The Brain on Extremism: Why Do We Fall for Cults Again and Again?

[00:00:00]This is a question that I get asked a lot in a lot of different ways, and it's a really good topic for discussion.

[00:00:06]Since I've been listening to you, I've been wondering about cults of one. Been wondering if we're more, not less, susceptible to cults once we get out of one. Had been thinking about the big cult of personality and how once he passes, it's done.

[00:00:19]Now thinking, okay, but if the next leader is in the queue, how much would could change? Really, really good question, Genie.

[00:00:28]In my opinion, the brain on extremism is kind of like cancer in the way that once we've had that experience, we're more susceptible to falling for it again. To it coming back or what I'm blanking on the term that they use when when cancer reemerges. So, we saw this happen in the Children of God, the very extreme cult that I grew up in and wrote my first book Uncultured about. The Children of God fell apart in 2009. In my opinion, it began to fell fall apart when the leader died because cults of personality don't tend to pass down. It just took about 12 years for it really to come apart, and that's because she used something called charisma by proxy. The Children of God believed that they could speak directly to anyone in heaven. So, she just went, well, I talk to him every day, and kept running the cult, right?

[00:01:21]Usually, cults of personality fall apart when the personality is gone. And no, it's not going to pass down to J.D.

[00:01:29]Vance. He'll be the president of America when we get the big beautiful burial if it happens before January 20th, 2029, but he is not going to be taking over MAGA. Like, quite simply, you have to have a personality to take over a cult of personality, and nobody will follow J.D. Vance even to a couch.

[00:01:47]Um however, something we learned from the Children of God when it fell apart was we have this community of people called never lefters.

[00:01:56]The cult fell apart around them. They did not have the experience of having the crack in the brainwashing and having to get themselves physically and mentally out of a cult. And certainly, they did not do any work on their own deconstruction. Most of them are MAGA now.

[00:02:11]And most of them went back to all their vices and stuff that they had before they addicted themselves onto a cult.

[00:02:18]I believe that when we don't do our deconstruction and figure out why we were in a cult, what impacts it had on our personality and identity, we keep falling for the same kinds of high control, coercive, manipulative groups again.

[00:02:34]I'll give you an example with myself.

[00:02:37]Why I was born in a cult, or why I was in a cult was cuz I was born three generations into the cult Children of God that my grandfather joined and still runs the money for what is left.

[00:02:46]But I grew up being addicted to a mission, right? We had the mission to save the world before Jesus came. Then I left the cult when I was 15, but I put myself in kind of a high control environment trying to be a super student. That was my mission, right?

[00:03:02]And then I went into the military where we had a mission.

[00:03:05]And then when I left the military, I kind of fell apart a little bit. And I went into a bunch of different high control environments including the all natural hair movement. Um and one of the things in my own deconstruction that I had to realize was I was addicted to this having a mission and to something a little more subtle, which is the sense of superiority, right? That's what cults give you. I was a missionary kid, so I was better than you. Then I was a super soldier, so I was better than you, right? Think this is one of the things white people are dealing with right now as our cult system of white supremacy is falling apart and being pulled down. But what what what's going to make me special? Nothing.

[00:03:44]One of the things I had to work on is I had to have an anti-mission motto for myself.

[00:03:49]That my goal here is not to end cults or end rape culture in the military. It is to create a good life for Mr. and Mrs. Knitting Cult Lady and Knitting Cult Baby and the Republican dog most of the time.

[00:04:02]One of the things that I have done is I have created a workbook for deconstruction. I think it is the only thing like it out there. It, of course, is made to accompany Culting of America, which is my cult tactics book. This tells you exactly how it was all done to you.

[00:04:20]And this helps you with a lot of questions go through it. It's not a complete substitute for the decade of deconstruction, which is how long I believe it takes, but I really think it's helpful. You can get signed copies of Culting of America and unsigned copies of the workbook attached here or listen to me read it to you anywhere you get your audiobooks. This one, unfortunately, is not on audio yet.

[00:04:44]We'll see how that goes.

[00:04:46]I do think we tend to call hop into less and less destructive cults.

[00:04:52]But what I am saying here is I believe MAGA will fall apart. And I don't think a next leader is going to just be able to pop in and take it over.

[00:05:03]However, I do think there are going to be millions and millions and millions of undeconstructed MAGA cult members, never lefters, that we are going to have to deal with and that are going to keep looking for other things, other extreme groups and extreme worldviews to be a part of. So, you know, maybe you can get a a workbook for some of your family members. Even if you can't get them to do it, the questions you can ask them are all right there.