Non-Toxic Cults, Part II

The death cult of Donald Trump and a possible way out

hi Loves!

Yesterday I talked about my brush with a Christian cult in high school, and wondered: is there any such thing as a good cult?

First, let’s define terms. Here are the marks of a (bad) cult:

Cults are groups of people who are excessively dedicated to a belief system or person, and are often characterized by authoritarianism, manipulation, and isolation.

• Authoritarianism
  Cults are led by a charismatic leader who has absolute power and is worshipped by members.

• Isolation
  Cults isolate members from the outside world and control their relationships with family and friends.

• Manipulation
  Cults use coercive persuasion and thought reform to manipulate members into doing things that are not in their best interest.

• Unquestioning faith
  Cult members have unquestioning faith in their leader and the group, and believe they can never be "good enough".

• Abuse
  Cults can abuse members economically, sexually, or in other ways.

• Hostility
  Cults are hostile to nonmembers and often shun those who leave.

• Unreasonable fear
  Cults may have unreasonable fears about the outside world, such as conspiracies or persecutions.

• Rituals
  Cults may have rituals that include prayer, sacrifice, or construction of monuments.

If you’re saying to yourself as you read this summary, “Huh! A lot of this sounds like the current political regime we are living under!”

“Charismatic (in the eye of the beholder) leader with absolute power? Check!”

“Unquestioning faith that denies any information contrary to belief system? Check!”

“Abusing members economically? Check!”

“Conspiracies, fear of outsiders? Check!”

“Rituals including prayer, sacrifice, construction of monuments? Check, check, check!”

All of these checks are why, for some time, I’ve been calling Trumpism/MAGA a death cult. Its policies and positions have already resulted in a number of extra deaths due to: COVID, underfunding of natural disasters (cf. Hurricane Irma in PR), and stochastic terrorism that has led to actual domestic terrorism. The extra deaths will continue and escalate in the years to come as the federal government (USAID, CDC, NIH) is systemically dismantled, as wealth inequality and health disparities continue to escalate beyond imagining, and as more deaths of despair hollow us out as a people.

Image of cartoon Trump with a third eye, and a crowd of people with red hats walking down a road across his face: from The Atlantic’s July 2023 article “The End Will Come for the Cult of MAGA,” words that turned out to be a little premature.

Someday Trump himself will die, or become disabled. When that day comes, it will be an inflection point for a lot of followers. When a charismatic or beloved pastor leaves a church, a number of people also leave because they realize how disconnected they’ve actually become from its culture or values–it was only their tether to the leader that kept them coming back. Trump’s move offstage could spark a major realignment in American politics.

Yes, Trump is backed by a whole machine of policymakers, charlatans and grifters who’ve been drawing the blueprints and the infrastructure for their “church” for 50 years. Yes, there are other charismatic individuals in the mix who could theoretically ascend the throne.

But none is quite like Trump, with his unique blend of je ne sais quoi (I call it that because I really don’t understand what that appeal is). None of his offspring have it. Nor does Musk, who I believe people will turn against en masse if he doesn’t end up in rehab for ketamine addiction before then. Not Vance, who is smart and crafty and clever but apparently resoundingly unlikeable.

No, I believe that when the current Orange God is no longer able to keep his followers in thrall, the siren song will stop. Cracks will appear in the cathedral. Some people will awaken from the spell and wander away from this worship.

And that becomes an opportunity to embrace them, no questions asked.

Did you hear that? Embrace them, no questions asked. No shaming. No extracting apologies or forcing them to admit how wrong they were. No charts and graphs and statistics. No schadenfreude and no shade.

They will likely be hurting, and what they need is time and love–durable and good love, not conditional love. By all means, speak your truth to them in love–but be sure your love is more palpable than your truth, because truth often hurts.

But of course, because it’s a death cult, things could go from very very bad to a whole lot worse while Trump is still alive and in office.

I’ve been following Jamie Wheal recently. He has a lot thoughts about cults, politics, technology and the Polycrisis we are living through, and where he believes things are heading.

He’s far more pessimistic than I am (if you watch this long-form video till the end), but he has some important things to say about where all apocalyptic death cults head eventually, such as Waco or Heaven’s Gate. He thinks the oligarchic, eugenicist bunker mentality that is driving billionaires and GOP elites and white Christian nationalists to make common cause now mirrors those relatively small and obscure cults in structure and idiom.

He says, “[Your cult] is throwing the party at the end of time. [They’re sending the message that] the world is f*cked. We’ve got to apparate out of here–it’s for a select few; that’s us. Don’t worry about solving this or saving this. It’s a headache, it’s a heartache…just head for the sweet by and by.”

The more you buy into this pessimistic mindset, the more the ending bullets toward what happened at Heaven’s Gate. Which is why we have to fight like heaven for the light.

There is a part of me that worries we won’t winkle our way out of the Polycrisis in time. And to extend that worry: the work many are doing to mitigate the crises might *actually* back an impulsive Trump or Musk or Hegseth into a corner and turn one or all of them into a David Koresh, “choosing martyrdom over humiliation,” as Wheal puts it.

Which doesn’t mean we shouldn’t challenge them and their chaotic and destructive lawlessness fiercely, of course. But let’s be clear how this could play out.

Ok, tomorrow: the final installment of this extended thought experiment of mine on cults, good and bad and mixed! In which I will take a lovingly critical look at my new infatuation-slash-church camp: the psychedelic movement.

In the meantime, take 3 deep breaths. If it’s sunny, go put your face in the sun, then hug the closest tree. If it’s raining, put your face in the rain. This, too, is baptism–you and all things being made new.

If it’s cloudy, make a blanket fort and read your favorite book from childhood, and eat something delicious. That’s what I’m doing today! The Last Battle from the Narnia series, and lemon chia pudding.

Love,
Molly

p.s. If you want a little mind candy after that apocalyptic post, here’s my UCC Daily Devotional from last Friday, Valentine’s Day. Pure sugar.

Photo by Fadi Xd on Unsplash