- "Modern pirate ships fly a corporate logo while
the finger-puppet government of George W. Bush, under the influence of
its self-righteous, radical right-wing religious agenda, gorges itself
on the resources and lives of innocent people in order to make the world
safer for the Fortune 500."
-
- On a crisp Colorado evening in the fall of 1945, my mom
helped me put on the sailor suit my father had given meóa perfect
replica of his Navy uniform. I was four years old and I still remember
that night. World War II had just ended. Far away in the Philippines, my
father was waiting for the ship that would finally take him home. Holding
a small American flag in one hand, and clutching my mother's hand with
the other, we joined thousands of people in a celebration march through
the streets of Denver. Even at that young age I could feel that our country
had accomplished something noble and worthwhile. At the time, I had no
real comprehension of how many lives were lost. I just knew was that my
father was coming home. That was a different war.
-
- Fifty-nine years later, thinking about voting in the
approaching election, I find myself deeply saddened and disturbed by what
has happened to our country. I worry about our future in a world faced
with an American administration that is looked upon as arrogant and aggressive,
a rogue superpower that frightens and intimidates other countries.
-
- What will it mean to vote for George W. Bush? When I
answer that question I realize that we face a presidential election that
will be a profound referendum on the very nature of what it means to be
an American, a referendum holding ominous portents for the future of the
United States and for the world. A vote for the Bush cadre will leave those
voters with bloodied hands, making them accomplices to each and every casualty
of a foreign policy that has alienated us from our allies and inflamed
our enemies, a foreign policy that also has ensnared us in an unnecessary
war in Iraq.
-
- Voting for Bush II will support and perpetuate what amounts
to a full-blown, political cult [1]óa fanatical political predator
with fundamentalist [2] religious fangs and moneyed, special interest claws.
The religious right's cult mind set has corrupted our country's current
leadership, which has, in turn, further deformed an already dysfunctional
foreign policy into an empire-building rogue state.
-
- With characteristic religious cult missionizing, Bush
II and his inner group of fundamentalist crusaders, who have commandeered
Republican minds, are intent upon "blessing" the Moslem world
with "Almighty God's gift of freedom" while fundamentalist Islam
is equally intent on "blessing" the West with Allah's Islamic
theocracy. Two ideological cults at war with each otherótwo sides
of the same coin: lethal groupthinkóoutmoded, medieval, brutal and
dehumanizing cult behaviors that paradoxically reinforce each other and
could easily drag the civilized world back into the dark ages.
-
- A "blood vote" for Bush II will also ensure
a continuation of the long, bloody "slog" in Iraq, a war that
has done nothing to prevent terrorism. Instead our invasion and military
occupation have inspired even more widespread hatred of the U.S. while
creating a recruitment bonanza for radical groups around the globe. Voting
for Bush II will "give aid and comfort to the enemy," significantly
advancing Islamic terrorists' ideological agenda, which these statements
by one prominent, fundamentalist, Iranian ayatollah make quite clear: "Moslems
have no alternative . . . to an armed holy war against profane governments
. . . It will . . . be the duty of every able-bodied adult male to volunteer
for this war of conquest, the final aim of which is to put Koranic law
in power from one end of the earth to the other." [3] So we have the
same old ideological "empire building" (for sure, a much more
lethal version) but from the other cult's perspective.
-
- If George II retains his corporate/religious/political
crown, we will have the onerous privilege of living with foreboding, unforeseen
consequences of powerful, economic (oil/military/industrial) "special
interest" groups pulling the strings of what amounts to a puppet presidency.
Corporate charters riddled with tax loopholes, combined with legions of
powerful lobbyists and corporate welfare disguised as "tax incentives,"
are in reality licenses to pillage around the globe. Modern pirate ships
fly a corporate logo while the finger-puppet government of George W. Bush,
under the influence of its self-righteous, radical right-wing religious
agenda, gorges itself on the resources and lives of innocent people in
order to make the world safer for the Fortune 500. Meanwhile "missile
defense" receives more funding than the entire State Department, a
prescription drug plan turns out to be taxpayer assistance for drug companies,
tax cuts shift the tax burden even more to middle class wage earners while
corporate taxes hit a sixty-year low point, and schools can't afford textbooks.
