'Conservatism' now hijacked by political cult - Mississippi writer

[RamboLiberal]

I thought this one too good to waste on editorial board.

I am concerned about conservatism. Something is askew with America's right wing. A once venerable institution of morally-guided rational thinkers has been hijacked by a mob of morally-misguided religious extremists. The results are beginning to look less like a political movement and more like a religious-political cult. Is conservatism evolving into a cult? The similarities between conservative psychology and cult psychology are quite remarkable.

Conservatives have created a vast network of private schools for their children, staffed with avowed conservative teachers and administrators, where children can be isolated from society and taught to conform to the conservative groupthink. Branch Davidians did the same thing. So did the Jim Jones cult. Indoctrination into a cult's values must begin at the earliest possible age.

Indoctrination under way

It is important for any successful cult to keep its members isolated, to prevent their exposure to ideas and opinions that contradict the cult's teachings. This attribute of cults is well established among conservatives. The leaders have told the followers that the traditional media cannot be trusted; they are too "liberal" — and the only sources to be trusted are media outlets staffed exclusively by "cult" members and owned and operated by "cult" leaders.

Creating a mindless follower requires many hours of indoctrination daily. Among conservative adults, we find this cult function disguised under the name "talk radio." Grown men and women across this country will spend hours every day listening to some partisan mouthpiece telling them what the news is, how to interpret it, what to be angry about, who to blame for their problems and who to vote for. In the language of cults, such a process of ritual daily indoctrination is called brainwashing.

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050120/OPINION/501200326&SearchID=73196743303645

[gumby]

1. This is exactly why you can't have a conversation

with conservatives. They have their own language and their own tilted 'world view.' They staunchly resist rational thought as a testament to their religious/political purity.

Rush Limbaugh is a perfect example of how the neo-cons have fused fundamentalism with fascism. I'm sure Limbaugh doesn't give a snit about religious fundamentalism, however he certainly knows how to exploit them for his own political purposes.

[ladjf]

6. It is a total waste of time and energy to try to "reach" the

zombie conservative cultist. America's only hope is to try to shield
those who have not, as yet, been converted. That's no easy task.

In the end, our only hope might be the laws of Nature, which aren't kind to individuals who shun realism. But, Nature usually works slowly, too long for most of us to wait.

[Southsideirish]

2. Excellent article - thanks for posting!

[MissMarple]

3. Good points. A religious-political cult that relies on brainwashing.

That sounds like the Republican Party of today, brainwashed by the orchestrated right and its media sound machine.

[lutherj]

4. Seems to me that's the essence of fascism. A political cult that takes

over the popular culture. Not only is this one a cult, it's a doomsday cult, just like the Branch Davidians or Jim Jones or the UFO cult in LA. But Armageddonism wants to take the rest of the world with it.

[txaslftist]

5. Excellent point. That's why we call 'em bushbots

[RaleighNCDUer]

7. I remember having the same problems talking to Moonies back

in the '70s.

It's as if the Moonies have taken over the right wing, and controls their media.

Oh. Right. Never mind.