So to add more insult to more injury, my husband and I have been binging on Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. No spoiler alert necessary here except to say that it is more significant than that crap about the “Tigger King” Joe Exotic. But I do find myself thought-drowning in the various tribes of this species. It appears that there are many parallels between Scientology and Trumpism. And maybe all the other cults too. The vast similarity between all of them is the dishonesty. And then the various degrees of destruction and disaster. And always the money/greed thing.
And then I get stuck on the words CULT and CULTURE. Wikipedia defines cult as a "social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs, or by its common interest in a particular personality, object or goal.” This makes me think of those 70 million who voted for that guy.
Wikipedia then defines culture as “an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.” It is clear that normally we associate the word cult with a tiny religious group. And especially the unusualness of that group. I am sure that many have had the thought problem journey of when do we call a cult a religion? It seems to be largely based upon numbers. But given that 70 million is not a tiny group, are they more akin to a subculture? This then brings me to contemplate how we have interventions and deprogramming to rescue cult victims. It seems unlikely that the same can be done for culture victims. (Rape culture should not be included here.) There have been many postings here about what we should or should not do regarding the 70 million. I have no answer except to suggest that they should be regarded as a subculture, not a cult.
Although the stories of Scientologists finding freedom from that particular cult/culture are inspiring, I do not see the potential for similar freeing of the 70 million. The intellectual self-inflicted damage between the two groups does seem similar in many ways. But the same end game does not look to be able to be possible. The 70 million already have the capability to see reality but chose to ignore or self-inflict ignorance of oh so many instances of the unacceptable. The list of deplorable behaviors of that guy is endless but the greed and racism of the 70 million is all encompassing.
Can cultures divorce each other?