Posted on 07/09/2022 6:46:59 AM PDT by Yashcheritsiy
You may not have been aware of it, but a religious revival has been sweeping America for the past few years. However, rather than the old-time religion of Christian piety, it’s a new religion with new idols and a new direction. Yet, not entirely new - it’s the latest phase in an evolving revolutionary belief system that has consciously set itself against every aspect of traditional American culture and society. Whereas earlier progressivism made an effort to appear to integrate itself into earlier American paradigms even as it was acting to overturn them, the current religion of Woke Progressivism has completely excised itself from any pretension of respect for previous Americanism.
Some on the Right balk at the terminology of referring to woke progressivism as a “religion.” After all, hasn’t the modern Left been characterised by a rejection of religion? By an increasingly overt atheism that not only denies traditional religion, but actively subverts and mocks? Yet, unlike European modes of leftism that have remained more within the boundaries of orthodox Marxism-Leninism, official atheism has never been able to gain more than a toehold in the United States. The American temperament is a religious one and therefore requires some object of piety towards which it is directed.
For the Left, this new object of piety was channeled into cultural Marxism, a form of New Leftism that has successfully managed to take over nearly every institution - government, corporate, cultural - in this country. It did so by providing a more comprehensive program, one that was as much cultural subversion and replacement as it was “traditional” economic leftism, than older forms of socialism. This new leftism, which in its full floruit is the woke progressivism we see today, provides a totalising replacement ideology that seeks to sweep away everything that came before it.
But is this new belief system a religion? I believe that it definitely can be thought of as one, since it displays all the typical sociological patterns found in religions as they have been found throughout history, plus a few that are typical of cult groups as they’re observed today.
To begin, woke progressivism has a precisely defined and systematically enforced body of doctrines which are to be believed, not rationalised. The fluidity of gender, the naturalness of homosexuality, the evil of whiteness - all of these and much more are to be received by simple faith. But these aren’t randomly chosen. They have overarching doctrinal bases that fit within the larger progressive ideological agenda. Put together, these constitute an interlocking body of progressive doctrine that provides a comprehensive ideology to its followers.
Yet at the same time, woke progressivism does have a means of receiving new revelation and new interpretation via its own body of canonical authorities who then pass on this doctrine to the larger body of the woke “church.” This is done primarily through means of the narrative-shaping performed by major media outlets working in conjunction with elements within government, NGOs, and academia (the complex of which is what neoreactionaries often refer to as “the Cathedral”). Indeed, that process has been at work for decades - e.g. it is how the Afrocentrism of the 1980s went from being an odd, laughable academic quirk to being received doctrine which naysaying can cause you to lose your job. Have you ever noticed how when some new element of the progressive narrative hits, whether it’s a fundamental element of ideology or simply how to think about some current news event, that progressives seem to adopt it all at once?
There’s a reason for that. Once a change or addition is decided, the doctrine is swiftly promulgated to all of the local parishes and becomes a received and accepted part of the faith.
To reinforce this, woke progressivism also has its own catechal system used to proselytise and then indoctrinate converts. Much of this is done through the public schools. Schools even in deep Red states barely have a square foot of wall space that isn’t plastered with a trans flag or a BLM poster or some other woke progressive platitude. And it isn’t accidental that these schools are packed full of young, indoctrinated wokesters fresh out of seminary college.
Again, all of this is purposeful. Colleges, as institutions, were captured decades ago and are specifically used to pass on the woke mind virus to impressionable young college students who will then be passing it on to your children. The same normie parents who would never send their kids to a local church’s vacation Bible school because “they’re tryin’ to convert my kids to their religion!” have no problem sending them to public schools where teachers try to convince them to mutilate their genitalia.
Of course, in any kind of information control system such as described above, there is always a mechanism for suppressing dissent and excommunicating those who won’t stay with the program. You weren’t sufficiently deferential to Shaniqua when she was giving that DIE presentation? You’re up for a trip to HR and the unemployment office. Except we also banned you from social media. And your bank. And from GoFundMe. And we convinced most of your friends and family that you’re a racist and they shouldn’t have anything to do with you if they know what’s good for them.
Indeed, socially isolating people from those who won’t get with the program is a stock in trade for cults, as celebrated Twitter intellectual Zero HP Lovecraft has noted. And if you’re any kind of a public personality at all, the pressure which woke progressivism places upon you to conform to Current Year woke doctrine via its power over culture propagation is tremendous.
The comparisons can go on and on (though thankfully, I’ll keep it fairly brief). Like traditional religions, woke progressivism has its own initiatory rites. In Christianity, you have baptism, in Islam you recite the shahada. In woke progressivism you announce to your peers that you were born the wrong gender or you denounce yourself for the sin of normalising white supremacy or whatever. Traditional religions have their priesthoods and saints. Woke progressivism has its diversity lecturers, environmental activists, and “civil rights” heroes. Traditional religions have feast days and high holy seasons. Woke progressivism has Juneteenth, Earth Day, and Pride and Black History months.
