Chapter Twenty-Nine Continued: Ron Gostick

A CULTURE OF DEFIANCE: History of the Reform-Conservative Party of Canada

Ronald A. Gostick (1918-2005) was the son of Edith Gostick, one of the first Social Credit MLAs. Like Preston Manning and Stockwell Day, he grew up in a household where the party was not only discussed but lived.

Gostick attended Crescent Heights High School when William Aberhart was principal and his mother, like Ernest Manning, was an insider who spent most of her time promoting Social Credit and defending her boss.

Her son also grew up listening to anti-Semitic rants from both parents, and developed a narrow view of the world, based on religious prejudice. Convinced that not only were the banks ruining Canada, but also that his Christian fundamentalist faith was under attack, he became one of the largest distributors and publishers of hate literature, from his home in Flesherton, Ontario, where he had moved after serving in the army during WWII.

Many historians will gloss over William Aberhart's bizarre religious beliefs, which were denounced by his mainstream religious contemporaries; without wondering how those beliefs affected future generations.

James Keegstra grew up in a social credit home and even attended the Calgary Prophetic Bible Institute, and Stockwell Day's fundamentalism borders on extremism. Preston Manning has stated that he learned from the ugly side of this movement:

As I grew up, I learned that the "prairie populism" with which I was familiar—the Social Credit movement in Alberta—was not an isolated political aberration, but part of a much broader political tradition ... Years later, I developed a more objective view of populism, including a healthy fear of its darker side and a more realistic assessment of its potential as an agent for political change. (1)

And yet, like Stephen Harper, he tapped into the "darker side" for political gain.

Ron Gostick would mentor people like Paul Fromm, teaching future generations to hate, based on his fundamentalist beliefs. Yet in today's world if he set himself up as a member of the Religious Right, he would be able to get away with saying many of the things he said, without the anti-Semitic overtones.

To do that he would just have to call himself a Christian Zionist and become a 'friend of Israel'. As one pastor in Jerusalem recently stated:

"It's the worst kind of anti-Semitism. At the end, these Evangelicals say that all the Jews will be dead except those who become Christians. But in the meantime, the Israelis are happy to fill their hotels with them and use their help to get American weapons." (2)

It might do some of these religious zealots some good to read a bit of hate literature. I think they'd be surprised to see how their views differ little from those of people who were once arrested for saying the same things, they now get away with.

Sources:

1. The New Canada, By Preston Manning, 1992, MacMillan Canada, ISBN: 0-7715-9150-0, pg. 7

2. An Evangelical at Armageddon, By Tim McGirk and Tel Meggido, April 07, 2008

The Strange Case of James Keegstra

Another graduate of the Calgary Prophetic Bible Institute and long time member of the Social Credit Party, was James Keegstra, the Alberta school teacher who gained notoriety when it was discovered that for 15 years he had been teaching his students that the Holocaust was a hoax.

His sensational trial became the subject of much debate over free speech vs hate crimes, but what was interesting, was not the mainstream contempt for his beliefs, but the people who came to his defense.

Yes there were the usual neo-Nazis and hate mongers, but there were also many religious groups who saw his 'persecution' as a threat to their rights to teach Biblical interpretation.

One of those was a man by the name of Stockwell Burt Day, then assistant pastor at the Bentley [Alberta] Christian Centre and spokesperson for the Alberta Association of Independent Church Schools.

Day was already embroiled in a battle with the Alberta Department of Education and their decision to remove the Bentley Christian School's accreditation because of their teachings, which were deemed be both racist and anti-Semitic. He felt that religious schools should have the right to set their own curriculum. “God's law is clear. Standards of education are not set by government, but by God, the Bible, the home and the school.” (1)

The connection between James Keegstra and Stockwell Day went back further than that, however, in their links to both the Social Credit Party and Keegstra's lawyer; Doug Christie.

Social Credit and Anti-Semitism

Keegstra's parents had joined the Social Credit Party at it's inception in 1935, inspired not only by the promise of monetary reform, but also the Christian fundamentalism.

They listened to Aberhart's radio broadcasts and questioned not a word.

And when the party began distributing anti-Semitic material across the country, they collected every piece, sharing them with their son James.

And when James Keegstra was old enough, they sent him to the Calgary Prophetic Bible Institute, then under the leadership of Ernest Manning, where he would be "taught right."

In 1957, James himself joined the Social Credit Party, and would remain active in the movement throughout his adult life.

He ran for the party, representing Red Deer in the 1972, 1974 and 1984 federal elections. In 1986, he ran unsuccessfully for the party's leadership with the support of white supremacist Don Andrews and Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel*.

In 1972, when Keegstra first ran for the federal Socreds, the party leader was Real Caouette (the image to the left above). During the same campaign and under the same leader, Stockwell Day Sr, also ran for the party, against Tommy Douglas; not expecting to win but only to publicly attack Douglas' Socialist platform. (Tommy Douglas gave us medicare and is the grandfather of Kiefer Sutherland)

Caouette had some pretty extreme views. According to John Gray:

The disdain for outsiders always seemed to fit conveniently with the theory of conspiracy of the old parties. The Jews were another and equally convenient part of the ... demonology and there was a continuing strain of anti-Semitism ... Caouette revealed that his political heroes were Hitler and Mussolini. As late as a few years ago, his bookshelves contained The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.... If non-Creditisites were horrified, the loyalists did not seem to care. (2)

The Day family were also longtime Social Credit members, and according to Stock Jr.'s mother; Gwendolyn (nee: Gilbert) he was exposed to political activism at home.

