When Good Cults Go Bad

Topic 6: Barackattacks, Obamamania, and plain old overzealous freaks

If you want to lose friends while simultaneously coming off like a world-class boob, the easiest way to do this, at least in these United States, is to walk into certain American households and say something even mildly disparaging about the Kennedy’s. Just make one comment about JFK being an overrated president, or claim he’s only as well remembered because he pulled a Jim Morrison and kicked the bucket before he had time to suck, and out the door you go. But there’s a loophole to making anti-Kennedy comments, although that loophole is quickly tightening up.

Barack Obama has on several occasions been compared to John F Kennedy, along with often being called “this generation’s JFK,” “JFK 2.0,” and “Black F Kennedy”. And the cult of personality around him is growing to that of JFK and Jim Morrison standards. Women faint and men well up at his rally’s, people flood the streets just to get the chance to see him, to prove to themselves that he is indeed flesh and blood, not some bronzed god from above to save us from the Republicans and Hillary. Even the animals get restless and break free from their pens when a Barackattack is looming on the horizon.

And with a candidate like Barack Obama who has created this cult of personality for himself, you get followers and zealots who will act like they’re…well…in a cult. Not just the crying and fainting and soiling themselves with delight you get with most Americans upon the arrival of Barack Obama in their time zone, but an instant and thoroughly disturbing desire to defend him like he was the second coming. In the few conversations I’ve attempted to have with Obama supporters (and believe you me, I’ve avoided them as much as humanly possible), I’ve been called a racist and a bigot, a supporter of blood for oil, and an ignorant boob (in so many words) who is afraid of change, all within the first 3 minutes of the conversation. The only candidate (if we can call him that) with more fanatical supporters might be Ron Paul, although I think most of them have returned to the cave dwellings to draw the Statue of Liberty and recite John Locke.

Before ending this, there’s one personal experience of mine I want to impart upon all the unwashed masses. I went to one of Barack Obama’s rallies in Hartford, CT, and left feeling quite impressed. Sure, I was impressed by Ted Kennedy’s ability to disgust and irritate me within seconds of his approaching the podium, but I was even more taken aback by Obama’s ability to speak at great lengths about change and reform without really giving any discernable ideas as to how any change or reform would come about.

“Yes, Mr. Obama, health care is in a situation where it could use a little change, and yes, war is bad, and of course, restoring America’s reputation in the international community is a worthwhile endeavor, but how, exactly, do you intend on accomplishing any of that? Please give your answer in as much detail as possible, show your work, and for god’s sake stop trying to inspire me.”