The Debris Fields of the Conservative Personality Cult, Lives In Ruin
By Norman Franklin
Norman Franklin
The thing about cults is that they have a mesmerizing effect on those who follow their leaders and believe in the ideology they espouse. There is a blind devotion that dismisses facts and data that reveal the truth.
Two tragic examples of cult mania with fatal endings come to mind. The Jonestown massacre in 1978, and the Branch Davidian tragedy of February 1993. Adherents of both cults ignored signs, rationalized abnormalities, and normalized the irrationality of their leaders and the doctrines they espoused.
Two tragic examples of cult mania with fatal endings come to mind. The Jonestown massacre in 1978, and the Branch Davidian tragedy of February 1993. Adherents of both cults ignored signs, rationalized abnormalities, and normalized the irrationality of their leaders and the doctrines they espoused.
There are cults of religion and there are cults of patriotism, cults of politics, and cults of celebrity personalities. America is captured by the cult of celebrity personalities. It permeates our national culture and gathers under its pernicious shadow our religions, our patriotism and our political practices.
The boundaries of religion (not our faith), the boundaries of patriotism and politics have been encroached; the fervent, spurious zeal of the culture of extremism has fused them into Christian Nationalism. A cult of celebrity personalities promotes it; the broken lives of many adherents lie in shambles in the debris field.
The 2020 Presidential election was a seminal event; it brought cult adherents scrambling to reconcile with the results, their conclusion: it was stolen, there was widespread election fraud. Election denial became the mantra of the cult. Insurrection erupted, and defamation of the character and integrity of individual election workers, polling equipment and the election process were challenged.
Those who chose to validate the cult have lost millions in legal defense cost, liable judgments and punitive damages.
Mike Lindell, founder and CEO of MY Pillow, invested millions crisscrossing the country to speak at rallies. His purpose: convince voters that their choice was taken from them. He’s broke now, his wealth depleted promoting a lie. Rudy Giuliani, mayor of New York during the 911 terrorist attack, sacrificed his honor when he picked up the mantle as President Trump’s personal attorney. In the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, he continued to push the lie of election fraud. A judgment of $148 million handed down in a liable suit brought on by two Georgia poll workers. His lies and defamation of their character disrupted their lives and destroyed their peace.
The cult fever peaked on January 6, 2021. A mob attacked the Capital to prevent the certifying of the Electors. This is the normal peaceful transition of power. Elected officials, active military personnel, law enforcement officers, and common fanatics breached the barriers and entered the Capitol Rotunda and congressional offices. Hundreds have been convicted of criminal conduct, heavy fines were levied on some, others are serving prison time.
Paul Ryan, former Republican Speaker of the House, surmised that the January 6 attempted coup, incited by the President, offered Republican the opportunity to disentangle the party from the ‘populist authoritarian narcissist’ leader.
They took a calculated risk approach. “They thought he was dead. They thought after Jan. 6, he wasn’t going to have a comeback, he was dead,” Ryan said. They calculated that America’s outrage would deliver the ax, preferring not to take the heat from his base of supported. They miscalculated.
It was reported in August of this year that there is a contingent of conservatives who plan to replace the current system of government with Trump’s vision of authoritarian rule. Listen to the campaign rhetoric of GOP candidates Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy. They iterate the Project 2025 proposals.