. If you think that time is running which is now in Switzerland. In the mid nomic success as a sign of their pre- out, salvation—the saving of souls—takes 1500s, Calvin forged a theocracy—a soci- ordained salvation. The rising on central importance. After the United ety where only the leaders of a specific reli- popularity of Calvinism coincided States was founded, these ideas were trans- gion can be the leaders of the secular with the consolidation of the capi- formed into an aggressive variety of evan- government. talist economic system. Calvinists gelizing to save souls for Christ before the Calvinists believed that Adam and Eve justified their accumulation of final apocalyptic judgment that would disobeyed God and tasted the apple from wealth, even at the expense of others, send the unsaved to a fiery sulfurous lake the tree of knowledge at the urging of an on the grounds that they were some- called Hell. evil demon. As a result of this “original sin,” how destined to prosper. It is no sur- the betrayal of God’s command, all humans prise that such notions still find are born in sin. God must punish us for our resonance within the Christian Right

THE PUBLIC EYE 10 WINTER 2004 The Public Eye Reprinted with the kind permission of the artist.

Awakening to Evangelicalism reported a highly emotional experience of tell alienated workers that by accepting From the 1730s through the 1770s conversion after hearing sermons at large Jesus as their savior, they could learn to live there was a Protestant revival movement in public meetings. Unlike Edwards, White- with their earthly stress and subjugated the colonies dubbed the First Great Awak- field and other preachers broke with status by looking forward to the future day ening. A line of Protestant preachers includ- Calvinist orthodoxy and challenged the of salvation. ing Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, idea of predestination. They suggested The new evangelists tended to be zeal- and John Wesley shaped the theology of the that sinners who embraced Jesus in the con- ous, judgmental, and authoritarian. Not First Great Awakening. Edwards was a version experience could find a place in everyone was happy with the results of the fiery preacher who still held to Calvinist Heaven. First Great Awakening, and some rejected orthodoxy: man was born bad, and God Predestination of the Elect was too elit- the trend and remained on the traditional had predestined the Elect for Heaven. ist and static a brand of Christianity for a orthodox Calvinist path. Others rejected Alas, poor Edwards, he was a man mostly new society that claimed to be a classless both and developed what became Unitar- misunderstood. Those who heard and read society and valued individuality and ini- ianism as a response. By the early 1800s his sermons (printing sermons in pamphlet tiative in the quest to conquer the frontier. there were three tendencies in colonial form was a common practice) thought The ideas of spiritual growth, and equal- Protestantism: Edwards was saying people could change ity before God, started a public discussion 1). Orthodoxy in the form of northern their fate by becoming more ardent about the need for the government to pro- Calvinist Congregationalists and Christians. Sometimes the theological fine vide for public schools. It also planted the southern Anglicans; points get lost in the oratory. seeds for the anti-slavery movement. At the 2). Revivalist rationalism and evangel- As the revival swept the colonies, many same time, this view could be adapted to ism that drew not only from the

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Congregationalists and Anglicans popularized by the First Great Awakening …were so convinced their efforts (later called Episcopalians), but also and shifted it into a plan for weaving a social could ring in the millennium, a lit- swept through the smaller Protestant safety net under the auspices of the secu- eral thousand years of peace and denominations such as the Baptists, lar government. prosperity that would culminate in Methodists, and Presbyterians; The attention to social conditions by the the glorious second advent of Christ, 3.) Unitarianism, still relatively small Unitarians and Quakers overlapped with that they threw themselves into fer- but influential in the northeast.10 the Second Great Awakening, which ran vent campaigns to eradicate war, from the 1790s to the 1840s. Theologically, drunkenness, slavery, subjugation Social Reformers: there was “a vigorous emphasis on ‘sancti- of women, poverty, prostitution, Quakers and Unitarians Sabbath-breaking, dueling, any ideas on social reform profanity, card-playing, and Mthat are now supported by other impediments to a perfect mainline Protestant denomina- Most evangelicals and fundamentalists society.14 tions were initially promoted by embrace a form of apocalyptic belief called Some of the aspects of this religious dissidents such as the evangelical revival were institu- Quakers and later the Unitarians. “premillennial dispensationalism” in which tionalized into existing Protes- Quakers had been concerned tant churches such as the with prison conditions since the Jesus Christ returns to herald a thousand Presbyterians, Baptists, and late 1600s in both England and in Methodists; and these denomi- colonial Pennsylvania, and they years of godly rule—a millennium. nations grew even as they introduced the idea of prison as remained separate from the a means for reform rather than Evangelical premillennialists scan the Bible evangelicals. Meanwhile, the punishment.11 They also pro- Anglicans, Quakers, and Con- moted the “conception of the for “signs of the times” by which they mean gregationalists who directly criminal as at least partially a vic- opposed the evangelicals began to tim of conditions created by soci- signs of what they think are the approach- fade in importance.15 By the late ety” which implied that society ing End Times prophesied in the Bible’s 1800s, most major Protestant had some obligation to reforming denominations (called “Main- the criminal.12 In the early 1800s Book of Revelation. This means the Bible line” denominations) had found Quaker activist Elizabeth Gurney some accommodation with the Fry launched a major prison has to be read as a literal script of past, discoveries of science and secular reform movement in England, civic arrangements such as sepa- and these ideas were carried to the present, and future events; and it increases ration of Church and State United States. favored by Enlightenment val- The Unitarians rejected the the urge to convert people to a “born again” ues.16 There was also “a growing Calvinist idea that man was born interest by churches in social serv- in sin and argued that sometimes form of Christianity and thus save souls ice, often called the Social Gospel, people did bad things because before time literally runs out. [which] undercut evangelical- they were trapped in poverty or ism’s traditional emphasis on lacked the education required to personal salvation.”17 move up in society. In the early 1800s the dissident Unitarians Fundamentals and Prophecies 13 split Calvinist Congregationalism and suc- fication,’ often called ‘perfectionism.’ Sin ll of this created a backlash move- ceeded in taking over many religious insti- was seen as tied to selfishness. Good Chris- Ament. A group of conservative minis- tutions in New England such as churches tians should strive to behave in a way that ters condemned this shift and urged and schools. Harvard (founded as a reli- benefited the public good. This in turn Protestants to return to what they saw as the gious college in 1636 by the Puritans), came would transform and purify the society as fundamentals of orthodox Protestant belief. under control of the Unitarians in 1805 as a whole in anticipation of the coming From 1910 to 1915 these reactionary the- the orthodox Calvinist Congregationalists Apocalypse. America was seen as a Chris- ologians published articles on what they saw lost religious and political power. The Uni- tian Nation that would fulfill Biblical as the fundamentals of Christianity. Thus tarians took the idea of transforming soci- prophecy. Evangelical Protestants, explains they became known as the fundamentalists. ety and changing personal behavior Martin: Among their beliefs was the idea that the

