Our nation is manifesting cult-like thought control - through casting history as shame and limiting acceptable language

Thought control works best when combined with emotional intensity, shame and simplistic slogans.

"Whatever its setting, thought reform consists of two basic elements: CONFESSION, the exposure and renunciation of past and present "evil"; and RE-EDUCATION, the remaking of a man.."

"Every feeling we have serves a function and gives us clues to the external world. When we have to manage those feelings everyday by pretending to be happy, we start to feel numb (Rousseau 2002). In a totalistic group, an individual has to mortify feelings that would signal danger. The feeling of happiness becomes an illusion. This illusion is not recognized by the performer or the audience. When a person leaves the cult, all of the mortified feelings come rushing back. “I should have been afraid during that encounter,” I said. I asked myself, “Why didn’t I cry when he committed suicide?” or “Why didn’t I become angry and fight back when he seduced me?” These feelings can be very terrifying. The former cultist may have been physically, sexually, psychologically, and spiritually abused. Just like a person who has survived a traumatic event (i.e., natural disaster, war), the emotions from re-experiencing the event over and over again can be unbearable (Tobias 1994). During this overwhelming time, the survivor needs the support of others. "

Robert Jay Lipton, Losing Realty, p. 16,The New Press, 2019