But preparations for development and testing of a new class of smaller,
"offensive," low-yield nuclear weapons receive four times the
funding given to "programs to safeguard "real" weapons of
mass destruction and fissionable materials in the former Soviet Union."
[4]
-
- This is not in any way implying that terrorism is not
a threat; it most certainly is! Fundamentalism, whether Islamic or Christian,
is a deadly form of groupthink that is without doubt one of the most lethal
threats the civilized world has ever faced. In the middle ages, fanatical
religious crusaders wreaked death and destruction across Europe and the
Middle East but geography and logistics provided some temporary restraints.
Now, because of technology, religious / political fanaticism is everywhere
and nowhere at the same time. Destructive ideologies (another "real"
weapon of mass destruction) can reach the ends of the earth at the speed
of light.
-
- We have a Tyrannosaurus Rex in the living room that nobody
wants to look at: destructive group dynamics that reinforce and spread
beliefs that are far more devastating than any plague. No one wants to
look at the religious face of this marauding beast because it has become
politically incorrect to challenge or critique religious beliefs. Problem
is, religious fundamentalism, whatever the packaging, is not religion.
It is a group-inspired, ideological scourge that thrives behind the mask
of religion.
-
- Nearly all religious cults believe they are the "chosen"
people, that they have a mission to save (convert) every non-believer.
As George W. prepared for the presidential election in 1999, he assembled
a group of pastors for a "laying on of hands" and told them that
he was "called to a higher office." [5] Bush II and many of his
closest advisors have been infected with a viral strain of Evangelical
Christianity that believes the United States is indeed "called"
to save the world. Bush shared his "calling" with the recently
deposed Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, informing him that "God
told me to strike at Al Qaeda and I struck them, and then he instructed
me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the
problem in the Middle East." [6] No wonder Secretary of State Colin
Powell and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld were not included in the decision
to invade Iraq. As Bush explained to journalist and author, Bob Woodward,
"I could tell what they thought (referring to Powell and Rumsfeld).
I didn't need to ask them their opinion about Saddam Hussein." [7]
A "higher power" had already given the order to George. This
egomaniacal "messiah complex" permeates the political atmosphere
of the Bush administration, the "Bush Doctrine," and our "National
Security Strategy." It is the same group fanaticism that fueled the
incomprehensible savagery of the European Christians' Crusades during the
11th, 12th, and 13th centuries. And it is the same group-inspired fanaticism
that fuels the inhuman barbarism of Islamic fundamentalists in the twenty
first century.
-
- A vote for George W. Bush is a handshake with an old
devilóa "blood vote." It pulls the trigger for a continuation
of this U.S. president's religious imperialism and political hegemony.
G. W. Bush again made his agenda quite clear when he proclaimed that the
United States is "called to bring God's gift of liberty to every human
being in the world." [8]ógood news for Christians, bad news
for any other beliefs.
-
- Cults have nauseatingly familiar behavior patterns. For
one, they attack former members; In particular, they go after people who
leave and then criticize the organization. The cult mind set cannot stand
critical thinking or any opinion that opposes their agenda. Hence the worn-out,
primitive, tribal "us versus them" (George W's "You're either
with us or against us") "ideological totalism" [9] that
divides the world into enemy camps, not to mention reinforcing this same
dynamic among terrorist cults and extremists everywhere. So we see the
frantic scurrying of political rats, exposed to the light of public (democratic)
scrutiny, desperately trying to assassinate the character of each defector,
whether the former Treasury Secretary, Paul O'Neil, or Richard Clarke,
the Bush administration's National Coordinator for Counterterrorism. A
"failure to remain unified in our efforts when we are at war"
[10] is one of the typical, groupthink, accusations hurled at those who
dare to criticize the war effort. In order to combat this "tyranny
of the majority," a democracy needs to embrace what Tocqueville termed,
the "antagonism of opinions," [11] the ability to openly explore
different perspectives and the integrity to admit our mistakes and make
constructive changes.