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Bible was never in error and was to be read Christianity and thus save souls before churches and conservatives in mainline literally, not as metaphor. While rejecting time literally runs out.18 These ideas became Protestant denominations felt themselves Calvinist ideas of predestination and the central to several groups of Protestants, under assault by the growth of secular and Elect, fundamentalists sought to restore today represented by denominations such humanist ideas in the society, a series of many orthodox Calvinist tenets—and they as the Southern Baptists and the Assemblies judicial decisions; and the social liberation embraced the idea that man was born in sin of God.19 Evangelicals and fundamental- movements. Religious belief in general and thus needed punishment, shame, and ist premillennialists concerned with the seemed to be waning. The Supreme Court discipline to correct sinful tendencies. End Times could frame the burgeoning and other benches issued rulings on Some who opposed what they saw as the U.S. government apparatus, the spread of pornography, prayer in schools, Christian liberal and progressive ideas of the main- Soviet and Chinese communism, and the academies and tax status, and abortion. The stream and mainline Protestant country seethed with demand for churches decided to not go as far justice and equity by the Civil as the Fundamentalists, and they Rights movement which spawned retained the identification of the student rights movement, being evangelicals. Evangelicals Lakoff explains that on a societal level, and then the antiwar movement, and fundamentalists received such according to conservative “Strict Father the women’s rights movement, bad press during and after the the ecology movement, and the Scopes “Monkey Trial” that many morality, harsh prison terms for criminals gay rights movement. Conserva- of them withdrew from direct tive religious forces were involved political and social involvement, and life imprisonment for repeat offenders in campaigns to clean up the building a separate subculture movies and stop smut, as well as that lasted until the Cold War. are the only moral options.” The arguments the 1974 textbook controversies Although fundamentalists and such as in Kanawha County, West evangelicals tended to withdraw by conservatives are “moral arguments, not Virginia. from the political fray, devoting practical arguments. Statistics about which A popular theologian named most of their energy to saving Francis A. Schaeffer caught the souls, they challenged modern policies do or do not actually reduce crime attention of many Protestants in ideas using such modern tools as a series of books and essays call- radio and later television to com- rates do not count in a morally-based ing on Christians to directly con- municate their message. Both front sinful and decadent secular groups were largely suspicious of discourse.” These “traditional moral values” culture with its humanist values. the social reforms implemented conservatives tend not to use explanations Several other authors picked up during the administration of this attack on “secular humanism” Franklin Roosevelt. Government based on the concepts of class and social and extended it. The most mili- welfare programs could be pic- tant trend was called Christian tured as similar to the collec- causes, nor do they recommend policy Reconstructionism, which argued tivism of Godless and perhaps that America should be ruled by Satanic Soviet communism. based on those notions.” Biblical law including the death Most evangelicals and funda- penalty for homosexuals and mentalists embrace a form of recalcitrant children. Christian apocalyptic belief called “premil- Reconstructionism is based on lennial dispensationalism” in which Jesus United Nations as all part of the End an End Times theology called postmillen- Christ returns to herald a thousand years Times Antichrist system. nialism in which Jesus Christ returns after of godly rule—a millennium. Evangelical Evangelist Billy Graham coaxed some (thus “post”) the reign and rule of godly premillennialists scan the Bible for “signs evangelicals back into the voting booth men for a thousand years—a millennium. of the times” by which they mean signs of starting in the 1950s, but the voting pat- Christian Reconstructionism inherently what they think are the approaching End terns that emerged were not politicized, in promotes Christian political activism, and Times prophesied in the Bible’s Book of that preference for Republicans or Democ- although they are a relatively tiny move- Revelation. This means the Bible has to be rats was primarily determined by demo- ment, their ideas challenged many evan- read as a literal script of past, present, and graphic factors other than religious gelicals to rethink their stands on theology future events; and it increases the urge to affiliation. In the 1950s and 1960s con- and politics. convert people to a “born again” form of servatives in evangelical and fundamentalist

