What we see in this story is the power of belief in a cult against a belief in expertise all on display in a show trial where the power of corruption is being used to project accusations of corruption on others. This is a typical strategy of deflection from the MAGA cult.
People believe what they want to believe for many reasons.
Often it is because a belief aligns with a worldview?
Or, the belief enables a certain kind of power (internally and externally)?
Belief that aligns with indoctrination is powerful?
Propaganda (held in slogans) capture the simplistic essence of a belief.
The belief appeals to binary simplicity?
The source not questioned.
The Guru claims authority and expertise, often by position.
Evidence is not interrogated.
Myth confirmed by semiotic.
The myth (and its semiotics) is used to correlate with experience
Belief is confirmed by attribution and Dunning-Kruger Effect.
A lack Critical Discourse Analysis and critical historiography skills?
The belief may be convenient.
Cognitive Dissonance is too painful.
This week I have seen safety-qualified people debate the nature of ethics, with no expertise in ethics. Whilst this debate was active, it didn’t amount to much more than the pooling of ignorance. More so, none in the debate involved any expertise in Linguistics, Critical Discourse Analysis, Historiography, Culture, Social psychology or a host of other disciplines that should have been referenced in the debate. No expertise was brought into the debate because, it was an argument about belief, not evidence. Most debates anchored to belief/faith are not swayed by evidence or expertise. This is how cults work. Indeed, none in the debate had any expertise in cults or the culture of cults:
The global mantra for zero, espoused by global safety since 2017 (https://visionzero.global/), is a cult that must deny fallibility and believe in human perfection. The beliefs of this cult are continuously expressed in religious language and beliefs. This is then anchored to those with authority and power who speak as gurus of zero.
The same occurs in other safety cults where a guru in safety speaks and endorses beliefs (often held in propagandic slogans) that don’t require any evidence for such a belief.
The guru is often an entertainer/storyteller who plays linguistics gymnastics to evoke belief in something that is already believed in safety eg. that ‘blame fixes nothing’ or, ‘context drives behaviour’. Hidden in all sloganeering is the dynamic of propaganda that serves the interests of the cult and so neither the guru or cult must be questioned. When a belief is endorsed by a safety guru, it quickly becomes politicised and so questioning the belief/guru is the first sign of leaving the cult.
People in cults don’t know they are in cults. Those who know about cults and take actions to suppress cultic belief and by this action supress the formation of a cult.
What often follows is the repetition of unquestioned slogans that are believed without any interrogation or questioning. Wherever you see the blind repetition of slogans, you will find a cult.
Once belief is anchored, then no matter, when the guru speaks, belief is invoked. And it doesn’t matter what evidence is mounted against the discourse of the guru, there will be no movement without a painful dose of Cognitive Dissonance (https://vimeo.com/202589604?fl=pl&fe=sh). Indeed, the pursuit of creating Cognitive Dissonance is evidence of suppressing cultic belief.
One should always be suspicious of anyone who claims the language of guru applied to themselves:
The idea of a ‘guru’ comes from religious discourse and means a religious teacher, spiritual guide or, person with expertise (often associated with the term ‘master’).
What we witness in much of this cultic stuff in safety, and in the adoration of safety gurus, is what Ballantyne calls ‘Epistemic Trespass’ (https://safetyrisk.net/epistemic-trespassing-and-safety/). So, if you hear people regurgitate slogans and calling them ‘principles’, they’re probably in a cult.
PhD., MEd., MOH., BEd., BTh., Dip T., Dip Min., Cert IV TAA, MRMIA
Rob is the founder of Human Dymensions and has extensive experience, qualifications and expertise across a range of sectors including government, education, corporate, industry and community sectors over 30 years. Rob has worked at all levels of the education and training sector including serving on various post graduate executive, post graduate supervision, post graduate course design and implementation programs.
