Cults
A cult by definition is a group or collection of people whose views and acts are considered extremist or false. Cults have come and gone but continue to increase in number with today's technology. Cults come into our world with the intent to draw in followers under false beliefs and convince people their views and beliefs are the truth. Cults use manipulation, lies, and false promises to draw in others. In the past cult leaders have lead people to perform radical and in some cases deadly acts. They convince people to act and make decisions in ways they may not otherwise believe if they weren't hypnotized by the strange beliefs of the group. Induction into a cult group leaves the member void of free will to think and act independently. We should better teach young minds in school how to filter information thrown at them, because development of logic, critical thinking, and uses of propaganda are tools all minds should have developed fully to protect it against harmful onslaughts. Over the years cults have grown in numbers. Due to newer technology, it is much easier for groups to communicate with other potential members internationally. This makes their potential recruit spectrum much larger; making it easier to co
Cults have used this process of manipulation in the past to lead some of the most extreme and inhumane campaigns that man has seen, some of which many of us are very familiar. When a person is completely naked of any free will they can be pushed to do almost anything, especially if they believe that it will benefit them and the rest of the group. This has shown to be potentially deadly in the past, as in the case of Jim Jones and the Jonestown Massacre. Jim Jones lead his people to murder three people who were following their cult and then persuaded 913 of them to commit suicide by drinking a cyanide filled drink. In order to get them to do this, he told them that he was the messiah. He himself never drank the drink. Another great example of extreme manipulation that ended with death was that of Charles Manson and his Helter Skelter campaign. This is one of the most well known examples of a cult that went sour. Manson convinced his "family" or cult members to murder random people in some of the most terrifying ways man has ever seen. Manson never committed any of the murders for which he was convicted. He told his members that he was an angel sent from God to help show the black community how to run their upcoming revolution. He later told them that he was only one of five angels on earth, the Beetles were the other four. His followers were to commit these murders in his name and that was what God wanted. There are many other examples, such as Marshall Applewhite's Heaven's Gate Cult that believed there were martians hidden behind the Hale-Bopp Comet, and that the comet was going to hit the earth and end all life. Marshall convinced thirty-nine members to commit suicide at their Rancho Santa Fe mansion in a very orderly fashion. Also David Koresh of the Branch Davidians told his followers that he was the messiah and ended up killing them all in a fire during a fight with police. To an outsider looking in, there seems to be no rational way another could believe or follow through on any of these ideas. Yet they did, and the results were tragic. These are all examp
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Approximate Word count = 1413
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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