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Dominion over the Earth ing the Moral Majority organization, which is discernible today, for precisely the remillennialists (as opposed to post) became a key component of the New same reasons: the coercion of children Pmake up the vast majority of evangel- Right. The Moral majority focused on through painful punishments in icals and fundamentalists in the United opposing abortion and pornography. After order to teach obedience to divine States, and many of them believe that while evangelicals helped elect Ronald Reagan and parental authority.”21 there will be great “tribulations” on Earth president, he appointed C. Everett Koop The belief in the awful and eternal during the End Times, faithful Christians to the position of surgeon general of the punishment of a literal Hell justifies the will get “raptured” up into a heavenly pro- United States as a payback. punishment, shame, and discipline of chil- tective sanctuary before God punishes the The New Right not only recruited evan- dren by parents who want their offspring faithless and wicked on earth. What moti- gelicals and fundamentalists into their to escape a far worse fate. This includes vation is there for Premillennialists, espe- coalition, but also sought to strengthen the physical or “corporal” forms of punish- cially those that believe in the Rapture, to bridge between traditional moral values ment. “Many advocates of corporal pun- become politically active? Calvinists and the neoliberal laissez-faire ishment are convinced that such One answer came from Francis Scha- “Free Market” advocates in the Republican punishment and pain are necessary to pre- effer, who teamed up with a pediatric doc- Party; which included both anti-tax eco- vent the ultimate destruction and damna- tor, C. Everett Koop, to create a film nomic conservatives and anti-government tion of their children’s souls.”22 This is comparing abortion to slavery and the libertarians. This was a coalition initially often accompanied by the idea that a firm Nazi Holocaust. They urged Protestants to forged by conservatives in the 1950s.20 male hand rightfully dominates the fam- join the anti-abortion movement, which Many conservative Christians did not ily and the society.23 The system of author- previously had been overwhelmingly necessarily oppose a role for government, itarian and patriarchal control used in Catholic. Another answer came from or object to government funding, as long some families is easily transposed into a author Tim LaHaye who had taken the the- as it focused on individual behavior. Thus framework for conservative public policy, ories of Schaeffer and overlaid them with faith-based initiatives are seen as a proper especially in the criminal justice system. a conspiracy theory about secular human- place for government funding because Lakoff explains that on a societal level, ism. LaHaye told Premillennialists that they shift tax dollars away from social according to conservative “Strict Father they needed to become politically active change toward individual change. morality, harsh prison terms for criminals because there were pre-tribulation tribu- and life imprisonment for repeat offend- lations—in other words, true Christians The Child, the Family, the ers are the only moral options.” The had an obligation to confront sinful soci- Nation, and God arguments by conservatives are “moral ety during a crisis of moral values that Since the 1980s and the rise of the arguments, not practical arguments. came before the Rapture. Christian Right, public policy regarding the Statistics about which policies do or do not The result of all this turmoil in evan- treatment of criminals has echoed the actually reduce crime rates do not count in gelical and fundamentalist communities patriarchal and punitive child-rearing prac- a morally-based discourse.” These “tradi- was the development of a tendency called tices favored by many Protestant funda- tional moral values” conservatives tend “dominionism” based on the concept that mentalists. Most readers will recognize not to use explanations based on the Christians—no matter what their views on the phrase: “Spare the rod and spoil the concepts of class and social causes, nor do the End Times millennialist schedule— child.” This idea comes from a particular they recommend policy based on those need to take dominion over the earth. authoritarian version of fundamentalist notions.”24 According to Lakoff: Dominionism is an umbrella term that cov- belief. According to Philip Greven: For liberals the essence of Amer- ers politically-active Christians from a “The authoritarian Christian ica is nurturance, part of which is variety of theological and institutional family is dependent on coercion and helping those who need help. People traditions. pain to obtain obedience to author- who are “trapped” by social and eco- While this was happening, in May of ity within and beyond the family, in nomic forces need help to “escape.” 1979 a group of conservative political the church, the community, and the The metaphorical Nurturant Par- activists met with conservative religious polity. Modern forms of Christian ent—the government—has a duty leaders to plan a way to mobilize evangel- fundamentalism share the same to help change the social and icals into becoming conservative voters obsessions with obedience to author- economic system that traps people. for Republican candidates. Attendees ity characteristic of earlier modes of By this logic, the problem is in the included Jerry Falwell, Richard Viguerie, evangelical Protestantism, and the society, not in the people innocently Paul Weyrich, Howard Phillips, Ed same authoritarian streak evident “trapped.” If social and economic McAteer, and Robert Billings. This is among seventeenth- and eighteenth- forces are responsible, then other where Jerry Falwell was tasked with creat- century Anglo-American evangelicals

