Terms of Engagement - Part V

In the political arena when your opponents deride and belittle you and your efforts, imagine them to be like wild dogs who hunt in a pack or like a cult that is heavily under the control of one bully. Ignore the barks, growls and the rabid froth dripping from the lesser pack/cult members as they are like vermin that get fed occasionally on leftovers thrown to them by the pack bully. Focus on the forerunner himself and gauge the various areas on his furry body which come into view as he makes his move towards you. Stand firm and sharpen your lance for deep penetration. Victory can be easily and quickly achieved. Here are a couple of quotes from Dennis Tourish who is Reader in Communication Management at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He has published and lectured widely on the issue of cults and has published articles in Cultic Studies Journal. He has also addressed the annual conference of the American Family Foundation, which pioneers education and research on cults in the Unites States.

Quotes:
 1) Although a commitment to political action by many people is a necessary feature of a normal democratic society, cults make unethical use of the major techniques of social and psychological influence (sometimes called thought reform), sidetracking political commitment into an environment dominated by a guru bent on self-promotion. Such groups are characterized by intense levels of destructive activity and extreme conformity based on a handful of basic ideas, and, since the central concern of all cults is to recruit other members and raise money, they prioritize this agenda in their dealings with others.

 2) There is a dearth of literature documenting the existence of cults in the political sphere. This paper suggests that some left wing organizations share a number of ideological underpinnings and organizational practices which inherently inclines them to the adoption of cultic practices. In particular, it is argued that doctrines of `catastrophism' and democratic centralist modes of organization normally found among Trotskyist groupings are implicated in such phenomenon. A case history is offered of a comparatively influential Trotskyist grouping in Britain, which split in 1992, where it is suggested that an analysis of the organization in terms of cultic norms is particularly fruitful.

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Confucius quote for today: By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.