Found this on LinkedIn Wednesday 10-21-2026. It was a posting put there by Jolie Shafer-Kenney, who describes herself as “mild mannered reporter fighting for truth, justice, and the American way”. It is quite the accurate assessment, although it does not go further into the issues of treasons committed, and an impending imposition of dictatorship. MAGA is pretty much what QANON ultimately morphed into.
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A
cult is a social group centered around an extreme devotion to a charismatic
leader, unorthodox belief system, or ideology. These groups typically use
psychological manipulation, authoritarian control, and isolation to separate
members from mainstream society and demand total obedience.
Key
Characteristics of Cults
Charismatic
Leaders — Power rests in an authoritarian figure who claims special wisdom,
divine status, or unique authority.
Isolation —
Members are encouraged or forced to cut ties with family, friends, and outside
media.
Coercive
Control — Tactics like guilt, public shaming, love-bombing, and sleep or food
restriction maintain compliance.
Us vs. Them
Mentality — The group views itself as the sole possessor of truth while
painting the outside world as dangerous or corrupt.
Exploitation
— Leaders often demand heavy financial contributions, free labor, or physical
sacrifices from followers.
So when
Trump’s Cabinet members smile, clap, flatter, cower, or perform obedience, it
is not because they’re loyal patriots.
It’s
because they were chosen for their weaknesses, groomed through fear and reward,
destabilized into dependency, and slowly pulled into a trauma-bonded hierarchy
where leaving feels like annihilation — Loss of identity, loss of status, loss
of belonging, loss of purpose, and even loss of psychological safety.
In other
words: It’s a Cult.
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She also put this up in another posting of hers on LinkedIn. It is just about right! All 4 are very good points, but take special note of the 3rd one. That is ongoing right now!
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Search code DDMMYYYY format:
01112026
Search keywords: bad government, idiocy in politics, treason
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There has always been a Neo Confederate demographic in the country that will probably never really go away-- unless immense prosperity for all is somehow created.
ReplyDeleteAnd if the US and the rest of the West (UK, Canada, Australia, and Europe) don't start building new towns and new cities where a large variety of new housing units for all income levels, freedom and democracy is still going to be in big trouble and the lure of authoritarianism will persist!
It's more about human characteristics than it is any sort of government. Some of that is innate, much is taught to youngsters by their parents. The same racism that "justified" slavery still exists today. I am disappointed to see how much of it still exists. There are also those who innately are authoritarian. They tend to gravitate to positions of power. Trump is one such. He "governs" the same way he ran his companies, abusively, and often criminally so. He is not alone in this fault; the tech billionaires all suffer the same character fault to one extent or another.
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