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social and economic forces must be the more doctrinaire fundamentalists, seek 6 Lovato, Roberto. 2004. “White Fear in Wartime–Samuel Huntington Brings His ‘Clash of Civilizations’ Home,” brought to bear to break the “trap.” to improve prison conditions. It is not fair Commentary, Pacific News Service, May 17, archived This whole picture is simply to dismiss this concern as not genuine online at http://news.pacificnews.org. simply because of their underlying religious 7 Zakai, Avihu. 1992. Exile and Kingdom: History and Apoc- inconsistent with Strict Father moral- alypse in the Puritan Migration to America. Cambridge: ity and the conservative worldview it desire to save souls. Cambridge University Press, p. 5. defines. In that worldview, the class At the same time, it is important to keep 8 Weber, Max. [1905] 2000. The Protestant Ethic and the hierarchy is simply a ladder, there to an eye on the baggage that some members “Spirit” of Capitalism and Other Writings. New York: Penguin Books/Putnam. be climbed by anybody with the of the Christian Right often bring along in 9 Zakai, op. cit., p. 7. talent and self-discipline to climb it. the form of authoritarianism, sexism, patri- archy, and homophobia; and their reluc- 10 Unitarianism emerged as a theological tendency before Whether or not you climb the lad- the name itself was formalized. tance to see the institutional and systemic der of wealth and privilege is only a 11 Jorns, Auguste. 1931. The Quakers as Pioneers in Social matter of whether you have the moral roots of social problems. Work. Trans. Thomas Kite Brown. New York: MacMil- Prison ministries run by Christians lan, pp. 162-171. See also, Whitney, Janet. 1936. Eliz- strength, character, and inherent abeth Fry: Quaker Heroine. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co. 25 bring all this baggage to their work, but in talent to do so. 12 Jorns, op. cit., p. 170. the course of interacting with real pris- To conservatives, the liberal arguments 13 Martin, William. 1996. With God on Our Side: The Rise oners they cannot help but become con- about class and impoverishment, and insti- of the Religious Right in America. New York: Broadway cerned about objective prison conditions. Books, p. 4. tutionalized social forces such as racism and This seldom leads them to a systemic or 14 Ibid. sexism, are irrelevant. They appear to be institutional analysis favored by liberals and 15 Hutson, James. 1998. “Faith of Our Forefathers: Reli- “excuses for lack of talent, laziness, or some progressives, but it can mean that on a tac- gion and the Founding of the American Republic,” other form of moral weakness.”26 Much of Information Bulletin, The Library of Congress, vol. 57, tical basis, even leaders of the Christian no. 5, May. Online at http://www.loc.gov/ this worldview traces to the lingering back- Right can be temporary allies in formu- loc/lcib/9805/religion.html (November 30, 2004). beat of Calvinist theology that infuses 16 lating and organizing for specific reforms Ammerman, Nancy T. 1991. “North American Protes- “common sense” for many conservatives. tant Fundamentalism,” in Martin E. Marty and R. within the prison system or individual Scott Appleby, eds., Fundamentalisms Observed, The prisons. Fundamentalism Project 1, pp. 1-65. Chicago: The Conclusion University of Chicago Press. he conservative Calvinist/Free Market Chip Berlet is Senior Analyst at Political 17 Martin, op. cit., p. 6. Tcoalition works the front end of the Research Associates. 18 Ibid., pp. 7-8. criminal justice system, ensuring harsh 19 Oldfield, Duane Murray. 1996. The Right and the Right- sentencing and incarceration. The Editor’s note: A revised version of this arti- eous: The Christian Right Confronts the Republican Party. cle will appear in PRA’s Defending Justice Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, p. 14. evangelical/revivalist groups agree with 20 Himmelstein, Jerome L. 1990. To the Right: The Trans- that aspect of Calvinism, but they also Activist Resource Kit scheduled to be published formation of American Conservatism. Berkeley: Univer- work the back end of the system, salvaging in early 2005. sity of California Press. 21 Greven, Philip. 1991. Spare the Child: The Religious Roots the souls of the incarcerated so that whether of Punishment and the Psychological Impact of Physical or not they leave prison, they will be born Abuse. New York: Knopf, p. 198. again as properly behaved citizens heading 22 Ibid., p. 62. End Notes 23 Greven, op. cit., p. 199. to Heaven. There are only a relative hand- 1 Lakoff, George. [1996] 2002. Moral Politics: How ful of evangelicals (conservative and Liberals and Conservatives Think. Chicago: University of 24 Lakoff, op. cit., p. 201. progressive) who challenge the system of Chicago. 25 Ibid., p. 203. 2 increasingly harsh sentencing. Schaefer, Axel R. 1999. “Evangelicalism, Social Reform 26 Ibid. and the US Welfare State, 1970-1996,” pp. 249-273, in Why do so many evangelical Christian David K. Adams and Cornelius A. van Minnem, eds., Right activists create prison ministries? Religious and Secular Reform in America: Ideas, Beliefs, and Social Change. New York: New York University Press. I Because they believe those convicted of have used slightly different language to describe the crimes can change through the act of con- sectors identified by Schaefer. fession and redemption—admitting their 3 Berlet, Chip and Matthew N. Lyons. 2000. Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort. New York: weaknesses and the nature of their sinful Guilford. and evil selves, and redeeming themselves 4 Frank, Thomas. 2004. What’s the Matter with Kansas?: by giving their lives over to Jesus Christ. How Conservatives Won the Heart of America. New York: They might still be in prison, but their souls Metropolitan Books. 5 Hardisty, Jean V. 1999. Mobilizing Resentment: Conser- are saved even as their bodies remain vative Resurgence from the John Birch Society to the Promise behind bars. In their mission to save souls, Keepers. Boston: Beacon Press. many Christians, especially evangelicals and

THE PUBLIC EYE15 WINTER 2004 The Public Eye Books Received Compiled by Shelly Harter. Bloomberg, Charles Christian-Nationalism and the Rise of the Afrikaner Aberle, David F. Broederbond in South Africa The Peyote Religion among the Navaho (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1989),hb, 229 pp, (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991), pb, Notes, Index. 451 pp. Bronfenbrenner, Kate et. al, eds. Abukhalil, As’ad Organizing to Win: New Research on Union Strategies The Battle for Saudi Arabia: Royalty, Fundamentalism, (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1998), pb, 338 pp, and Global Power references, index. (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2004), pb, 213 pp, notes, index. Chang, Nancy Silencing Political Dissent: How Post-September 11 Adonis, et. al Anti-Terrorism Measures Autodafe: A Manual for Intellectual Survival Threaten Our Civil Liberties (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2003), pb, 282 pp. (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2002), pb, 137 pp, notes. Alley, Robert S. Chavez, Linda and Daniel Gray Public Education and the Public Good Betrayal: How Union Bosses Shake Down Their Members (Silver Spring, MD: Americans for Religious Liberty,1996), pb, and Corrupt American Politics 102 pp. (New York: Crown Forum, 2004), hb, 233 pp, notes, index. Almond, Gabriel A., R. Scott Appleby, and Emmanuel Sivan Clarke, Susanna Strong Religion: The Rise of Fundamentalisms around Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell the World (New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2004), hb, 782 pp. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2003), pb, 243 pp, appendices, notes, index. Clawson, Dan The Next Upsurge: Labor and the New Social Movements Balmer, Randall (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2003), pb, 205 pp, Blessed Assurance: A History of Evangelicalism in America notes, index. (Boston: Beacon Press, 2000), hb, 115 pp, notes, index. Dobson, James Barkun, Michael Marriage Under Fire: Why We Must Win This Battle Crucible of the Millennium: The Burned-Over District (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, Inc., 2004),hb, 123 pp. of New York in the 1840s Doerr, Edd (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1986),pb, 160 pp, notes, bibiliography, index. Vox Populi: Letters to the Editor (Amherst, NY: Humanist Press, 1999), pb, 94 pp. Bauman, Louis S. Russian Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy Doerr, Edd and Albert J. Menendez (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1942), hb, 191 pp. Religious Liberty and the State (Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1993), hb, 105 pp, Beech, Bettina M., PhD, and Maurine Goodman appendices. Race & Research: Perspectives on Minority Participation Doerr, Edd and James W. Prescott, eds. (Washington DC: American Public Health Association, 2004), pb, 203 pp, notes, index. Abortion Rights and Fetal ‘Personhood' (Long Beach, CA: Centerline Press, 1990), pb, 116 pp, appendices.