When Real Caouette fist won the leadership race in 1961, Ernest Manning, then Premier of Alberta, vetoed the nomination, claiming that his province would never accept a francophone Catholic as party leader. Real left to start his own party, but they were reunited in 1972.

Opposing the political climate in Quebec, Stock Sr. packed up his family and headed west in 1967. He would eventually meet up with Doug Christie and joined his Western Canada Concept Party, which was formed to promote western separation. He would contribute regularly to to the Western Separatist, the party's newspaper.

Day Sr. also appeared to have been friendly with Robert Thompson and in fact Thomson's children once stayed with the Day family for a while. According to David Lethbridge, Thompson was a fan of Ronald Gostick** who made his money distributing racist and anti-Semitic material. (3)

I know that a lot of the names that enter this story appear to be guilt by association. Yes Stock Day Sr. was friends with Doug Christie who defended many Neo-Nazis and hate propagandists. That doesn't mean that Christie himself was anti-Semitic, nor does it mean that everyone associated with him is anti-Semitic.

But this speaks to a long history with this party, that was grounded in fanatical Christian extremism. They believed in a Jewish conspiracy and the fact that 'Socialists' and 'Jews' were in cahoots. William Aberhart suggested:

Personally, I have little doubt that in working through Jews, the Jewish financial group has sacrificed its own people on the altar of its greed for power and this group is preeminently responsible for the poisonous anti-Semitism which is rampant in the world today. (4)

And as late as 1943 when Manning was Premier, their report included:

If international finance and socialism are travelling in the same direction is it possible that socialism is promoted by the money power to hasten the completion of their plot for world domination? Not only is it possible, but there is a fund of evidence which leads to the inevitable conclusion that there is a plot, worldwide in scope, deliberately engineered by a small number of ruthless international financiers. (4)

But then in February 1947:

Imperial Oil had brought in Leduc No. 1, a gusher which was obviously going to transform Alberta from a province of poverty to one of plenty. The month after Leduc, Manning acted. The government passed a resolution repudiating "any statements ()r publications which are incompatible with the established British ideals of democratic freedom or which endorse, excuse or incite anti-Semitism or racial or religious intolerance in any form." Within the next year the Alberta Social Credit Board had been dissolved and the leading Douglasites had been purged from the Cabinet. (4)

He was being pushed by the Douglasites in the party to adopt the economic principles, and this was why he purged the party of the Douglasite anti-Semitics. He no longer needed monetary reform and no longer needed them. But it clearly did not end the anti-Semistism or racism within the movement. Far from it.

Footnotes:

*Ernst Zundel was also a client of Doug Christie. During the 2000 federal election, where Stockwell Day was running against jean Chretien, the story of Day's involvement with neo-Nazis and his relationship with James Keegstra became public, Ernst Zundel came to his defense saying: "I know the personal toll of standing up for what you believe in, and I was inspired by Stockwell's spirited defense of his school's Accelerated Christian Education curriculum which states that 'Buddhists and Muslims are evil' and 'Jewish leaders were children of their father, the devil."

**Ronald Gostick attended Crescent Heights High School when William Aberhart was principal. He was a long time member of the Social Credit Party and in fact his mother was one of the first Scial Credit MLAs when Aberhart's Party swept the Alberta elections in 1935.

Sources:

1. Canadian Alliance's Stockwell Day and the charge of anti-Semitism: What is the right trying to cover up? By Guy Leblanc and Keith Jones, November 27, 2000

2. Real Caouette: Question now; can message survive?, John Gray, Montreal Gazette, November 9, 1976

3. Jew-haters and red-baiters: The Canadian League of Rights, By David Lethbridge, AntiFa Info-Bulletin, February 2, 1999

4. A Trust Betrayed: The Keegstra Affair, By: David Bercuson and Douglas Wertheimer, Doubleday Canada, 1985, ISBN: 0-385-25003-7, Pg. 34-38

Chapter Twelve: The Aftermath of War

A CULTURE OF DEFIANCE: History of the Reform-Conservative Party of Canada

Throughout the war years, William Aberhart became a Christian soldier, engaging in battles with church leaders, while drawing an army of devout followers to his own brand of dispensationalism.
His Bible classes were extremely popular and it was about this time that he came in contact with Professor William Tucker Broad, a dispensationalist and follower of reverend Ethelbert William Bullinger (1837-1913). As with many of his relationships, he and Broad would eventually part ways, with the latter by way of explanation saying: "Mr. Amberhart's doctrine is absolutely sound, but he simply doesn't know how to work or co-operate with others, and he doesn't know the meaning of the word 'love'" (1)

But while Broad may have departed, William Aberhart became obsessed with the teachings of Bullinger, described as an ultradispensationalist*

As a man who liked to control things, he must have felt powerless during the war years, and even more so after the war. Many young men did not return, and for those who did, they faced unemployment and economic hardship. On the heels of that was the Spanish Flu epidemic, that resulted in close to 4,000 deaths in the province.

