[Critique Group 1] pieces are due today, and my piece.

[tuchyner5 at aol.com]

Just a reminder. Your pieces are due today. Below is  my submission.------
word count: 97 words.

Portrait of a Cultist




 


What are the traits of a cult leader? Some of thesetraits have actually been described. Of course, not all cult leaders fit onesingle template, but I believe the one I have in mind does fit into thispattern.




 


The core of this description is, the world revolvesaround me.  Dr. Scott Peck,psychiatrist and priest, wrote the book People of the Lie, in which he describes,in great detail, characteristics of the primary narcissist. The term narcissismgoes back to Freud, and probably before him, all the way back to the ancientGreeks.  Peck defined this condition asfraught with evil and destined to harm everyone within the circle of influencecommanded by the primary narcissist.




 


In Peck’s view, the narcissist is stunted in hisemotional growth at the level of infancy. He fixates his emotional energy on anunrequited initial love object. That object usually takes the form of aparental figure, male or female.  Imaginean adult fixated at that emotional level of development. Everything revolvesaround the wants and needs of the child-adult. Yet his mental developmentcontinues to grow. So, what we have here is an infant with an adult mind.




 


What are the ramifications of this condition?  They are astounding.  One result is the assumption made by a personwith primary narcissism is that what is good for the infant is good for theworld. Thus, anything done for the child’s sake is justified.




 


Remember, his emotional status is that of a child.  But for the development of a conscience, ahigher 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. 




 


The level of intelligence (excluding emotionalintelligence) that a primary narcissist can obtain is alarming. That intelligencehas been developed purely to serve the person’s perceived wants and needs.  It is highly cunning in achieving those self-centeredgoals. If power has been the way he achieved his needs as an infant, he spendshis life on the skills that gain him power. And he always wants more.




 


These people are often highly successful in their lives,as measured in attaining their goals. They have learned how to be ruthless andhow to hide their ruthlessness. They do this with aplomb.  They are often charming, when it pays. Theyare very good at self-presentation. They are successful in getting what theywant out of others.




 


Primary narcissists appeal to a niche in society, thosewho have not confronted their own needs and/or desires, but don’t have thecapacity to get those needs met without the help of someone who is willing tobreak societal rules. They want a strong leader and see those qualities in theprimary narcissist.  Some are willing tomake a bargain with the Devil. They look the other way when their leader breaksrules which they are reluctant to break on their own.  In other words, the narcissist brings out thehidden devils in their followers.





 


Not all their followers fit that willing victim scenario.  Many are taken in, and are beguiled into thelair of the primary narcissist. They wouldn’t have gotten involved if theyrealized the modus operandi of the cult leader. By the time they realize whatthey have become involved in, it is too late. They are in too deep, or theirpsyches may have been damaged in one way or the other by the cult leader.  How this is done is a discussion all initself.  It is too late even for them toseek exit.  Many cult followers are the lastpeople you would expect to be vulnerable to a cult.




 


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 toolate to get out.




 


The narcissist has created his own rendition of how theworld is, and sold it to his followers.  Todo this, he must lie, and lie, and lie. There is a fascinating question here.  Does the narcissist know he is lying? I canonly conjecture on this question.  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 thetime he is engaging others in his lies. Eventually, I think the primary narcissistis entrapped by his own lies.  Forexample, Hitler believed in his fantasy at the end of World War II despite allthe evidence, until there was no way out, and he killed himself, as did Jonesin Jonestown.




 


This relates to another fascinating question. Is aprimary narcissist insane? I’m using the word insane because it is not amedical term. However, it is taken from the word sane, which means of sound andhealthy mind. If a person is unable to distinguish between what is real andwhat is not, is he coming from a sound, healthy mind? I would submit that he isnot. The caveat here is that no one is fully aware of reality or fantasy.  At the level of knowledge, as it existstoday, there is more unknown about the real world than is known. So, it is amatter of degree.   In that case, who among us is sane?  Having said that, a primary narcissist isinsane by comparison.




 


Finally, the primary narcissist needs to take his followersdown in this sinking ship, if only to prove to himself that his cause wasright.




 


Does this remind you of a certain politician?




 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 


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