Nobody wants to admit it when they are in a Cult, ESPECIALLY bush cultists

[mopaul]

Collective veneration or worship (e.g., the cult of the saints—meaning collective veneration of the saints—in Roman Catholicism).

In the West, the term has come to be used for groups that are perceived to have deviated from normative religions in belief and practice. They typically have a charismatic leader and attract followers who are in some way disenfranchised from the mainstream of society. Cults as thus defined are often viewed as foreign or dangerous.
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The bush cult is one of the most dangerous to appear in a long time, as far as cults go. Some cults are benevolent and harmless, while others are virulent and dangerous. Some are small, and only last a short while, while others are gigantic and go on for centuries.

Cultists can be made to accept almost any atrocity as normal, and can show indifference to their leader's flaws, and exhibit blind devotion. Some devotees are malleable and just waiting to take any order given by the 'leader', no matter how horrific.

This is what America now faces, and we had better seek solutions, because bush cultists being constantly bombarded by cult radio and television are on the verge of apocalypse.

[oregonjen]

1. I agree. These repubs are in a religious cult

It's sick and it's up to us to de-program them.

[Stop_the_War]

2. These cultists are VERY dangerous....

[Warpy]

3. Cults only survive by squashing anyone who dissents

We are still the majority in this country. We still have a chance. They can't insulate themselves from us completely. They can only shout us down or complain that they're being persecuted.

Tell them they're unchristian. That's the only thing that seems to penetrate the cement.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. Any organization that has to use fear and intimidation to promote it's

agenda, cult or no, needs to be feared, avoided, and set straight. This is a tall order considering how many have bought into the lunacy of the fundyright hook line and sinker. It's a shame that so many of them cannot see that their party has been hijacked by nutcases.

I hope the moderate repubs who are sick and tired of the bush rhetoric start a website, organize, dissent, speak out, go on a tirade now and then, boycott, protest, vocalize, act out, revolt, take charge, wake their constituency, and generally make a noise now and again.

[pnutchuck]

9. Hey, that's a great idea!!

Can't some of us at the DU start a website pretending to be moderate repukes? You know? Curse the "liberal" dems, praise the moderates, and put out some heart-felt disatisfaction pieces about "our" party? Who knows? We might be able to attract the moderate repukes if they see they have a forum.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

10. Hey..... didn't I help size that pic for you?? I sorta remember you

asking for some assistance.... and yes... a website for moderate repugs who are fed up to here would be a breath of fresh air. I mean, I am sure they need to vent as well.


Mmmmmmmm, look at all the nice money that needs to be laundered by international banks..... yumm.

[pnutchuck]

15. Yes, you did, thanks!

I would think you tech people could set something like the the DU up for the moderates, even coaxing some of the DU to sign up and post threads like the Freepers do over here but. I've even seen some members of the DU with some of the same "values" like pro life over here. Maybe we could get some of the disenfranchised repukes out of their holes if they had a safe environment to speak out.

[Pork Chop]

5. I wouldn't call it a cult

Cults generally have extreme views. Bush's policies, no matter how idiotic, are not extreme - you could go much further to the right.

[mopaul]

6. you're entitled to your opinion

not extreme? hhhhmmmmmmmm

[Pork Chop]

7. Ayn Rand is extreme

Bush isn't even close to being as conservative as Ayn Rand.

[SharonAnn]

13. Yes he is! Sometimes he hides it (a little) but it always comes back.

[burn the bush]

14. it's ran like a cult. exactly like a cult. it is a cult

[Cleita]

8. Cults are businesses meant to enrich their founders.

Anyone who has relatives who are making money for the cult and handing it over to the cult leaders could possibly be declared legally unable to handle their affairs. I'm not sure about this but I have seen guardianships instituted because of similar instances, like a employee who starts getting an old person to sign over assets to them.

