When Osama bin Laden said he has thousands of followers willing to die in their efforts to destroy this country, we shuddered. We were shocked, but not surprised. Since Sept. 11, we've learned a sobering lesson - people hate us because what America stands for threatens the control they exercise over their own people.
That's ironic because with total power, political leaders can lead their followers to total destruction. The seeds of that destruction are built into their methods, says David Henke, who heads the Watchman Fellowship, a Columbus organization that offers confidential help to people who have been spiritually abused. He explains by using the acronym BITE.
The leader controls the followers' behavior, information, thoughts and emotions. But information is the most important control. Followers can't listen to or read information on their own. That's why the old Soviet Union blocked the transmission of Radio Free Europe.
Bin Laden suppresses the basic rights of his followers with the same techniques of mind control used in religious and psychological cults, Henke says.
Many of us may not understand. We think not being able to exercise basic rights is foreign to our experiences. But we may understand more about restricted freedom than we think. Remember some of the characteristics of cults we learned when Jim Jones and his followers made headlines:
Authoritarian leadership; no room for other ideas or independent action. Leaders don't need or want to answer for their actions.
Pyramid of power; the further from the top, the less power and influence members have.
Belief that the leader is closer to God and can hear Him better than lay people.
Strong pressure to conform to the manner, speech, dress of those in power.
An us-versus-them mentality; distrust of all other groups (Americans) or churches or persuasions.
Narrow doctrine and teachings so unique that only this group is on the right path.
Many who wondered aloud about how bin Laden's suicide terrorists could do what they did might look around to see how much hard-won freedom we unwittingly turn over to others every day.
Earlier this year, an Atlanta congregation and its minister made headlines when they were accused of holding, hanging by their hands, and beating unruly children into submission. Initial investigations resulted in the removal of 41 children from their parents' homes.
The minister, Arthur Allen, reportedly called for the beatings and called time out when he thought a child had been beaten into submission. Some were beaten bloody.
We don't have to travel to Afghanistan to find certain forms of extremist behavior. No, we're not killing innocent strangers, but we need to be mindful of the horrendous examples of extremism we have right here.
Contact Kaffie Sledge
at (706) 571-8585 or
ksledge@ledger-enquirer.com