And he may have seen these events as proof that the end times were imminent, as he became consumed with prophesy and even more erratic.

On October 8, 1920 Aberhart advertised his next day's Bible class under the heading "Is the Millennium at Hand? or the Latest Freak in Prophecy Examined" The announcement went on: "Will millions never die? Will baldheaded men receive hair and toothless women a new issue of teeth in 1925? Should doctors, dentists and undertakers be alarmed? (2)

Bullinger's teachings bordered on the occult and he was a strong promoter of numerology. In his book Number in Scripture: Its Supernatural Design and Spiritual Significance, he writes "The number nine is a most remarkable number in many respects. It is held in great reverence by all who study the occult sciences; and in mathematical science it possesses properties and powers which are found in no other number."

And he never let go of his fervour:

Aberhart's private obsessions were behind some of Social Credit's unusual qualities. For all his piety, Bible Bill was an avid student of the occult. Numerology, palmistry and astrology fascinated him, especially their prophetic applications. "The numbers of the Bible are all significant," he wrote to one follower, "five is the number of responsibility and eight is the resurrection or New Order number." He was a student of British Israelism, an anti-Semitic sect that claimed Britons as a lost tribe of ancient Israel who possessed a divine mission in world affairs.**** Despite Aberhart's public disavowal of anti-Semitism, hate-mongering abounded in Social Credit culture, which included teachings imported straight from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an early classic of proto Nazi race propaganda. Historian David Elliott noted that much of the intellectual legacy of Social Credit, including the work of its founder, Major Douglas, was built upon anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.

Occultist assumptions echoed within Aberhart's political-evangelical teachings. The "overhead route" to salvation guaranteed to good Christians was parallelled by the mystical technocracy of Social Credit economics: one could be saved from suffering simply by having faith in the system and allowing experts to make decisions. Obsessed with the Devil's ubiquitous presence in twentieth-century politics, Aberhart constructed an alternative history from scripture, including a complicated schedule of prophetic events outlining the imminent arrival of the Antichrist. "Prophecy is History foretold," Aberhart would preach, "History is prophecy fulfilled." More often than not, politics was Satan's domain: dark forces obscured the truth and kept citizens from enjoying full material prosperity. (3)

Aberhart's teachings now encompassed both Cyrus Scofield and Ethelbert Bullinger, and he became obsessed with the politics of the Israelites** and the economics of the New Jerusalem. (3)

The Calgary Prophetic Bible Institute

The next major milestones in the life of William Aberhart, were the start of his radio broadcasts in 1925, and the building of the Calgary Prophetic Bible Institute.

He used his organizational skills and power of persuasion, both on the air and off, to help raise the necessary funds, and the facility was open for business in October of 1927.

Then in a farmhouse in Rosetown Saskatchewan, two young men assembled a three tube radio that they had ordered through a mail-order catalogue. One of them, began listening to Aberhart's program, and in 1927 decided to study at the Calgary Prophetic Bible Institute.

His name was Ernest Manning, and he would be the school's very first graduate.***

Chapter Twelve Continued: The Aftermath of Defeat

Footnotes:

*Ultradispensationalism or hyperdispensationalism, often now called Bullingerism; is described by many dispensationalists as a Pseudo Christian Cult. The late Harry Ironside, who grew up in the tradition of the Plymouth Brethren (See John Darby, chapter one) stated: "Having had most intimate acquaintance with Bullingerism as taught by many for the last forty years, I have no hesitancy in saying that its fruits are evil. It has produced a tremendous crop of heresies throughout the length and breadth of this and other lands; it has divided Christians and wrecked churches and assemblies without number; it has lifted up its votaries in intellectual and spiritual pride to an appalling extent, so that they look with supreme contempt upon Christians who do not accept their peculiar views; and in most instances where it has been long tolerated, it has absolutely throttled Gospel effort at home and sown discord on missionary fields abroad. So true are these things of this system that I have no hesitancy in saying it is an absolutely Satanic perversion of the truth."

** William Tucker Broad also wrote about British-Israelites or British-Israelism and the Lost Tribes. He was a regular contributor to Bullinger's monthly journal Things to Come

*** Another famous graduate of the school was James Keegstra, the Alberta schoolteacher who told his students that the Holocaust was a hoax. He was also a member of the Social Credit Party at the same time as Stockwell Day's Father. The Sr. Day's good friend Doug Christie, represented Keegstra at his trial.

Sources:

1. The Social Credit Movement in Alberta, By: John A. Irving, University of Toronto Press, 1959, pg. 25

2. Bible Bill: A Biography of William Aberhart, By: David R. Elliot and Iris Miller, Edmonton: Reidmore Books, 1987, Pg. 39.

3. Slumming it at the Rodeo: The Cultural Roots of Canada's Right-Wing Revolution, Gordon Laird, 1998, Douglas & McIntyre, ISBN: 1-55054 627-9, pg. 38