THE PUBLIC EYE 16 WINTER 2004 The Public Eye

Dyer, Charles H. Hasan, Asma Gull The Rise of Babylon: Is Iraq at the Center of the Why I am a Muslim: An American Odyssey Final Drama? (London, UK.: Element Books, 2004), hb, 192 pp. (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2003), pb, 184 pp, notes. Heins, Marjorie Ehrenreich, Barbara Not in Front of the Children: “Indecency,” Censorship, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America and the Innocence of Youth (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2001), pb, 221 pp. (New York: Hill and Wang, 2001), hb, 263 pp, notes, index.

Ekanger, Talmage Hitchcock, Mark Other Side of Tom Daschle The Second Coming of Babylon (Ottawa, IL: Green Hill Publishers, Inc., 2004), pb, 95 pp. Multnomah Publishers, Inc.

Esposito, John L. Hitchcock, Mark, and Thomas Ice Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam The Truth Behind Left Behind: A Biblical View of (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), pb, 160 pp, notes, the End Times glossary, index. (Sisters, OR: Multanomah Publishers, Inc., 2004), pb, 206 pp, notes. Essien-Udom, E. U. Black Nationalism: A Search for an Identity in America Kaplan, Esther (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1962), pb, 339 pp, With God on their Side: How Christian Fundamentalists appendices, bibliography, index. Trampled Science, Policy and Democracy in George W. Bush’s White House Farah, George (New York: The New Press, 2004), hb, 277 pp, notes, index. No Debate: How the Republican and Democratic parties secretly control the presidential debates Kappeler, Victor E., Mark Blumberg, and Gary W. Potter (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2004), hb, 175 pp, appendices, The Mythology of Crime and Criminal Justice notes. (Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc., 2000), pb, 309 pp, references, index. Feffer, John North Korea, South Korea: U.S. Policy at a Time of Crisis Labaton, Vivien, and Dawn Lundy Martin, eds. (New York: Seven Stories Presss, 2003), pb, 173 pp, notes. The Fire This Time: Young Activists and the New Feminism (New York: Anchor Books, 2004), pb, 293 pp, notes, acknowl- Frank, Thomas edgements. What’s the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America Lee, Martha F. (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2004), hb, 251 pp, notes, Millennial Visions: Essays on Twentieth-Century acknowledgements, index. Millenarianism (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2000), pb, 232 pp. Frankel, Marvin F. Faith and Freedom: Religious Liberty in America Lewis, Bernard (New York: Hill and Wang,1994), pb, 144 pp. Islam in History: Ideas, People, and Events in the Middle East Frykholm, Amy Johnson (Chicago: Open Court Publishing Company, 2001), pb, Rapture Culture: Left Behind in Evangelical America 496 pp. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), hb, 187 pp, notes, bibliography, index. Lichtenstein, Nelson State of the Union: A Century of American Labor Gutmann, Amy (Princeton, NJ: University Press, 2003), pb, 352 pp. Identity in Democracy (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003), pb, 211 pp, MacArthur, John notes, index. Terrorism, Jihad, and the Bible (Nashville, TN: W Publishing Group, 2001), pb, 122 pp.

