If we are unfortunate enough (and most of us are) to be contained in a narrative where our beliefs, attitudes and values are not true, then we are very vulnerable when charlatans, demagogues and psychopaths show up to seduce us into believing that they have just the worldview that will solve our problems and make us feel better. Beware, because the next Jim Jones and his “People’s Temple” community could have you “drinking the Kool Aid” as his 900 followers did in 1978; or the next David Koresh leading the latest version of the “Branch Davidians,” making promises he could not keep before committing suicide in 1993; or L. Ron Hubbard with his science-fiction based Scientology cult which is still mesmerizing people today.
The silver-tongued story-tellers have been recruiting followers since before Jesus declined Satan’s offer of plenty, pleasure and power. From the birth of America our ancestors were often naïve enough to believe the snake-oil salesmen. For example, in the early 19th century, New England farm boys were hungry for the romance and adventure that signing onto a whaler would bring, all the while dreaming of the South Seas and a share of the voyage’s profits. “The [ship’s] owners, watching the price of sperm oil rise from less than a dollar to nearly two dollars a gallon, grew even more rapacious; the skippers grew more cruel, and their crews more desperate. Theoretically each whale-man got a share of the cargo’s value, but the shares were steadily shaved and other techniques invented for exploitation until it was not uncommon for a hand to owe the owners money after four years at sea. Mutiny was frequent, and desertion so routine that one American consul reported that three to four thousand youngsters were annually becoming beachcombers on Pacific islands. Some tarnished America’s name by defrauding the Pacific islanders with whom they dealt, and others switched their ships to the slave trade.”[i] A brutal business to be sure!
How do we defend ourselves from the too-good-to-be-true cults and exploiters? By being contained in a wholesome paradigm wherein we are grounded in the principles of Simple Reality. Then we will be certain of: Where we are, Who we are, and Why we are here. The Truth will empower us to see through the phony glitz, glamour and lies of the greedy silver-tongued deceivers offering an attractive utopia. Simple Reality offers fool-proof consumer protection and on top of that—it’s free!
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Supplemental Reading: Truth, The ABC’s of Simple Reality, Vol 2
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[i] Ketchum, Richard M. [ed.] The American Heritage Book of the Pioneer Spirit. American Heritage Publishing Co.: New York, 1959, p. 229.