Woke progressivism has its own martyrs, those who have courageously died to advance the cause.
From Emmett Till to George Floyd to Joseph Rosenbaum and Gaige Grosskreutz, the heroes of the faith are many. Woke progressivism has its own eschatological system - its beliefs about the end of the world and things associated. If we don’t follow the radical environmentalist agenda of massive worldwide population reduction and ending modern energy production, the world will end in a prophesied disaster of fire and flood due to global warming. Woke progressivism even has its own provision for holy war. After all, isn’t that what we essentially see in Ukraine, as woke Western governments send money, weapons, and “volunteers” to fight the invading Russian hordes…who also happen to be from a country that the Regime has been hounding for a decade due to its non-woke attitudes towards things like homosexuality and environmentalism?
In every way woke progressivism is as thoroughgoing of a religion as any the world has seen. Really, this makes sense and explains why American woke progressivism has seen such an outpouring of success in recent years. Religion - whether true or false - is a valuable piece of social technology. I understand that we who believe may not like to think of it in those terms, but nevertheless it is. Every religion has some means of utilising its power and influence to encourage socially beneficial, and discourage socially detrimental, behaviours. The traits of religion given above, in and of themselves, are important means by which social groups structure and police themselves.
What we’re seeing with woke progressivism’s assaults on traditional American society is merely the efforts by a minority, but elite supported, religion to dominate society at large, even though it is not the religion held by the majority of the population. Yet, it is doing so in a way that structurally is not foreign to the American psyche, and thus doesn’t provoke the immune response in many that attempting to enforce a more European/Asiatic style of openly atheistic communism would. Of course, the end result for the victims of progressivism in power will be the same. But in the American paradigm, woke progressive religion is the means by which successful infiltration has and will continue to take place, especially when it guts traditional Christianity and wears its form as a skinsuit. So yes, when people on the Right raise the alarm that woke progressivism is not just your garden variety socialism but is a much more insidious mind virus designed to cordycept the American religious impulse, you should listen to them.
I had the term “new direction” which when read by the voice reader sounds like “newd irection” or “nude erection”.
Of course it is a cult, and becoming more so every day.
Signs That a Political Group is a Cult
https://mindfulpolitics.org/signs-that-your-political-group-is-a-cult/
I am glad he likens this to a cult. The people I know who are into this all think the same way on all of the issues. They all use the same words and expressions. They never question. If word came down that the sun rises in the west, they would believe it fervently. It’s a form of programming.
That’s only in the Bill Clinton/Andrew Cuomo wings of the faith.
The signs that a political group may be a cult include:
1. Inappropriate loyalty to the leader – In any cult, from the Peoples Temple to the president, the leader is the ultimate authority and worshipped by his followers. Displaying his extreme narcissism, he portrayed himself as their savior from the beginning, declaring that “I alone can fix it.” A disturbing number of evangelical “pastors” have helped cement his godlike status by anointing him as God’s chosen and millions believed.
2. Absolutely no criticism of a cult leader – Cult leaders are not allowed to be criticized, under any circumstances. The president has rage tweeted at critics, fired people, threatened to jail reporters, and calls anyone speaking out against him and all media reporting negative stories “enemies of the people”. Those in his immediate circle are too afraid to do anything to stop his current coup attempt.
3. No accountability for the leader – In any cult, the leader is above the law and there is no accountability for his actions, no matter how reprehensible. This has certainly been the case with this president. Nothing seems to be too much for his followers. He pays hush money to porn stars, brags about sexual assault, looks the other way while Putin pays bounties on our soldiers, and funnels money from his campaign and the country into his businesses and his supporters defend him.
4. Dedicated to a certain ideology or philosophy – Cults are known for their unorthodox and even bizarre ideologies, and the cult of Trump is no exception. From a belief that the coronavirus isn’t real and all media is fake to the shared delusion that the president won the election, their beliefs are far from the mainstream. Some of them are even planning a fake “inauguration” for a second term for their beloved leader, completely ignoring the fact that he lost the election.
5. Oppose critical thinking by members – The president doesn’t listen to any dissenting opinions and doesn’t encourage his followers to do so either. In the beginning, he was enamored with Fox and branded all other media as fake news to the point of a collective eyeroll. Then Fox dared to suggest that he lost the election, so now he hates them and follows “alternative media” sources like Newsmax or OANN, which do a better job of towing the line.
6. Demonization of critics and former members – One hallmark of a cult that definitely applies to the president is the demonization and delegitimization of anyone criticizing the cult leader and former members. Every person who left this White House has been demonized by the president everywhere from Twitter to television.
