I almost spilled my super margarita drink to read Michael Smith's inclusion
of Greenpeace as a cult.Anyway let me say this about that about cults.As
everyting else
cults may range from mellow to moderate to very pronouncely active.They all
seem to be possess some commonalities: an obsession with some ideology and a
leader or leaders that is looked upon for ultimate guidance.Of course mass
suicides among cults do happen but they are probably the exception than the
rule.
There is a perspective to view cult leaders and followers as below the radar
when it comes to human functioning and displaying some deficiencies as it
pertains
to critical thinking skills,but it could also be that cultists are seeking
human growth potential but could be sidetracked by the neuroticism of
leaders and some followers.It is the blind obedience to the leadership that
hinders followers to engage in critical thinking skills that could lead to
alternative directions and the ideology does not necessarilly have to be
discarded. Early christianity was once viewed as a cult and we all know
about the martyrs and not too long ago the Uganda martyrs. On the other
hand,there are some groups that break away from the originals to become more
exreme or less participatory.This presumes that some cults may provide
inklings of democratic rule that individuals may feel powerless in the home
family or society at large.In a way,a cult may satisfy the need for power
for some individuals. To feel overpowering over others is not one of the
guidelines for critical thinking skills.
Even the modern day Catholic Church has had or have
cults-Opus Dei and a Belgium Bishop Dom Lefebre has led some catholics
toward the Latin Mass and ordaining woen as priests. Jim Jones in Guyana was
very extreme but his leadership was pathological.His Jonestown was planned
for the benefits
of the Guyanese government who staved off Venezuela's claim to that region.
A fine work on Jonestown was written by Gordon Lewis(a British expat and
Caribbean studies expert) GATHER WITH THE SAINTS AT THE RIVER.
It is puzzling as to why people will kill themselves for a pathological
leader.Peter Tosh (Reggae artist) stats in a song "Every one wants to get to
heaven.\,but no one wants to die".
In another sense,cults could be perceived as a form of social hypnotism.My
last word on this is that if you allow yourself to be manipuated,you are not
manipulated.
Btw,the recent incidence in Farmdale ,California may invite a cross-cultural
analysis since it involved la familia from El Salvador.
Michael "omnicentric" Sylvester,PhD
Daytona Beach,Florida
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