The word “cult” gets tossed around a lot. Many people who call certain ideologies a cult rarely define what they mean and simply make pronouncements as if they are true. Arguments without evidence are not arguments and certainly not proof, they are merely accusations. But are you in a cult? How do you know if you are?
George Orwell said that “the greatest enemy of clear language is insincerity.” Talking about something without defining that something first is a mark of insincerity. If one is going to talk about cults one must have a definition first. I would define a cult as, “blind obedience to a perceived authority figure to the point of self-immolation.” Perhaps one can adjust the definition by putting the “self” is parenthesis and making it “blind obedience to a perceived authority figure to the point of causing physical harm to oneself or others.” What this means is very clear: Are you willing to cause pain to someone because someone else told you so? You’re only defense is not rooted in reason or principles but because the authority figure told you to do it. Nazism for instance is certainly a cult. The Nazis were blindly obedient. They were willing (and did) murder millions of people. They did so due to a charismatic leader who himself did not deny the power of propaganda in getting other people to do your bidding. After the Nazi’s lost, Joseph Goebbels killed himself, his wife and his six children. Why was he willing to kill off his entire offspring? They could not be punished for anything as many of them were young and harmed no one. The reason is because Joseph Goebbels was such a devout Nazi that a world without Nazism is a world not worth living and he was willing to exterminate not just himself but his entire seed for Nazism. If killing millions of innocent people, yourself, your loved ones, and your entire future progeny does not fit the definition of a cult, I don’t know what does.
Nazism had all the signs of cult like behavior. Blind obedience, a leader with a nickname they all referred to (“Der Fuhrer”—which means “the leader”). They wore the same costumes. Cult-like behavior must be uniform. Any independent thought and actions that is not approved by the leader (or others in command approved by the leaders) is stamped out. Not only must all people think and act the same, they must dress the same as well. Ideally, an effective cult must engage in dehumanization and removing people’s names is a more effective strategy. Giving people a number and removing their own humanity is a way to do it. While on the subject of Nazis, it’s obvious why the Jews were given a number on their arm—to remove their identity. The same reason why in prison people are given a number. Removing their humanity makes it easier to kill them.
In order for a group to be a cult it must be applicable to all cults. Because someone acts in similar ways to a cult does not make that person the member of a cult for instance. As someone who’s name I can’t recall remarked, “Just because someone says to leave an abusive relationship does not a cult make, otherwise, rape-hotlines and homes for battered women would be considered a cult.” In order to be a cult it must have the aggregate of cult behavior.
All cults must have a leader, for if a cult is blind obedience to authority, without the authority figure there can be no blind obedience. If one accuses you of being in a cult, ask “Who is my leader?” If they can’t answer that question then you know you are dealing with a person who just likes to name-call.
Is government a cult? Let’s see. Is there a leader (or leaders) people are blindly obedient to? Yes, each country has a leader; in the United States the President and the Supreme Court are the leader (the President is even described as “the leader of the free world”). Do the members of the cult have uniforms which they wear in order to identify the cult in which they belong to? Yep, police wear uniforms, military personnel wear uniforms. Do government engage in emotion and fear in order to win converts? Yes, all government use symbols, such as flags, which are designed not as an argument but an emotional propagandistic device. When someone says, “My father died for that flag” that is a confession that his father was in a cult. His father was willing to die for a symbol. Do they pledge alliance to the cult and have songs praising their devotion in a physical gesture all recognize? Yes, all governments have a “National Anthem,” where the people not just all sing the same song but are all in the same physical pose when doing it. They all stand up, put their hand over their heart (in order to cover up their true feelings) and sing the song. In fact, one who sings the song but fails to put his hand over his heart is a “bad American,” as Obama was criticized by some for not putting his hand over his heart during the National Anthem. Are the people in government willing to harm themselves and others in order to pay tribute to the organization in which they subscribe to? Yes, people who join the military are willing to both kill themselves and others for their country. Do the people who believe in the cult justify their acts not based on reasons but because the cult leader told them to? Yes, people justify imprisonment, death and even torture because “it’s the law.” The law is not a reason, the law is not a principle, the law is an appeal to authority. Even things people think shouldn’t be a crime, the cult members are willing to enforce or defend. Just recently many Republicans justified the killing of Eric Garner for the crime of defying their glorious leader or as they euphemized it, “resisting arrest.” He was resisting arrest for selling untaxed cigarettes, which is a “crime” the very people who defending his killer don’t support; they view these laws as part of the Nanny State which they say they oppose, but once imposed they won’t oppose it.
Are those who go against the government considered traitors? Yes, people who leave the cult are considered traitors to their dear leader. Are those who defend the the state, view those who oppose their cult as less than and a person who should be pitied for not “seeing the light?” Yes, those who oppose the state are seen as selfish—and not in the literal term which means have a sense of self, as opposed to selfish’s bastard cousin selfless which literally means lacking a self and having no individual identity—for not wanting to be a part of the cult. They consider those who aren’t part of their cult as anti-social even though it’s them who believe in using violence in order to achieve their goals.
Are anarchists part of a cult? Well do we have uniforms? Is there a cult-leader whose will we enforce to the point of violence? Are we justifying our actions not based on ethics, reasons and evidence but because “Ayn Rand said so?” Are we willing to commit violence against ourselves or others in the cult we supposedly belong to? Do we have symbols which we use to emotionally manipulate people with? Do our arguments consist of fear mongering and emotional manipulation by preying on people’s fear and empathy in order to get converts? Do we have chants and songs we mindlessly recite at certain events in order to pay tribute to the cult? The answer to the above all is no, which is why we are not a cult. That’s right, we are not a cult. Now repeat after me, “We are not a cult.”