Breaking news, ya’ll! Last week, former Oklahoma Congressman Mickey Edwards announced he no longer considers himself to be a member of the Oklahoma Grand Old Party. The longtime republican stated he thought the GOP to be more of a “cult” than a political party nowadays. Now those words seem a little harsh, even for TLO standards. So, here’s 5 reasons why the Oklahoma GOP is definitely not a cult!
There’s No “Cult of Personality”
According to Wikipedia, a cult of personality is the art of using spectacle and lies to create an “idealized, heroic, worshipful image of a leader, often through unquestioning flattery and praise.” The culture of an unquestioning, idealization of an authority figure, despite evidence of flaws or malice, is more fit for Charles Manson’s cult than the Oklahoma GOP.
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There Isn’t a Culture of Fear
A common recruitment and retention strategy of cults is to instill a sense of fear, often by creating an us-versus-them mentality that pits cult members against non-members. That just seems ridiculous to think a member of the Oklahoma GOP would do such a thing.
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They Don’t Match
If the GOP were to be a cult, they would have to all wear matching clothes, like the Heaven’s Gate folks.
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There’s No Doomsday Prepping
For it to be a cult, wouldn’t members of the GOP have to be obsessed with Doomsday and spend most of their time gathering weapons to protect themselves against Armageddon or the end of times?
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They Don’t Use Religion
Like the Peoples Temple (AKA the Jonestown folks), cults often use religious imagery and scripture to recruit members and justify their backasswards actions. I just don’t see people affiliated with the Oklahoma GOP doing that. Ever.
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Hayley is a registered independent. Follow her on twitter @squirrellygeek and become a contributing member of TLO here.
