Hello friends and family! I equate online classes to having to create extended sub plans, with
video lessons. This would be more manageable if I didn't have 4
different preps...but this is just one of the joys of working in a small
school. It has been about month since we took school online and I am feeling unable to concentrate. SO, naturally, I've found myself with a lot of time to procrastinate and think about non-important things. :-)
Let's get to the point.
The title for this post may be misleading, but I woke up a few days ago and was unreasonable interested in cults and cult leaders. I am not even sure how it started, but I somehow ended up looking into Jim Jones and later the Rajnesh. I found it weird that people would be so easily swayed to follow a god-like figure and be so enamored the thought of murder/suicide would be nothing more than an act of obedience. On the outside looking in, I was shook by the absurd level of hero worship these leaders demanded from followers. These followers, once baptized into their new faith, gave everything--money, skills, mind, body, and soul--to the cause.
Watching these various documentaries, I not only realized how easily a person could be convinced to join cults like the ones above, but I also noticed some similarities between the groups that I feel are universal lessons about human nature:
1. We are all seeking a place to belong. I've talked before about my own struggles with finding community and fitting in. It is my unrelenting belief that all of us are looking for inclusivity. I don't believe any of us are finding that. There could be a million reasons: the fact that we are so afraid to be real with each other, intimacy in friendships is difficult to cultivate; the fact that those in the lower realms of society are often treated as less than human, therefore they want to reclaim some of that missing dignity; the fact that we are constantly competing for limited resources or positions, so we isolate ourselves so that we are not taken advantage of; the fact that we are too self centered, and don't consider how we can be a blessing to someone who needs our special whatever it is...also, I feel social media corrupts our perception of what is real, so we spend so much time pursuing "ideals" and falsehoods that we may not even know how to be real...but that's another conversation. Whatever the reason, we have a lot of lonely people trying to fill that void with other things (work, materialism, drugs, ect.). It's no surprise that when a group comes around offering total acceptance and inclusion as well as a means to take care of all your physical needs, thousands flock towards it.
2. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Both of these organizations, on the surface, began with policies that encouraged everyone to break down societal barriers and come together, in love, to change the world. It was radical, but inspiring. Of course, each group was led by a lunatic...or a team of lunatics. In my heart of hearts, I wish we could all live in a racially inclusive commune where capitalism wasn't a thing. We would all work together for the common good and live, essentially, as a family. I believe this is what Heaven will be like. I also understand that at our most basic, humans are deeply flawed. No matter how good our intentions, the fact is absolute power corrupts absolutely and even the strongest character would struggle with that sort of following. To give one person the status of god and put them on a pedal stool, is dangerous, and from my perspective, lead to the ultimate chaos of both groups.
3. We are designed to worship something. Whether we are worshiping ourselves, our families, our money, our jobs, or Jim Jones, we are worshiping something. Something in everyone's life consumes their thoughts, their time, whatever. It is not surprising that hundreds of individuals were willing to give everything to follow charismatic leaders who spoke to some aspect of them.
Let me say that I am NOT joining a cult, but I can see why many people do.
Stay gold. Ayeshah
Let's get to the point.
The title for this post may be misleading, but I woke up a few days ago and was unreasonable interested in cults and cult leaders. I am not even sure how it started, but I somehow ended up looking into Jim Jones and later the Rajnesh. I found it weird that people would be so easily swayed to follow a god-like figure and be so enamored the thought of murder/suicide would be nothing more than an act of obedience. On the outside looking in, I was shook by the absurd level of hero worship these leaders demanded from followers. These followers, once baptized into their new faith, gave everything--money, skills, mind, body, and soul--to the cause.
Watching these various documentaries, I not only realized how easily a person could be convinced to join cults like the ones above, but I also noticed some similarities between the groups that I feel are universal lessons about human nature:
1. We are all seeking a place to belong. I've talked before about my own struggles with finding community and fitting in. It is my unrelenting belief that all of us are looking for inclusivity. I don't believe any of us are finding that. There could be a million reasons: the fact that we are so afraid to be real with each other, intimacy in friendships is difficult to cultivate; the fact that those in the lower realms of society are often treated as less than human, therefore they want to reclaim some of that missing dignity; the fact that we are constantly competing for limited resources or positions, so we isolate ourselves so that we are not taken advantage of; the fact that we are too self centered, and don't consider how we can be a blessing to someone who needs our special whatever it is...also, I feel social media corrupts our perception of what is real, so we spend so much time pursuing "ideals" and falsehoods that we may not even know how to be real...but that's another conversation. Whatever the reason, we have a lot of lonely people trying to fill that void with other things (work, materialism, drugs, ect.). It's no surprise that when a group comes around offering total acceptance and inclusion as well as a means to take care of all your physical needs, thousands flock towards it.
2. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Both of these organizations, on the surface, began with policies that encouraged everyone to break down societal barriers and come together, in love, to change the world. It was radical, but inspiring. Of course, each group was led by a lunatic...or a team of lunatics. In my heart of hearts, I wish we could all live in a racially inclusive commune where capitalism wasn't a thing. We would all work together for the common good and live, essentially, as a family. I believe this is what Heaven will be like. I also understand that at our most basic, humans are deeply flawed. No matter how good our intentions, the fact is absolute power corrupts absolutely and even the strongest character would struggle with that sort of following. To give one person the status of god and put them on a pedal stool, is dangerous, and from my perspective, lead to the ultimate chaos of both groups.
3. We are designed to worship something. Whether we are worshiping ourselves, our families, our money, our jobs, or Jim Jones, we are worshiping something. Something in everyone's life consumes their thoughts, their time, whatever. It is not surprising that hundreds of individuals were willing to give everything to follow charismatic leaders who spoke to some aspect of them.
Let me say that I am NOT joining a cult, but I can see why many people do.
Stay gold. Ayeshah
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