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Maddoux, Marlin Molnar, Joseph J., ed. America Betrayed! Agricultural Change: Consequences for Southern Farms (Shreveport, LA: Huntington House, Inc., 1984), pb, 153 pp. (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, Inc., 1986), pb, 424 pages, index. Menendez, Albert J. Church and State in Canada Moussaoui, Abd Samad (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1996), hb, 127 pp, notes. Zacarias, My Brother: The Making of a Terrorist (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2003), pb, 143 pp. Menendez, Albert J. Abortion Rights at the Polls: An Analysis of the 1992 Neale, Jonathan Maryland Referendum What’s Wrong with America? How the Rich and (Silver Spring, MD: Americans for Religious Liberty, 1993), Powerful Have Changed America and Now want to pb, 77 pp, tables. Change the World (London: Vision Paperbacks, 2004), pb, 254 pp, references, Menendez, Albert J. index. Visions of Reality: What Fundamentalist Schools Teach (Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1993), pb, 152 pp. Norwood, Stephen H. Strikebreaking & Intimidation: Mercenaries and Menendez, Albert J. Masculinity in Twentieth-Century America The December Wars: Religious Symbols and Ceremonies (Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, in the Public Square 2002), pb, 247 pp, notes, bibliography, index. (Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1993), hb, 164 pp, index. Olshansky, Barbara Menendez, Albert J. and Edd Doerr Secret Trials and Executions: Military Tribunals and The Case Against Charitable Choice: Why President the Threat to Democracy, Bush’s Faith-Based Initiative is Bad Public Policy (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2002), pb, 62 pp, notes. Silver Spring, MD. Phillips, Peter Menendez, Albert J. and Edd Doerr Censored 2004: The Top 25 Censored Stories Religion and Public Education: Common Sense and (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2003), pb, 317 pp, appendices, the Law index. (Long Beach, CA: Centerline Press, 1991), pb, 89 pp, cases cited, bibliography, index. Piche, Dianne M., William L. Taylor, and Robin A. Reed, eds. Menendez, Albert J. and Edd Doerr, eds. Rights at Risk: Equality in an Age of Terrorism Great Quotations on Religious Freedom (Washington, D.C.: Citizens’ Commission on Civil (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2002), pb, 173 pp, Rights,2002), pb, 343 pp. appendices. Radway, Janice A. Mernissi, Fatima Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Islam and Democracy: Fear of the Modern World Popular Literature (Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books, 1992), pb, 174 pp, notes, index. (Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1991), pb, 222 pp, appendices, notes, bibiliography, index. Milkman, Ruth, and Kim Voss, eds. Rebuilding Labor: Organizing and Organizers in the Rampton, Sheldon & John Stauber New Union Movement Banana Republicans: How the Right Wing is Turning (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004), pb, 270 pp, notes, America into a One-Party State, references, index. (New York: Penguin Group Inc., 2004), pb, notes, index.

Mojtabai, A.G. Reinhart, Tanya Blessed Assurance: At Home with the Bomb in Amarillo, TX Israel/Palestine: How to End the War of 1948 (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1986), pb, 226 pp, (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2002), pb, 243 pp, notes, notes, index. index.

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Sandy, D. Brent Taylor, Jared, ed. Plowshares & Pruning Hooks: Rethinking the Language The Real American Dilemma: Race, Immigration, of Biblical Prophecy and Apocalyptic and the Future of America (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), pb, 210 pp, (Oakton, VA: New Century Books, 1998), pb, 139 pp. appendices, notes. Telles, Edward E. Saris, Willem E. and Paul M. Sniderman, eds. Race in Another America: The Significance of Skin Studies in Public Opinion: Attitudes, Nonattitudes, Color in Brazil Measurement Error, and Change (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004), hb, 270 pp, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004), pb, 357 pp, index. notes, references, index.

Sexton, Patricia Cato The Century Foundation Task Force on the Future The War on Labor and the Left: Understanding America’s of Unions Unique Conservatism What’s Next for Organized Labor? Report of The (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, Inc., 1991), hb, 278 pp, notes, Century Foundation Task Force on the Future of Unions index. (New York: The Century Foundation Press, 1999), pb, 108 pp, notes, index. Silliman, Jael, Marlene Gerber Fried, Loretta Ross, and Elena R. Gutierrez Watson, Sydney Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organize for What the Stars Held Or the Secret of the Sphinx Reproductive Justice (London: William Nicholson & Sons Limited, 2003), pb, (Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2004), pb, 305 pp, 216 pp. bibliography, index. Watson, Sydney Slaughter, Thomas P. By Order of the General The Whiskey Rebellion: Frontier Epilogue to the American (London: William Nicholson & Sons Limited, 1915), hb, Revolution 280pp. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986), pb, 231 pp, notes, index. Wilson, James Q. Thinking About Crime Smith, Robert Michael (New York: Vintage Books, 1985), pb, 265 pp, notes, index. From Blackjacks to Briefcases: A History of Commercial- ized Strikebreaking and Wolfe, Christopher, ed. Unionbusting in the United States (Athens, OH: Ohio That Eminent Tribunal: Judicial Supremacy and the University Press, 2003), pb, 130 pp, notes, bibliography. Constitution (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004), pb, 224 pp, Strong, Donald S., Ph.D. index. Organized Anti-Semitism in America: The Rise of Group Prejudice During the Decade 1930-40 Yates, Michael D. (Washington, D.C.: American Council on Public Affairs, Why Unions Matter 1941), hb, 180 pp, bibliography, notes. (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1998), pb, 152 pp, appendix, notes, index. Swomley, John M. Religious Political Parties Zaniello, Tom (Silver Spring, MD: Americans for Religious Liberty). Working Stiffs, Union Maids, Reds, and Riffraff: An Expanded Guide to Films about Labor Swomley, John M. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2003), pb, 423 pp, Myths About Public School Prayer thematic index. (Silver Spring, MD: Americans for Religious Liberty), pb, 26 pp, appendices.

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CRIME continued from page 7 rates second only to Russia in the world. a Senior Scholar at the Wellesley Center for 5 DiIulio, John J. Jr. “My Black Crime Problem and Ours,” Progressives must challenge this runaway Women, Wellesley College. City Journal (Spring, 1996). 6 law-and-order campaign by redirecting Ibid., p. 1. Editor’s note: This article will appear in 7 attention to the root causes of crime, such Beckett, Katherine and Theodore Sasson. 2004. The Pol- PRA’s Defending Justice Activist Resource Kit itics of Injustice: Crime and Punishment in America. Thou- as poverty, abuse, addiction, and lack of sand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, pp. 185-186. scheduled to be published in early 2005. opportunity, and by challenging the demo- 8 Ibid., p. 173. nization and scapegoating of “criminals.” 9 Gest, Ted. 2001. Crime and Politics: Big Government’s Endnotes Erratic Campaign for Law and Order. New York: Oxford This work is part of a larger campaign to University Press, pp. 64-65. 1 www.prisonfellowship.org revive the public will to address the eco- 10 www.sentencingproject.org nomic insecurity that plagues so many in 2 Hobbes, Thomas. 1981. Leviathan. New York: Penguin Classics. Hobbes envisioned the world as “a war of all the United States, while the few live in against all.” increasing luxury. 3 See Russell-Brown, Katheryn. 2004. Underground Codes: Race, Crime, and Related Fires. New York: New York Jean Hardisty is Founder and President University Press. Emerita at Political Research Associates and 4 See Mauer, Marc. Race to Incarcerate. 1999. New York: The New Press, pp. 118-141.

