I try to keep away from politics but I’m broaching this topic simply because I understand cults. From the ages of 10-16, I was the child victim of a cult. I studied cults in grad school. I feel confident enough to say that MAGA is not a cult.
As a kid, I was made into a slave laborer. I was forced to work 10-12 hours a day while my parents and other adults stood by and let it happen. Why? Because they all believed in the primary goal of the cult: to build a paradise and become the superior group on Earth. We were God’s chosen and would help save the world when armageddon arrived.
Sound familiar? Make America Great Again! America will rise up to be as good as… hmm? Well, it’s rather subjective isn’t it? MAGA may share a lot of similarities with cults, but it’s not a cult. It’s worse.
Cults are smaller, more isolated, and usually develop around some kind or religious sect. They are often communal. Yes, blind faith to a megalomaniacal, egotistical, authoritarian leader is a common trait and those most loyal get better treatment. Sound familiar? But MAGA is not a cult.
MAGA is a mass movement. It’s not isolated. It’s not relatively small. It’s not communal. It’s much more dangerous than a cult. Because MAGA is a mentality that could lead America down a path similar to Hitler’s Germany. Cults don’t do that. Cults usually last 10-20 years and either fall apart or end in death and disaster. A mass movement can be temporary or lead to longterm and sweeping change.
Here’s a lyric I recently wrote about the topic. I still need to put it to music.
It’s Not a Cult
When I was a boy my parents joined a cult
And I was put to work like a slave
It lasted seven years and it drove me to tears
But there’s something more insidious going on these days
It’s not a cult
It’s so much worse
It’s a fascist nationalist tyrannical curse
It’s not a cult
You MAGA dick
It’s a racist sexist supremacist dirty trick
A cult is isolated and there’s often much less hate
They build their little compound in the woods
But this is nationwide due to your foolish pride
Our own military is going into our own neighborhoods
It’s not a cult
It’s so much worse
It’s a fascist nationalist tyrannical curse
It’s not a cult
You MAGA dick
It’s a racist sexist supremacist dirty trick
So when people say you’re in a cult don’t believe them
And then you can feel good about yourself
But know this my unfriend you’ll be sorry in the end
For putting your morality up on a shelf
Cuz if there’s a God like in the Bible you believe in
You’ll surely go to hell
It’s not a cult
It’s so much worse
It’s a fascist nationalist tyrannical curse
It’s not a cult
You MAGA dick
It’s a racist sexist supremacist dirty trick
It’s not a cult
It’s so much worse
It’s a fascist nationalist tyrannical curse
It’s not a cult
You MAGA dick
It’s a racist sexist supremacist dirty trick
Learn more about my history in a cult.
If you want to learn more about my experience in a cult, I wrote a book about it. A Train Called Forgiveness is a story about a 20-something-year-old man who is trying to come to terms with his childhood in an abusive religious cult. Check it out at Amazon. – dse
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