-
- Cults need outside enemies in order to survive, to rally
popular support, and to recruit new followersónew meat for the ideological
slaughter house. Hence we hear constant references to "the enemy"
from Bush and his ideological clones. When I hear that term, I wonder exactly
who or what he's referring toóBin Laden, Al Qaeda, Iran, North Korea,
non-Christians, terrorism in general, some "gathering threat,"
anyone who is "not with us," or all of the above?
-
- An outside enemy also serves an important psychological
function; we are saved from looking honestly at our own shortcomings and
failures, which then enables us to project all of our problems onto the
"enemy" who is then responsible for our high unemployment, for
a poor economy, high oil prices . . . etc. Of course this shadow dynamic
works in reverse from the Islamic fundamentalist perspective. And you can
rest assured that the Bush II cult, will, predictably, use fear of an "enemy,"
whether a political opponent or terrorism, to scare the public into voting
for a continuation of the bloody status quo. Many talk show hosts like
Rush Limbaugh, who are themselves imprisoned in the same cult dynamics,
see political differences and the world as a "war between good and
evil." [12] Instead of seeing others as individuals, they only see
people as defined by dehumanizing, group stereotypes, usually some label:
"liberals," or "conservatives," etc., etc., etc.
-
- It comes as no surprise that cult-like groups obsess
over secrecy. Unnecessary secrecy undermines the democratic process most
often in the form of concealment and stonewallingówithholding information
that is vital to a well-informed electorate. Secrecy is also a universal,
destructive group dynamic. A political cult will use every means at its
disposal to control and manipulate information, to keep what is really
happening under wraps, usually in the name of "national security"
or "executive privilege." While our national security is certainly
necessary, much of what disappears behind this black curtain is designed
to keep the "public" blissfully ignorant of the real intent,
the true motives, and in particular, the power structures that shape and
control the cult's real agenda. This is the opposite of an "open society,"
and constructive debate. Moreover, unnecessary secrecy, combined with other
dysfunctional group dynamics, have created many of the self-destructive
disconnects responsible for the lack of vital information and intelligence
being communicated to other agenciesóinformation that might have
prevented the 9/11 tragedy. Our government (over many decades) has deteriorated
into an unwieldy, lumbering complex of cult-like (often well-intended and
idealistic but extraordinarily dysfunctional) bureaucracies, all intent
on self-preservation. We now have fifteen separate intelligence agencies,
many with overlapping, outmoded, conflicting, redundant activities.
-
- Placing the group's mission ahead of human life is a
defining characteristic of cults. In practice this means that individuals
are expendable. Thus we casually accept the conscience-numbing daily news
of death and dismembermentósome shattered, bloody mixture of Iraqi
civilians, U.S. soldiers, journalists, missionaries and aid workers. Similarly,
economic "interests," and ever-greater profits at any cost supersede
the individual. And America, the world's preeminent superpower (for now)
slips down the well-traveled, blood-soaked, body-strewn slope of "preventive
war" (considered by many to be a war crime) [13] and empire building
cloaked in the verbal smoke screens of liberation, freedom and democracy.
-
- George W. Bush, in declaring "war" on terrorism
has, ironically made you and I unwilling partners in a religious and economic
jihad against his designated "axis of evil," a list of purported
state sponsors of terrorism and potential developers of weapons of mass
destruction. But, as the Madrid mass murders illustrate, terrorists can
function with deadly efficiency without state boundaries or state sponsorship.
For terrorists, concentrations of military forces and equipment become
taxpayer-financed target practice. Witness the gory spectacle now taking
place in Iraq, where the United States foreign policy has created a ghastly
assembly line of death and destruction. Instead of training camps in Afghanistan,
terrorists now have much more valuable on-the-job training in Iraq. There
is no military deterrent for suicide bombers who have nothing to lose and
have been brainwashed into believing that death is a passport into Paradise.
-
- What then do we do about terrorism and terrorists? Once
again, like that "different war" so long ago, we need the cooperation
and help of our allies and friends around the world. But first, we need
to be a real friend to other nations, respecting differences between nations,
cultures and ideas. And I am convinced that we must, with intense and focused
international collaboration, work together to find and arrest each and
every individual who commits a terrorist act or any other crime against
humanity. We cannot allow any sanctuary on the planet for such criminals,
neither mosque nor church, or even state sovereignty, which far too often
has been a shield for genocide and other groupthink atrocities while the
world looks the other way.
