Are you part of a cult?

A cult following is a nice way of saying very few people like youMartin Mull

january 1977 photo by NANCY WONG
REVEREND JIM JONES

Jim Jones, Marshall Applewhite, David Koresh, Charles Manson, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh…

Do you remember these people? What did they have in common? They were cult leaders whose devotees remained supportive and defiant until the bitter end…

What goes up, must go down. Isaac Newton said so about 300 years ago and his postulate still stands today. Very few people (besides astronauts) manage to stay aloft after they have reached their apogee. It is a law of physics…

Cult leaders always appreciate loyalty, but is this quality always commendable? When reflecting on this subject, the first question which comes to mind is: what motivates this sentiment?
Admiration? Affection? Very often though, loyalty is closely associated with personal gains. If you hang tightly to your leader’s coattail, you expect to be rewarded.
This does not mean that you “love” your guru… it simply means that you follow the dangling carrot.

Who are the followers? Tentative people incapable of deciding for themselves which way to go. They are remoras. After some search, they attach themselves to a larger fish and feed through it. It is much easier and more rewarding than following a solitary path.

But cult leaders are mercurial. They fancy and discard courtesans like the kings of lore. One day a person is praised, the next he is shown (often by mail or a third party) the door. A courtesan is like a Kleenex; useful one moment, disposable the next.

Loyalty is demanded by cult leaders, but they never feel bound by the same oath. Loyalty is a leadership’s prerogative. Leaders crave approval, adoration, but they are unable to reciprocate. This situation is like a bad marriage; it depends on how much abuse a spouse is willing to take, and how financially damaging a divorce would be.

Sticking with a cult leader is always a gamble. If he falls, you will fall with him but if he perdures, you will undoubtedly reap some benefits. But for some people (called moderates) a backdoor is always ready in case the ship of state starts to flounder

Ultimately, self-interest (not moral fiber) will dictate what one will do in critical decisions like Impeachment. Few Republicans will risk their career to vote their conscience.

True reckoning will take place on November 3, 2020.

Alain