GUEST COMMENTARY continued from page 2 to September 11. These policies have without charge. One man, Mohammed measures have led to a sharp increase in driven this nation to war and threaten to Rafiq Butt, held uncharged for a month in both the number of incidents labeled “ter- expand the PIC further at home and in Iraq. a New Jersey INS lock-up, died before rorist” and the toll in victims in the last year. One result is the Abu Ghraib crisis. anyone, including his family in Pakistan, The solution to the Abu Ghraib night- Following September 11, we witnessed knew that he had been arrested. In the after- mare isn’t as simple as locking up England a myriad of proposals to expand the PIC, math of September 11, the government has and her fellow military personnel in the most coming under “The USA PATRIOT secretly moved detainees—they were “dis- same cages that they oversaw. It won’t be Act of 2001.” Ironically, the restrictions on appeared”—their attorneys unable to find resolved by firing Rumsfeld or reducing the our freedom came in the guise of protect- them. number of Iraqi detainees. Closing Abu ing our freedom. Meanwhile, the stock prices of compa- Ghraib is at most a superficial gesture. Among the more alarming proposals nies that sell surveillance equipment dou- These proposed solutions will fail made in the aftermath of September 11: bled in value directly after September 11. because, as Professor Philip Zimbardo indefinite detention of legal immigrants— And companies that build and run private recently told the New York Times, “It’s not without charge—and in some cases the prisons, which were on the brink of bank- that we put bad apples in a good barrel. We mandatory detention of immigrants; ruptcy before September 11, experienced put good apples in a bad barrel. The bar- deportation based on the suspicion that a as much as much as 300% gains after Sep- rel corrupts anything that touches it.” person may be willing to help a terrorist; tember 11 in anticipation of internment Americans are now faced with a choice: we expansion of the power to summarily camps and new prisons. must either relinquish our innocent self- deport without judicial review; a six-month While the PIC and “homeland security” image or dismantle the barrel. moratorium on student visas and broad efforts claim to be about safety and order, Rose Braz is the director of Critical Resis- new powers of surveillance including in reality both have made the lives of most tance, 1904 Franklin St #504, Oakland, CA national identification cards and the people—especially people of color and 94612. See www.criticalresistance.org. This authority to wiretap any phone or com- the poor—less safe and more disordered. guest commentary is excerpted from an orig- puter that might be used by a suspect. The behemoth prison industrial com- inal article titled “More Than Just a Few While not all of the above proposals plex that was in place prior to September “Bad Apples:” Confronting Prison Problems came to fruition, many did. Since Sep- 11 did not prevent what occurred that in Iraq and in the US” that was published tember 11, more than 1,100 people— day. Similarly, an expansion of those failed in the RESIST Newsletter vol. 13, no. 6, almost all from majority Muslim policies will not prevent further tragedies July/August 2004, and is printed here with countries—have been detained. Almost from occurring. In fact, we recently learned permission of the author and publisher. See three years later, more than 600 detainees from the U.S. State Department that rather www.resistinc.org. remain imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay than making us safer, these draconian

THE PUBLIC EYE 20 WINTER 2004 The Public Eye

A NEW ACTIVIST RESOURCE KIT Other Activist Resource BY POLITICAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATES Kits by PRA…

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THE PUBLIC EYE21 WINTER 2004 The Public Eye Eyes RIGHT

TEACHING THE RIGHT Bond and Kweisi Mfume. They aren’t going Council of Conservative Citizens confab, or LAWS to be bullied. They are going to fight for their aren’t interested in re-locating to a com- “The Rev. Jerry Falwell will open a law school right to speak truth to power. And we will be pound in Idaho, William Regnery’s new this month in hopes of training a generation proud to fight with them.’ of attorneys who will fight for conservative Neas said the announcement targeting the causes. NAACP reminded him of an effort earlier this ‘We want to infiltrate the culture with men year to use the Federal Election Commission and women of God who are skilled in the legal to impose draconian new rules that would limit nonprofit advocacy and essentially out- Eye profession,’ Falwell said in a telephone inter- LASHES view Tuesday with the Associated Press. law criticism of incumbent politicians' poli- ‘We’ll be as far to the right as Harvard is to cies during an election year. PFAW and other the left.’ nonprofit organizations created the Coalition In fact, studies of Graduates of the law school — part of Fal- to Protect Nonprofit Advocacy and success- well’s Liberty University in Lynchburg, which fully beat back that attempt to silence elec- “homicide victims is affiliated with his Baptist ministry — tion-year criticism of the president and other could tackle such issues as abortion rights and incumbents.” —especially the gay marriage, Falwell said. Source: Email from PFAW, “BUSH ADMINISTRA- TION TRIES TO SILENCE NAACP: IRS targets lead- increasing num- Classroom lectures and discussions will ers for daring to criticize Bush administration policies.” fuse the teachings of the Bible with the U.S. ber of younger Constitution, stressing the connections LOVE IN THE RIGHT, I MEAN ones—suggest between faith, law and morality, said law WHITE PLACES school Dean Bruce Green, who has experi- “William Regnery, the ‘famously reclusive’ they are frequently ence in civil liberties litigation. member of the Regnery publishing family, criminals them- ‘There is a strong need for this,’ said is looking for investors for a whites-only Green, who believes many of his colleagues dating service… selves and/or drug take sides on abortion and genetic engi- If you’re looking for a life partner and are neering without first considering what is too busy to get enmeshed in the dating addicts or users. morally right.” scene, hope is on the way: There are myriad It is quite possible Source: Chris Kahn, “Falwell opening his own law dating services that promise to find you the school.” August 18, 2004, Associated Press. perfect mate. Some arrange lunchtime meet- that their deaths, BUSH WAY OR THE IRS WAY ings for over-scheduled workers; others offer in terms of a round-robin approach where you can spend “The IRS has launched an investigation a few minutes with a bunch of different economic conse- against the NAACP’s nonprofit status, cit- prospects during one evening. There are ing criticism of the Bush administration’s eco- online dating services, video dating serv- quences to society, nomic and foreign policies at the NAACP ices, and services aimed at hooking you up convention. ‘This investigation is a brazen are net gains. with an ethnic, religious or political coun- attempt by the Bush administration to intim- ” terpart. idate dissenters into silence,’ said People For – Paul Blackman, Head NRA If you’re a white supremacist, however, the American Way President Ralph G. Neas. Researcher, “The Federal Factoid Fac- none of these services may be right for you. ‘It is a dangerous attempt to criminalize crit- tory on Firearms and Violence: A So, if you’re having trouble making a love Review of CDC Research and Policies.” icism of the president during an election year.’ connection and you’re uncomfortable at ‘The people running this administration Source: http://www.nraleaders.com/paul-black- KKK rallies, haven’t made your way to a man.html are bullies,’ said Neas. ‘But I know Julian

