Are you in a cult? Even without knowing you, I know the answer is yes. Everybody is in one to some degree.
Cults exist in politics, too. We saw this week what happens when somebody like Elon Musk goes against a popular culture narrative and questions Ukraine’s strategy to defeat Russia.
But before we dive into that, let’s talk about the definition of a cult.
The definition is a “sect generally is considered to be extreme or false under the guidance of an authoritarian or charismatic leader.”
And the word cult derives from the Latin word ‘cultus’ which is a noun meaning “training education, adoration to cultivate … adoration or love for.”
I was thinking about various cults because I was pondering the term “pop culture.” ‘Pop’ stems from the word popular and culture obviously has the word ‘cult’ in it for a reason. More specifically, I was thinking about social media influencers.
No matter how strong you think you are against the wave of influencers, they are to some degree influencing your thoughts or what you buy. You might see something on Instagram and think, “Oh, I love this. I have to buy this really quickly.” It happens to me with make-up and fashion all the time.
Personally, I would say if I’m in any cult, it’s probably the fitness cult. I love to watch girls who are working out on Instagram so I can copy them when I’m on the road. My point is that social media was designed for you to find your cults — so to speak.
But the problem with pop culture is that it can influence you to hold more extreme views. It can influence you to believe in false things and become beholden to certain ideological waves. Think of people who follow around the latest wave like a robot.
Millions of people use the same language, posting the same messages when talking about climate change, and then it’s Black Lives Matter, and then it’s a rainbow flag on their profile picture.
Then the next thing they’re posting is a Ukrainian flag, because that’s what pop culture demands. The cult around Ukraine is maybe the most vocal right now. The idea that the West must step up and go to war to defend Ukraine is the accepted narrative.
The majority of Americans can’t point out Ukraine on a map, but suddenly they’re foreign policy experts because somebody who they follow on social media told them that they should be pro-Ukraine.
I’ve never fallen for that nonsense. I’ve covered Zelensky extensively and how he’s always been corrupt. Western media used to agree with that notion as recently as 2019, but, the latest wave has washed over it.
One person who seems to be pretty resilient to the tides of pop culture, and now has landed himself into some more deep trouble, is Elon Musk.
Musk has been trending on Twitter since early Tuesday because he made the mistake of weighing in on an already established narrative about Russia and Ukraine.
Musk put forth a peace plan that included things like redoing elections for areas annexed under United Nations supervision — giving Crimea to Russia for historical reasons and making sure Ukraine remains neutral. So essentially what he’s offering is that Ukraine should not join NATO — which is what Russian President Vladimir Putin has been asking for for quite some time. I discuss more of this on my podcast today.
All of what Musk said, as evidenced by being attacked by thousands of Twitter users — including Ukrainian officials and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Wednesday — goes against the pop culture narrative. Despite all of this, Elon Musk had the courage to tweet his proposals.
People are angry with him, saying things like, “How dare he go against the narrative? How dare Elon Musk have the courage to go against the wave of pop culture?”
Honestly, I think we should be calling it pop fiction most of the time.
For whatever reason, people just cannot process that there is propaganda surrounding Ukraine. Propaganda exists in both the Western and the Eastern Hemisphere. You do not live in some special nation that does not engage in propaganda.
The reason the Ukrainian and American governments engage in propaganda is to make sure that the masses are not too informed. An overly educated mind cannot be enslaved. The governments want us all enslaved to whatever the narrative is and they don’t want us asking questions. Or at least not the kind of questions you’d ask as critical thinker or commenting on topics from informed viewpoint as Elon Musk just did.
And so now Musk is referred to as a Russian puppet.
Join the club, Elon.
We’re all Russian puppets, apparently.
And that’s just what people in a cult do when you dare question their brainwashing. They attack you for thinking differently.