-
- Education about the danger of destructive group dynamics
needs to be a number one priority around the world. The civilized world
must come to grips with cult-like groups, political or ideological, that
teach others to hate, especially children. Cult brainwashing and thought
reform techniques masquerading as "teaching" or "freedom
of religion" urgently need to be understood as deadly group dynamics
that must no longer be tolerated.
-
- This is a unique time, a time when each vote will carry
awesome consequences, a time befitting of American writer and patriot Thomas
Paine's warning over two hundred years ago:
-
- "He who is the author of a war lets loose the whole
contagion of hell and opens a vein that bleeds a nation to death."
[14]
-
- Notes:
-
- [] The dictionary defines a cult as, "Obsessive
devotion or veneration for a person, principle, or ideal." For further
explanation of common religious, economic, and political group dynamics,
see: Goldhammer, Under the Influence: The Destructive Effects of Group
Dynamics (New York: Prometheus Books, 1996).
-
- [2] By "religious fundamentalism," I refer
to the totalitarian, extremist, religious face of a specific cluster of
destructive group dynamics that Robert J. Lifton, Professor of Psychiatry
at City University of New York and the author of Thought Reform and the
Psychology of Totalism (University of North Carolina Press, 1989), refers
to as "Ideological Totalism." Lifton warns of " . . . the
most dangerous direction of the twentieth-century mindóthe quest
for absolute or 'totalistic' belief systems. He explains: " . . .
that quest has produced nothing short of a worldwide epidemic of political
and religious fundamentalismóof movements characterized by literalized
embrace of sacred texts as containing absolute truth for all persons, and
a mandate for militant, often violent, measures taken against designated
enemies of that truth or mere unbelievers." Lifton adds: "Fundamentalism
is, moreover, always on the edge of violence because it ever mobilizes
for an absolute confrontation with designated evil, thereby justifying
any actions taken to eliminate that evil."
-
- [3] Khomeini, Sayings of the Ayatollah Khomeini, 4.
-
- [4]Krepon, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, January-February
2003. The Bush administration has announced that it does not support portions
of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and that it is opposed to the Comprehensive
Test Ban Treaty. See: George Perkovich, Foreign Affairs, March-April 2003
for reviews of theses treaties.
-
- [5]Howard Fineman, "Bush and God," Newsweek,
10 March 2004, p. 26.
-
- [6]From the Israeli newspaper Haaretz; cited by Arianna
Huffington, Fanatics and Fools: the Game Plan for Winning Back America
(New York: Hyperion, 2004), p. 30.
-
- [7] Evan Thomas, "I Haven't Suffered Doubt,"
Newsweek, 26 April 2004, p. 24.
-
- [8] Ibid., pp. 24, 28.
-
- [9] From: Robert J. Lifton, Thought Reform and the Psychology
of Totalism (University of North Carolina Press, 1989).
-
- [10] Tamara Lipper and Howard Fineman, "The Gospel
According to George," Newsweek, 26 April 2004, p. 21.
-
- [11] Tocqueville, Democracy in America (New York: Alfred
A. Knopf, 1994), p. xxix.
-
- [12] Anna Quindlen, "The Elephant In the Room,"
Newsweek, 5 April 2004, p. 72.
-
- [13] When the Iraq war began, Kennedy advisor and historian
Arthur Schlesinger wrote that "The president has adopted a policy
of 'anticipatory self-defense' that is alarmingly similar to the policy
that imperial Japan employed at Pearl Harbor, on a date which, as an earlier
American president said it would, lives in infamy. Franklin D. Roosevelt
was right, but today it is we Americans who live in infamy." (Arthur
Schlesinger, Los Angeles Times, 23 March 2003).
-
- [14] Thomas Paine, The American Crisis (1776-83,) 5.
-
- - John D. Goldhammer is a Seattle, Washington, writer,
psychologist, and author of "Under the Influence: The Destructive
Effects of Group Dynamics" (Prometheus Books). His newest book, "Radical
Dreaming" (Kensington/Citadel Press) was just released. He created
and taught these university classes: Psychology of Groups and The Psychology
of Hate. jgoldhammer@mindspring.com.
-
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-
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