Topic: Political Literature
Ron Paul, Rev. Jim Jones, Kool-Aid, And The Cult Of Personality We humans have a built-in predisposition to be foolishly enamored by others...by Scott from Oregon
(Libertarian)
Monday, May 12, 2008
A few years ago, I did a job in Redwood Valley, a sleepy little community outside of Ukiah, California, where smallish, rural housing and oak strewn hills and finger-valleys made for some quiet and peaceful living. To and from the lumberyard I would drive, passing a diminutive church with an austere cross right off the side of a no-longer-arterial two-lane highway. At every passing, I would wonder just how was it that people got so wrapped up in the proclamations and promises of just another man? From Jesus to Jim Jones to all of the others our world seems peopled with, I simply could not assemble the desire inside myself to give myself over to another's charisma, no matter how eloquent and persuasive their orations were.
They're just words, folks. Words shaped into forms that make up ideas. Words only, and yet, those words and the magnetic quality of the person speaking them, have led people down some odd and perilous paths. Jim Jones evolved into mass Kool-Aid suicide. The words of Jesus have led to Ted Haggart-type mega-churches where charlatans like Falwell, Robertson, Baker et al... have all benefited immensely from the seemingly innate desire we humans have for personality worship. Great promises of a future salvation are spoken with great force and conviction, and the money and support just roll right in.
What is it, then, that creates this need for fawning adoration? (I suppose I'd have to have the fawning gene to know what that kind of fawning felt like.)
I just find it odd.
According to Wikipedia, Jim Jones was once a darling of west coast politicians. In the spiritually discombobulating late sixties and seventies, Jim Jones was the apparent equivalent for west coast liberal politicians as Billy Graham was for Washington. To read some of the adulating quotes from west coast notables of the era, is to cringe at the gullability and hoodwink-ability of not only your average Joe, but people in power. Jim Jones had a following because he spoke well, with conviction, making promises that were simply not his to make, and humans, inexplicably, collected around him and let worship overshadow their own good senses.
I mention all of this because I see the same phenomenon going on in this season's election race. Who can deny that Barack Obama is a persuasive and magnetic guy? Who can deny that the Clinton name and legacy is driving the sign waving and "We love you Hillary!" shouting at her rallies? Who can deny that even Ron Paul, the reluctant candidate with the "it's the message" message, is not buoyed by those afflicted with the same cult of personality disorder that sustains the others? What is it about people that makes us all go so bonkers over the words and convictions of another?
It scares me.
It scares me because history is crammed full of instances where the adulation of another leads to mass death and destruction.
Jim Jones was the first lemming over the cliff followed by nine hundred others. Hirohito was held to be a diety, and this led Japanese society down a megamaniacal and brutal misadventure. Hitler and Stalin were two men who spoke well and created their own cults to do their evil biddings. Then there was Mao, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge...
You get the picture.
Common to all is the certainty with which those who are cult members make their declarations. Jesus IS the son of god. Barack Obama WILL change America and make it better. Ron Paul WILL make a great president. Ted Haggart IS a righteous and pious man...
It's enough to make me want to drink that Kool-Aid.
Sigh...
Did you like this article? If you did, Thumb It! 8 thumbs so far
2008 Scott from Oregon, all rights reserved.
Published: Monday, May 12, 2008
Last modified: Monday, May 12, 2008
The views expressed in this
article are those of Scott from Oregon only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Scott from Oregon is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
I have a loyalty to Ron Paul's campaign that isn't easily shiftable to another candidate, not because I drank any cultist koolaid, but because no one else has his record. Or anything near it. If I am wrong, PLEASE direct me to that person's campaign.
Bob Barr is running and the press is assuming he'll get the Ron Paul following. I'm sure he'll get some, but if I end up voting for Barr, it won't be with the enthusiasm I have for someone who NEVER voted for the Patriot Act and NEVER voted for the Iraq war, and stands up against Constitutional infringements regularly.
20/20 hindsight is easy, and ubiquitous. Forsight and consistency are rare. If only it were as easy as 'koolaid'
Your Ron Paul example is a bit far-fetched. Although there probably are some who are in love with Paul, I think that the majority have a serious crush on his ideas. Once you really start thinking about true individual freedom...and all that that implies ;) and believing that it could one day be a reality, it's pretty intoxicating.