THE PUBLIC EYE 22 WINTER 2004 The Public Eye

HAIKU whites-only dating service might be right up ensure ‘the survival of our race,’ which moral values view your alley. Regnery, one of the lesser-known ‘depends upon our people marrying, repro- members of the right wing publishing fam- ducing and parenting’…” conservative frames ily, is currently searching for seed money to Excerpted from “White supremacist love connection: launch a service that promises to hook clients William Regnery, the ‘famously reclusive’ member of the compassion fading Regnery publishing family, is looking for investors for a up with their very own special white suprema- whites-only dating service.” By Bill Berkowitz from cist love connection… WorkingforChange, August 24, 2004. by Chip Berlet In a letter to subscribers, Regnery expressed his concern about the decreasing THE VOTING RIGHT ACT percentage of white people in the population “Bush administration lawyers are attempting According to the paper, since the civil and announced plans for a new dating serv- to overturn of legal precedence by claiming rights era of the 1960s, individuals have ice that he claims will address the problem. that only Attorney General John Ashcroft and gone to federal court to enforce their right Internet-based and earmarked only for not individual voters have a right to go to fed- to vote, often with the support of groups such whites, Regnery’s service aims to increase the eral courts to enforce the right of citizen’s to as the NAACP, the AFL-CIO, the League of white population in the United States vote. This according to the Los Angeles Women Voters. through marriage and procreation. Times. Even the Supreme Court has backed the Regnery’s letter, titled ‘Population is In legal briefs filed in Ohio, Michigan and idea of private suits. In 1969, the justices Destiny’ was an appeal to potential investors. Florida, the Bush administration is arguing issued a ruling in a case related to the Voting The dating service, he said, will be only the that only the Justice Department, and not Rights Act of 1965 that ‘the achievement of ‘first arrow in a business quiver’ providing voters themselves, may sue to enforce the vot- the act’s laudable goal would be severely ‘services and products to whites.’ ing rights set out in the Help America Vote hampered ... if each citizen were required to According to the [Southern Poverty Law Act which was passed after the 2000 election. depend solely on litigation instituted at the Center’s] Intelligence Report, Regnery Veteran voting rights lawyers say this discretion of the attorney general.’” pointed out that in addition to its money- would overturn decades of legal precedent Source: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid= making potential, the Caucasian-only dat- and could greatly affect any legal challenge 04/10/29/1414225 ing service would be an opportunity to to Tuesday’s election.

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DELIBERATE DIFFERENCES Progressive and Conservative Campus Activism in the United States U.S. colleges and universities have a long tradition of political activism. They are centers of intellectual activity; concentrations of young people live in close proximity; and students can experience new ideas and constructs about the world at school. The public expects that our campuses will erupt from time to time in response to national and international crises, but many are surprised when they do. Deliberate Differences uses social movement theory to examine both conser- vative and progressive campus activism, activists, and their organizations and also observes the impact of rightist and leftist social movements from the larger society on student groups. The author and project staff compiled an advisory committee of experts on the study of campus activism, conducted an in-depth literature review, identified and interviewed 86 key student leaders and faculty and staff from 8 repre- sentative schools, and 20 more graduates who are now interns or staffers at movement organizations around the country. The report set out to: ◗ produce a rounded picture of political and social conflicts and tensions on campus, the campus activism directly related to these tensions, and the impact of the tensions on democratic principles and practices on campus, such as tolerance, openness, and dialogue ◗ describe and analyze the nature, goals and ideology of the programmatic work conducted on campus by national conservative and progressive Deliberate Differences, a new study of organizations, their effect on campus culture, and the types of organizing campus activism, gives you answers to: being done on campus by conservative and progressive students and faculty ✔ ◗ assess the comparative effectiveness of conservative and progressive How do conservative and progressive groups of the competing social movements in advancing their agendas on campus organizers differ? ✔ campus and recruiting student activists with leadership potential to their Is there healthy debate on campus? movements after graduation ✔What national groups influence political work on campus? 84 pp. report includes findings from 8 schools, analysis and resource lists ✔Can young activists get movement jobs after graduation? Available now from PRA at (617) 666-5300 or www.publiceye.org

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