Last year in high school, I was in a discussion and debate class and we were required to do some outside research on every discussion/debate topic our teacher had chosen. One particular topic had me so entranced by the research that I read far more about it than necessary. That topic was cults.
We looked at famous cults, more locally based cults, where they originated, and much more information about this topic I formerly knew little about. First we talked about Jim Jones and the Guyana tragedy and I was blown away by the ability for a once good man and pastor, Jim Jones, to turn hundreds of people into obedient blind followers. We followed our discussion with Charlie Manson and other well known families and cults.
After the actual class discussion, a friend of mine and I went home and casually searched Google for cults and browsed some of the thousands of results. The one most disturbing and fascinating to me was a cult based on cannibalism. The "sermons" the leader gave were disgusting on many levels, describing how to properly cook baby flesh and when a child turned too old for desirable consumption. This same cult was obsessed with terrorism and pornography and its promotional video was too graphic and disgusting for any sane human being to watch.
Looking back on it now, I realize that the research I did back then was not enough to subdue my fascination with cults. In fact, obedience and conformity of people has always and probably will always strike my interest.
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