What Is A Cult? Part 2.

So I've been flitting from page to page, perusing the results of Googling for what makes a cult a cult. Googling is like bobbing for apples. Well, it makes the same sound, anyway. It's channel flipping for the internet generation. I'll be taking bits from here and there.

The One True Way. Evidently, one of the marks of a cult is that their way is the only way. Strangely enough, both political parties seem to espouse this. Is the Democratic Party a cult? I've also seen this in schools. Ever have a math teacher tell you not to use the method your big brother taught you? Some teachers say that you should think for yourself, but they all seem to grade higher if you agree with the teacher. The school system is a cult!

When you go to a self-help seminar, they often tell you that their way is the only way, or the best way. What else would they tell you? That The Foo System is better than their system? What kind of marketing strategy is that? If this was a major criterion, then every advertiser on television could be accused of running a cult!

Accepted But Not Understood. Another mark of a cult is that you need only to accept their doctrine, you don't have to understand it. This again sounds like a political compaign. They want you to take their word for it that they have the answers, but they won't be specific about what the answer is. I've always been a curious guy. I don't know how many times I've asked a question and my teacher would say, "Just take my word for it." What a cop-out. TV ads seem to qualify again. "We're better!" Just don't ask better than who, or how it's better.

Seems likely to me that self-improvement courses would use this line, too. After all, you don't need to know how your car engine works in order to drive it. In matters of the mind, nobody seems to know exactly how all of its mechanisms operate, but we can observe what works and what doesn't, and help others to get the most out of their life by sticking to what works... even if we don't know why it works. (Why buy flowers for a woman when they'll be dead a month later? You can't even eat them! Don't ask why, just do it. It works.)

Living a Double Life Is Common. This seems to be a consequence of the cult insisting theirs is the only way. It's like being on a diet. They may say you have to obey their rules at all times, but you can't live your life like that. There comes a time when you just have to have some ice cream. So when that jones hits you, you sneak out and get your groove on. Funny... a lot of diets seem to be like a cult. "Don't ask why these crazy rules will help you lose weight, just trust us."

Leaders Brush Off the Questions They Don't Have the Answers To. I don't think this is juat a mark of cults. This is universal. My parents did this. In fact... my parents have done all of these things. My family was a cult!

A Feeling of Superiority. This is a mark of a cult? Every group feels this. Why would you belong to a group that claimed to be inferior to others? On the other hand, players still belong to the Red Sox.

Members Shun Ex-Members. You gotta do this. If someone leaves the group, you don't want to hang out with that loser. The presence of ex-members makes you question your own beliefs. Can't have that. Uh-uh. How many spouses want their ex to hang around? Not many that I know of.


I may revisit this topic, but in looking at the various web pages about cults, they all seem to indicate that any group is a cult, unless they eschew all those things that even the greenest marketing dude would know. For a group to survive and be successful, they need to acquire and retain members. For a self-improvement group, the way to improve a person is to change their behavior, teach them new skills, show them what they're doing wrong... all those things that a cult would do as well. Hard to know the difference.

For now, I just want to say that this blog is the one to read. It's better than those other blogs. No need to say how or why, you can just see that it is. :)


Blog Tag: Opinion