What should most shock us is how often Americans seem to increasingly mimic many of the behaviors of cult recruits: self-censorship, peer-modeled behaviors, emotions ruling their sense of reason, obedience to the mob, and adulation of politically correct idols and celebrities. All of these behaviors are exhibited in the Jonestown death tape, as Jones rationalized “revolutionary suicide” and his followers obeyed.
Obviously, the magnitude of what happened there is far, far greater, but the path we’re on as a society is eerily similar if you stop to think it through. Just as cultists check their brains at the door, too many Americans have likewise ceded their right to free speech on the thin promise of freedom from ostracism. That is a bad and dangerous deal that never ends well.
Thought Reform Is Not Going to Go Away
There was a lot of cult activity in the 1960s and ‘70s that got worldwide attention. It included the Manson “family” slayings and the Patty Hearst kidnapping, as well as the Jonestown massacre. In the wake of all of that, the American Psychological Association (APA) asked cult expert Singer to head a task force to come up with a report that would help expose cult methods and tactics. It could therefore serve as a resource to help average Americans keep their minds free of exploitative and coercive thought reform. It would also build awareness of the tactics of cult leaders.
