The Cult Mentality and the Freeps Cultists/GOP Masters

[YOY]

Well, excuse me fellow DUers, but I'm in a writing mood after doing some thinking as I was waiting for the bus. A certain thought occurred to me during my morning commute. Sometimes you try to use memories of the past to put together logical problems of the future. My problem is the 27% to 30% base that has to bear the brunt of reality that the President and his administration (and likely the whole party that he is attached to) are:

1. basically a bunch of inept opportunists who take pride in profiteering and occasionally toss their base some moral bone or two to keep their little minds sated.

2. Really have betrayed exactly what they were supposed to stand for.

3. are feeding them the news they want all the while hiding behind the myth of a liberal media.

4. Use words like 'democracy' and 'freedom' repetitively and then display actions that counter their exactly meaning.

5. have done absolutely nothing good for the majority of the country.

Why then do they cling to these beliefs? Would a liberal media actually help? I think what has happened here is an attachment of the cult mentality to the 26 year old church of neo-conservatism.

The cult mentality has weaseled its way into legality in the past usually to cover up pyramid schemes (of which this is no exception). My past experience with Amway has shown me just what can happen when a large group of people repeat a lie so often that it becomes the truth.

The story goes like this:

I was temping right out of college and not getting much of anywhere. One temp assignment was taking surveys at the Airport. I was putting my time and struck up a conversation with a young couple my age. They seemed nice and I mentioned that I was looking for permanent work. They told me about a 'business opportunity' under a 'new company' that was recruiting at a local hotel. Sounded like it might lead to something...

I showed up and was immediately struck by the glazed look in the smiling people attending this recruitment session. Of course this turned out to be one of Amway's many recruitment schemes under ones of its 'branch companies.' If you don't know about Amway then Google them...they're a real laugh riot...) The main speaker (some pseudo-motivational speaker selling his Sales aides) rambled about success and tried to sell a series of cassettes to better everyone's sales and everyone (keeping their glazed looks) oohed and aahed and nodded their heads in almost comical enthusiastic agreement at the speakers WONDROUS spiel of MAKING MORE MONEY!!!

I had to control myself from breaking out laughing and pulling an over enthusiastic 'Jim Carey' on these sheep just for shits and giggles... unfortunately I controlled myself. After the spectacle ended, the young couple tried to get me involved as they approached me and looked at me zombie-like when I told them it was a pyramid scheme: "Well, we're sure if it was illegal it wouldn't be a real company." (Amway throws in a few steps to make it escape the 'textbook definition' of Pyramid Scheme, but it sure as hell is a Pyramid Scheme...rather like Scientology...but I digress.)

It was amazing in hindsight. The clown-like speaker. The repetition of solid gold BS. The denial of the flaming obvious. The oohing and aahing (I'm not making that up...it really was so fake and forced it was comical.) And all enforced with groupthink....scary s***...

Hindsight from an event 7 years ago is 20-20 and it makes me laugh now, but I can't help but compare that event and those Amway folk's mindset with the GOP Follower/Backwash mentality.

Now take that pathetic setting and slap a political spin on it. Take that pseudo-motivational speaker and make him a RW pundit with plenty of air-time and no opportunities for debate or argument. Take the solid gold sales BS and change it to a moral crusade. Create opponents where you have had none and villainize anyone who dares speak against you with unearned patriotism! The idiotic 'oohing and aahing' practically makes itself!

By forcing yourself to fail to debate (or revert to threats of violence or straight out personal attacks) you stem yourself to only listening to the agreeing voices in the cult. The constant voices agreeing in unison that strip away any doubts you may have to the grand vision of the masters. The repetition of the straight out lie that 'with hard work you can be just like one of the masters.'

The ties that bind the neocon follower (ie non-leader) to his beliefs are scary...

don't get so cocky DUers it can and has happened to our side at times as well...

[YOY]

1. Nobody loves me...

:-(

[RaleighNCDUer]

2. "...no opportunities for debate or argument."

That's the key.

You listen to these people on TV (I avoid RW radio) and time after time they say outrageous lies and underpin their entire argument, but because they're in the pulpit you can't stop them and say "Hey, that's bullshit! Let's look at that point you just made!"

It's the political version of the telemarketer's talk - get the mark to say yes, and keep saying yes, till you close, and they say yes because they can't think of a reason not to.

Which is part of the Amway spiel, too. They are sleazy salesmen, pushing an inferior product, and to do they have to overwhelm you with conditioned responses.

You gotta be rude. Question authority. Doubt everything. Make them prove every point.

[YOY]

3. and remember, what's good for the goose is good for the gander

Just because you like the source does not mean you have to agree with everything they say...it too should be questions less you fall into the same trap the Amway folks/Scientologists/FReeps do.

If other libs don't like me questioning our sources, they should ponder that. It keeps us all honest and openminded.