Groups like the National Center for Constitutional Studies (NCCS), nestled in Malta, Idaho are promoting such programs as “The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution.” In one seminar, participants were told the secrets the “elite” have concealed from the people: the Constitution is based on the Law of Moses; Mosaic law was brought o the West by the ancient Anglo-Saxons, who were probably the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel; the Constitution restores the fifth-century kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons. There’s more: virtually all of modern American life and government is unconstitutional. Social Security, the Federal Reserve, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Civil rights Act of 1964, hate crime laws-all flatly violate God’s law. State governments are not required to observe the Bill of Rights; the First Amendment establishes “The Religion of America,” which is nondenominational” Christianity.
The NCCS is teaching poisonous rubbish to citizens who want to learn about America and its Constitution. Americans today are frightened and disoriented. In the midst of uncertainty, they are turning to the Constitution for tools to deal with the crisis. The far right-the toxic coalition of Fox News is talking heads, radio hosts, angry “patriot” groups and power-hungry right-wing politicians-is responding to this demand by feeding their fellow citizens mythology and lies.
The NCCS was the cold war creation of the late W. Cleon Skousen. The center and its crazed ideology have been taken up by Glenn Beck. Civic groups, school districts and even some city governments across the country have been persuaded to sponsor day-long seminars by the “nonpartisan” NCCS; its speakers are visiting high schools to distribute pocket copies of the Constitution. Skousen’s massive “guide” to the Constitution, "The Making of America: The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution," has been in the Top 20 on Amazon’s “Constitutional hist...