7. Extreme paranoia about anything outside the group – Cults are always paranoid about the outside world and the president’s most loyal followers are no exception. The president is constantly warning his followers about the dangers of the “deep state”, how Obama was spying on him, the vast conspiracy to “steal” the election from him, and that Democrats want to “destroy” the country. Just look at how many people actually believe these delusions now.
8. Difficult to leave the group – Cults are notoriously difficult to leave. This is often the result of their success at isolating members from family and friends who oppose their beliefs. If your family and friends subscribe to the beliefs, it can be really hard to walk away. Many families have been torn apart over this president, like countless other cult leaders have done.
Just replace conservative with liberals, even with this list, the left still can’t see they are in a cult.
Here we have a Leftie troll using manufactured and debunked things to make Donald Trump into this cult figure.
That’s the whole bird, not just a wing.
I don’t think he’s a lefty, I didn’t read it thoroughly either. It could be rewritten to fit the left’s agenda better, though.
Projection is the process of displacing one’s feelings onto a different person, animal, or object. The term is most commonly used to describe defensive projection—attributing one’s own unacceptable urges to another. For example, if someone continuously bullies and ridicules a peer about his insecurities, the bully might be projecting his own struggle with self-esteem onto the other person.
Those 10 signs all seem pretty good. Not sure about #4 though.
The person that wrote the narratives however... that person is a cult member for sure.
It’s curious how the author can express the traits of a cult, yet not recognize these indicators in him or her self. Or maybe it’s just a propaganda piece.
The Ukraine conflict illustrated this nicely (I still don’t understand it).
But the day it became news, the ‘tards had their Ukraine flags up on Facebook and Twatter.
To hear them talk about it was funny, because it was easy to see they didn’t really understand it either.
1. Demonizes those who dare to disagree or disapprove with cult ideology.
2. Isolates, mocks and bullies it’s enemies. Enemies are defined as anyone who could pose a threat or expose the organization.
3. Entices you with promises of security, freedom from want and the perfect way to heal or fix the world.
4. The cult offers members an opportunity to be part of something “bigger than themselves” and a sense of belonging.
5. The cult is self-perpetuating and cannot afford to attain the goals it claims it exists to address.
6. Requires secrecy to hide its true goals and beliefs. New recruits are never told the true agenda.
7. Has intense interest in all potential recruits’ personal information, foibles, and weaknesses to be used at a later date to keep them tied to the cult.
8. Uses blackmail and fear to scare followers and even non-followers into keeping quiet.
9. Systematically bullies you into submission, especially after it has taken a great deal of your income.
10. Has “Messianic” leaders, who are continually enriched by the system, never have to live by the same rules they require of others, and are worshipped as Gods or super-human.
11. Wants to separate you from those you love and make you suspicious of them. Sees independent, personal relationships and the “nuclear family” as a threat.
12. Preys and thrives on the most gullible and lost among us.
13. The cult is vindictive and retaliatory toward outsiders and anyone who dares to criticize.
14. Targets children and devotes enormous resources to indoctrinating them as early as possible.
15. Causes poverty financially and spiritually.
16. Willing to lie outlandishly to further its goals.
17. Worships celebrity and treats certain people as more special than others. Celebrities are used to perpetuate the cult to the masses.
18. Blatant contradictions and hypocrisy are simply ignored. If exposed they simply deny, deny, deny.
19. Seeks to control every aspect of life to perpetuate itself and to maintain control over its followers.
20. The deeper adherents become involved in the cult, the more they are willing to abandon and contradict every principle that attracted them to the cult in the first place.
21. The final result of their involvement leads to a complete loss of self and ultimately, slavery.
Does a member of a cult ever know it?
It’s only after the Kool-Aid is served that they find out.
The eco nazi stuff is the true religion. Leftism and woke bits are more political. You could characterize any political zealot as being cult like.
In monotheistic religions, only God is above mankind.
In the earlier pagan, polytheistic religions, it was nature that was above man. Their gods were representatives of natural forces or human tendancies.
Eco nazis of today follow that pagan belief system. When you include their deviant sexual proclivities, you see it has the same humanist aspects of those older religions as well. Lookup wiccans and their “five fold kiss” to see the similarity to the old concept of temple prostitutes.
That’s a good example.
XD XD
“Hey, Jim! I got a belly ache.” “Yeah, me too Jim”
“oooooohhhh.... shit”
There probably are a few on the right that verge on cultish behavior with regard to Donald Trump. We should always consider our own behavior too and guard against letting ourselves get caught up in it.
Trump is just an imperfect human being with flaws just like the rest of us, but he did his best and that wasn’t bad at all. I also think he has more to do, and I for one would be willing to let him do it.
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