It could be that relatives could get control of the persons assets under a guardianship and therefore render them unable to give the cult money or earn money for the cult. Maybe this could be a way to shut off the money faucet. If that happens then I think you will see many of these grifters disappear.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

11. "Cult" is very appropriate, and here is a specific example:

A freepoid on another board followed me to my private e-mail address and sent a harangue, in which he, among other things, accused me of supporting people like Jim McDermott who called Bush a liar. Before explaining how I was sending all further communiques from him to the spam folder, I said that I myself consider Bush a liar, and I gave the two examples of Iraq and Social Security.

So the little whiner goes back to the board and complains that I'm a coward for not wanting to engage him anymore and that--get this--I called HIM a liar twice.

:crazy:

[DELUSIONAL]

12. Yes the bush believers are political cultists

The Us against Them -- is fundamental to the cult psychology.

The bush cult is a political cult.

The cult members are sent out with "talking points".

http://cultfaq.org/cultfaq-sect-definition.html

Political cult examples:

Extremist/Political/Social Movements: groups cultic in the psychological or social sense which include the Aryan Nation, White Aryan Resistance and the Ku Klux Klan.

Cult Characteristics
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c09a04.html

With this revised definition we should note some of the characteristics of cults. Evangelical sociologist Ron Enroth notes nine common characteristics of cults. <5>

1. Authoritarian: central, authoritarian leadership in one person or small group of individuals.

2. Oppositional: values, beliefs or practices at variance with the dominant culture or tradition.

3. Exclusivistic: only the group has ''the truth,'' usually based on new insights or revelation.

4. Legalistic: a tightly structured framework which governs spirituality and the smallest details of daily life.

5. Subjective: undue emphasis on experience and emotions often resulting in anti-intellectualism.

6. Persecution-Conscious: the belief that their group is singled out for persecution.

7. Sanction-Oriented: stern sanctions issued for anything less than total obedience.

8. Esoteric: an emphasis on secret, hidden or inner truth.

9. Anti-Sacerdotal: lack of paid clergy and an emphasis on laity in leadership.

<snip>

Why People Join

Statistics show that doctrinal issues alone have little to do with why most people join cults. The three main reasons are: ''(1) healing for emotional hurts, (2) establishing friendships and relationships, and (3) spiritual growth. <7>

note: I would add to the list -- learned helplessness -- for example the way bushie played the terror card -- when he was down in the polls etc.

To this we would add (4) coercive persuasion or thought reform (popularly called ''brain washing''). A growing body of research supports the view that many cults effectively utilize subtle forms of psychological persuasion to recruit and retain members.

Contrary to popular myth, virtually anyone can get involved in a cult under the right circumstances, particularly during periods of vulnerability such as emotional trauma associated with illness, loss of a job, death of a loved one, moving or going away to college. Even those raised in Christian homes are susceptible to the lure of the cults.

[kk897]

16. "anyone can get involved"

That's true... I'm an agnostic, always have been, but am also a person who always wants to find the "truth" (if it can be found) and explain the unexplained and solve those unsolved mysteries. Hence, immediately after 9/11, I went searching the web to find answers, even if they were somewhat spiritual in nature. I ended up finding a group that organized through email... well, let's just say that I got entangled with a group that was about to become a cult, but luckily I came to my senses before it was too late. If I'd been just *this* much more credulous and accepting of authority, I'd probably be living in France right now, a house servant (or "student" depending upon the point of view) to the primary personality of this almost-cult or cult. And I'm, like, the *last* person you'd expect to have gotten involved with them.

[mopaul]

17. i too was involved with cults

if the methodist church can be considered one, and the hari krishnas certainly can be. i didn't shave my head and wear an orange robe, but i was headed that way before i snapped out of it. it's very spooky, and i felt really stupid afterwords.

the term 'what the hell was i thinking' comes to mind. but i believe that wanting to join groups is part of our nature, perhaps from caveman days when it made sense to join a tribe just to live.