<div style="font-size:10pt;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:black;">Just a reminder. Your pieces are due today. Below is my submission.<div>------</div><div><br></div><div>word count: 97 words.</div><div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Portrait of a Cultist<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">What are the traits of a cult leader? Some of these
traits have actually been described. Of course, not all cult leaders fit one
single template, but I believe the one I have in mind does fit into this
pattern.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The core of this description is, <i>the world revolves
around me.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></i>Dr. Scott Peck,
psychiatrist and priest, wrote the book <i>People of the Lie, </i>in which he describes,
in great detail, characteristics of the primary narcissist. The term narcissism
goes back to Freud, and probably before him, all the way back to the ancient
Greeks.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Peck defined this condition as
fraught with evil and destined to harm everyone within the circle of influence
commanded by the primary narcissist.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">In Peck’s view, the narcissist is stunted in his
emotional growth at the level of infancy. He fixates his emotional energy on an
unrequited initial love object. That object usually takes the form of a
parental figure, male or female. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Imagine
an adult fixated at that emotional level of development. Everything revolves
around the wants and needs of the child-adult. Yet his mental development
continues to grow. So, what we have here is an infant with an adult mind.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">What are the ramifications of this condition?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They are astounding. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One result is the assumption made by a person
with primary narcissism is that what is good for the infant is good for the
world. Thus, anything done for the child’s sake is justified.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Remember, his emotional status is that of a child.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But for the development of a conscience, a
higher overall development must be greater than that of an infant. In effect,
there is no conscience in the normal understanding of what a conscience is.
This is the level he must work from. Good is what he perceives as best for him,
and bad is whatever is not in his service.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The level of intelligence (excluding emotional
intelligence) that a primary narcissist can obtain is alarming. That intelligence
has been developed purely to serve the person’s perceived wants and needs. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is highly cunning in achieving those self-centered
goals. If power has been the way he achieved his needs as an infant, he spends
his life on the skills that gain him power. And he always wants more.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">These people are often highly successful in their lives,
as measured in attaining their goals. They have learned how to be ruthless and
how to hide their ruthlessness. They do this with aplomb.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They are often charming, when it pays. They
are very good at self-presentation. They are successful in getting what they
want out of others.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Primary narcissists appeal to a niche in society, those
who have not confronted their own needs and/or desires, but don’t have the
capacity to get those needs met without the help of someone who is willing to
break societal rules. They want a strong leader and see those qualities in the
primary narcissist.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Some are willing to
make a bargain with the Devil. They look the other way when their leader breaks
rules which they are reluctant to break on their own.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In other words, the narcissist brings out the
hidden devils in their followers.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Not all their followers fit that willing victim scenario.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Many are taken in, and are beguiled into the
lair of the primary narcissist. They wouldn’t have gotten involved if they
realized the modus operandi of the cult leader. By the time they realize what
they have become involved in, it is too late. They are in too deep, or their
psyches may have been damaged in one way or the other by the cult leader.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>How this is done is a discussion all in
itself.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is too late even for them to
seek exit. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Many cult followers are the last
people you would expect to be vulnerable to a cult.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">An example of it being too late to get out is Jonestown.
By the time the followers were wise to the nature of their leader, it was too
late to get out.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The narcissist has created his own rendition of how the
world is, and sold it to his followers.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>To
do this, he must lie, and lie, and lie. There is a fascinating question here.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Does the narcissist know he is lying? I can
only conjecture on this question.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In my opinion,
his fantasy world is made of lies and half-truths, conscious and unconscious.
It may be the time of day or other factors that influence his thinking at the
time he is engaging others in his lies. Eventually, I think the primary narcissist
is entrapped by his own lies. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>For
example, Hitler believed in his fantasy at the end of World War II despite all
the evidence, until there was no way out, and he killed himself, as did Jones
in Jonestown.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">This relates to another fascinating question. Is a
primary narcissist insane? I’m using the word insane because it is not a
medical term. However, it is taken from the word sane, which means of sound and
healthy mind. If a person is unable to distinguish between what is real and
what is not, is he coming from a sound, healthy mind? I would submit that he is
not. The caveat here is that no one is fully aware of reality or fantasy.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>At the level of knowledge, as it exists
today, there is more unknown about the real world than is known. So, it is a
matter of degree.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In that case, who among us is sane?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Having said that, a primary narcissist is
insane by comparison.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Finally, the primary narcissist needs to take his followers
down in this sinking ship, if only to prove to himself that his cause was
right.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Does this remind you of a certain politician?<o:p></o:p></p>
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