Making
an Informed Decision
In order
for a person to make an informed decision two things must exist
concurrently:
1. Availability
of information i.e. understanding the philosophy, ramifications
of membership and true intent of the group leaders
2. Strength and power of free choice
These
two must exist and appear concurrently. In a cult's case they
don't.
At first
a person has free choice to walk out the same door one entered
moments or hours earlier yet unaware of the groups philosophy,
its name may even be deliberately hidden from the potential
recruit . It seems like an alternate lifestyle, a spiritual
growth movement or a self-help group. The information is totally
avoided from one at all costs, but to a certain extent one has
free choice.
= Freedom
of choice, no information.
Days
or weeks of involvement later:
After being "love-bombed" or/and brought into the
inner circles in terms of understanding, learning, friendship,
purpose and activity a person loses their sense of objectivity,
that free choice; the ability to make an informed decision.
By this point one has a lot more information, but no longer
has freedom of choice.
= More
information, no free choice.
Under
the circumstances mentioned above, the person was never given
the opportunity to view the facts objectively and with a free
mind. When some of the facts are either discovered by, or presented
to the new devotee (read recruit) he will already interpret
the facts the way the particular group has instructed him to,
usually explaining how "the ends justify the means".
"It's all right to deceive and steal from your family and
friends; it is for the greater good of humanity, for world peace.
You look like a peaceful guy. You do want peace, don't you?"
By playing
on the high ideals of the recruit and manipulating ones emotions,
they can make honest people deceive others, non-violent people
behave violently, warm and vibrant people become cold and distant,
other-centered persons become self-centered, and turn family
oriented persons against their own families un-abashed.
Victims
of cults and mind-control will sometimes do things which others
and they themselves (in retrospect) believe they would never
have done prior to their cult involvement; when they were still
thinking in their own mind's way. Had they accessed their authentic
identity -which existed and was apparent prior to joining the
group- they would have never committed such acts as they had
while under the control of the cult, in which their very own
minds ability to make moral and ethical decisions had been altered.
Cults
aim to suppress the authentic-identity and reinforce the cult
identity.