Posted By: Lloyd Kempson (Reasonable Ron Paul supporter. I ga
Date: 2008-05-12 15:45:20
John McCain supporters don't raid online polls and straw polls trying to pump up thier candidate like Paul supporters. The more passionate about Ron Paul that a person is, the more likely they are to look past his obvious flaws. Penn Jillette, Reason Magazine, and Neal Boortz all talked about this, and his most diligent supporters cryed the loadest. Ron Paul definitly has an irrational personality cult.
is the man who should have his finger on "the button"?
Ron Paul's supporters are enthusiastic because for the first time they have a candidate who believes in freedom and the constitution. They didn't raid any polls. They were interested enough in the debates to tune in and listen and they were motivated enough to vote in online polls, and Fox News' text message polls.
Posted By: charles ranalli
Date: 2008-05-12 21:11:35
dear Scott from oregon
if you can put Jesus Ron Paul Jim Jones and Pol Pot in the same bag then i really can't put into polite words what i think of your ability to think reason and discern.
Just words? The Constitution is not "just words." You just don't get it, do you?
Ron Paul has ever-growing scores of loyal, admiring and devoted supporters because he is the first sincere politician we've seen in decades with principles and morals that speaks only the truth, does not desire any personal gain or glory, and has an impeccable voting record to back up his beliefs in the Constitution and all it stands for.
Lumping him in the same basket as a drugged, narcissistic raving lunatic like Jim Jones and shallow government puppets spouting empty rhetoric for personal gain like Obama and Clinton just makes you look like you don't think before you speak.
"Just words and no actual thinking involved" is all your blog is.
Posted By: Scott from Oregon
Date: 2008-05-13 11:39:30
"I have a loyalty to Ron Paul's campaign that isn't easily shiftable to another candidate, not because I drank any cultist koolaid, but because no one else has his record."
Yes. You are in it for the ideas of the man. Me too. That is as it should be.
"Your Ron Paul example is a bit far-fetched."
Not really. Some people have given themselves over to the idea that he NEEDS to be president, rather than that his ideas NEED to be dispersed all throughout government and the populace. These people are frightening representations, in my opinion.
"if you can put Jesus Ron Paul Jim Jones and Pol Pot in the same bag then i really can't put into polite words what i think of your ability to think reason and discern. "
Ummm, I can put an orange and a sandwich and a box of crackers and a soda in the same bag and call it lunch, too.It doesn't mean I am saying they are all exactly alike, just that they all have cult of personality worship in common...
"Just words? The Constitution is not "just words." You just don't get it, do you? "
Ummm, I believe my next sentence verified and explained that I do, indeed, get it. If you worship Jefferson and make him a god-figure, you areweird. If you think the COnstitution is a great document and is worthy of great praise, then you are not worshiping a personality, are you? Methinks you maynot "get it"...
Nonsense! One of the most difficult to defend criticisms of Dr. Paul is that he lacks charisma.
Patrick Henry said, " ... give me liberty or give me death." He was a man fiercely dedicated to the concept of liberty, not hero worship. The current anti-statist movement is about political philosophy and freedom, not Ron Paul the man - though he is greatly to be admired for his courage and stamina. People will commit extreme actions on the basis of belief alone ... cult leader not required.
Posted By: Mike G in Corvallis
Date: 2008-05-16 13:00:38
My wife had the TV on this morning, and a political ad for an Oregon Democrat candidate came on. (I didn't note the name.) They flashed an unattractive black-and-white photo of his opponent on the screen, and informed viewers, in big block letters, that this awful Republican should not be elected because he INSULTED BARACK OBAMA. (No explanation, of course. To charge is to convict.)
I've got a bad feeling about all this. If Obama gets in, I wouldn't be surprised if the government and the media (same thing?) built up a cult of personality around him worthy of Comrade Stalin or Chairman Mao.
Want to comment on this
article? Leave your comment here. Your email address is
required to track your comment. However, we will neither
publish your email address nor distribute it to other
organizations or persons. The only reason we might use
it would be if we needed to contact you regarding your
comment. All comments are subject to our
terms of use policy.
2008 Scott from Oregon, all rights reserved.