When I look at the various political leaders, media outlets, and certainly the followers of the Republican Party, the first thing I think about is a cult community, and how difficult it is for me to differentiate between them. Months before Homeland Security issued its report on right-wing extremism, I tried to find the differences between being a Republican and a right-wing extremist and I could not find any differences. Sadly, the Homeland Security Report was more like a confirmation for me that they were one and the same. To me, the Republican Party looks and feels like a cult.
At this point, the only difference that I see between the Jim Jones cult and that of the Republican Party/Right-Wing Extremists is that Jim Jones acted alone in his manipulation, deception and brainwashing of his cult followers. It is a horrifying thought to know that a flock of people allowed themselves to be brainwashed by one man, even when he had proven himself to be a deceiver, thief, adulterer, drug addict, alcoholic and pedophile. One man! Even more horrifying than that is the fact that the Republican Party/Right-Wing Extremist followers are under the same cult-like daze and spell of not one man, but in multiplication being aided and abetted by the Internet, false direct mail, false direct advertising, untruthful mainstream media, false press conferences, hate groups, KKK, white supremacists, NRA, Bachmann, Malkin, O’Reilly, Dobbs, Hannity, Limbaugh, corporate America and tragically, political leaders of our Country. This lethal combination puts the Republican "cult members" (and the rest of us) at far greater risk than Jim Jones’ followers could have ever experienced. Just one sip of any of the facilitating poisons issued by one of these groups or individuals (let alone collectively) can and will mame, hurt or kill. The similarities between the Jim Jones cult followers and the Republican Party/Right-Wing Extremists followers are uncanny. Many of the Jim Jones followers, despite the fact that they all had been taught sound Scripture, had attended church for many years, were Biblically aware and had their Bibles with them as a matter of course, knew the difference between right and wrong, had strong family ties and community attachments still allowed one man to talk them into doing all manner of things that they knew was not only contrary to what he had taught them before by their own leader, but contrary to their own personal beliefs and experiences through the constant massaging of their minds. Despite their knowledge and understanding, they succumbed and allowed Jim Jones total power and influence over their minds, bodies and souls, thereby paving the way for him to rob them of all of their money, to sleep with their children, to separate their families and rob the husband and wife relationships. All of the red flags were there. Even Jim Jones’ own son saw the red flags, but did not act on the obvious until it was too late and he had lost everything. When I look at the Republican Party today, I don’t see a sound political party at all. In fact, I don’t see anything that has to do with politics or advancing our Country as a viable and competitive worldwide force to be reckoned with. I only see and hear the viability of the formation of a cult. When someone says to you that they are a Republican because that is just what they have always been, with no foresight or interest in learning or knowing about the issues that will affect all of us, including them, it makes me realize that for the sake of being associated with a particular party or cause, they will latch on to anything. Therein lies the danger. When a person responds in an auto-pilot way of thinking and does not even consider engaging in dialogue about a particular issue or exchanging ideas, but just clings to the fact that they are a Republican because that’s what they’ve always been, it is the perfect set-up for the formation of a cult-like mentality. The perfect example of this mentality is the Republican followers' refusal to stop, think and listen to the questions, issues and answers as it relates to healthcare. The woman who wanted to make sure the government stayed out of her Medicare exemplifies someone who is so brainwashed in all things Republican and Right-Wing, and its resulting isolation, that she didn’t even know or equate her Medicare as being government-sponsored. For years she and others in her cult have had the luxury of taking advantage of the government-sponsored Medicare program. But for reasons that are not even known to her, while her cult members cheered her on, she foolishly ranted and raved over something that did not make any sense. In other words, it’s okay for her to have a government-sponsored healthcare system, but not 47,000,000 women, men and children to have health care, also. It defies logic. Even if one of the cult members knew the truth, they would damned if they told it. But you cannot be logical with someone who has been brainwashed. At least not until they have been deprogrammed. Oftentimes, that deprogramming comes too late. Some of the similarities that I see between Republican Party/Right-Wing Extremists and the Jim Jones (and other cults) are as follows: 1. Unwavering loyalty to a party or cause that goes unchallenged and unchecked to a fault and to one’s own disadvantage; 2. Refusal to listen or consult others re their opinions and ideas; 3. Willingness to soak in propaganda, despite the fact that their beliefs have been proven false or debunked and makes no sense to anyone else but them; 4. Robot-like behavior when called upon to act, without consideration of consequences or other Americans; 5. Robotic responses to questions, regardless of whether the answers make sense or not; 6. Dislike or hatred of anyone outside of the cult (the Palin rallies); 7. Isolation from others because of belief system; 8. Everyone else is wrong and the cult is right; 9. Willingness to give up one’s family and friends for the sake of the party or the cause; 10. The call to action: a. Jim Jones orders a "state of emergency" when he was being investigated for abuses within the congregation, which was a call to action on behalf of the cult members resulting in the poisoning deaths of 912 persons (for the Republican Party/Right-Wing Extremists, this state of emergency or call to action is synonymous with violence and guns). b. The Republican Party/Right-Wing Extremists have been directly and subliminally ordered by Beck, Bachmann and Malkin, the sponsors of the healthcare reform oppositionists, the RNC and political leaders to disrupt and disarm Americans at townhall meetings who have a right to hear what the leaders of our Country have to say about healthcare reform calls for a revolution and use of force) 11. Disbelief in the truth, even when it is revealed to them and shown in black and white (the birth certificate versus the birthers) It wasn’t until this past year and a half that I was forced to see clearly how both Jim Jones, Adolf Hitler and others were able to immobilize an entire people towards a definitive end. The constant propaganda, the lies, praying on fears and anxieties, the not-so-subtle hints of wanting a pure race and society, extreme hatred that is constantly being fed by O’Reilly, Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, Dobbs, Malkin, Bachmann, the Palin rallies, top politicians, clergy and the Internet. The Republican Party/Right-Wing Extremists have their Jim Jones in variety and multiplicity. When Homeland Security issued its report, there was immediate faked-out outrage from the Republican Party. But notice how short-lived that outrage was. Why? Because the Republican cult leaders knew that they could not call themselves "Republican" and at the same time denounce the behavior of the extremists who support them, especially when the leaders are the one's responsible for inciting the extremist behavior. The Republican politicians are so comfortable in their roles that they don’t even have any shame about their counter-part extremists. Obviously it’s okay with them to be perceived as associated with Klan-like groups. I have not heard a single Republican politician speak out against any of the extremists or hate groups. They'll apologize to their leader, Rush Limbaugh, but not speak out against the hate and violence coming from their own party. So to intentionally continue to be associated with those counter-parts speaks volumes. Each day it becomes more and more obvious that the Republican Party/Right-Wing Extremists are one and the same in the eyes of many Americans. Just as certain members of the RNC wanted to change the name of the Democratic Party to the Democratic Socialist Party, perhaps it is time that the RNC consider changing the name of the Republican Party to the Republican Right-Wing Extremist Party. For me, there is no difference between being identified as a Republican (fka Conservative) to that of being a racist, right-wing extremist, KKK, neo-Nazi, skinheads, gun-toting NRA proponent, anti-Black, anti-Jewish and anti-LGBT. The Republican Party/Right-Wing Extremists want their America back and they’re willing to take any poison to make it happen, just like the Jim Jones followers.