That makes it no less serious, however. Indeed, in many ways its detrimental effect is all the greater for being essentially psychological.
A Personalitycultoma reveals itself as an irrational and groundless belief that a particular individual is endowed with special powers, making him (or far less frequently her) a man (or woman) of destiny. Where in the past, policy or concrete achievement has been what matters, with a Personalitycultoma sufferer, merely being who they are is enough for the object of the cult to attract the reverence of sufferers from the condition.
Since it isn’t particularly difficult for people to be who they are (most of us manage it most of the time), and sufferers sees that as a sufficient basis for worship, you can imagine just how serious a condition Personalitycultoma is.
Interestingly, the objects of the personality cult generally share the view of the worshippers around them. In many ways, they may be the most afflicted victims of the disease.
So Donald Trump can change his position every few months, sometimes by as much as 180 degrees, and his worshippers, afflicted with Personalitycultoma, will simply follow. He has achieved nothing? It doesn’t matter. The worship is directed at the Donald for what he is not for what he does.
Similarly, it doesn’t matter that Jeremy Corbyn – the British Labour Party’s answer to Trump – has nothing to say on key matters, his silence itself must be evidence of his commitment to principle. This is not because sitting on the fence is principled – it clearly isn’t – but because Corbyn being the very embodiment of all honesty and principle, any position he takes – however obviously opportunist – must be a shining example of integrity.
What are the signs of Personalitycultoma? It’s vital to recognise them if any kind of action is to be taken by parents to effect a cure in their children.
Look out for the use of rules that apply only to people other than the object of worship. For instance, if a sufferer argues that any Labour MP should be discipline for lack of loyalty to Jeremy Corbyn, but believes that Corbyn should not have suffered the same fate for lack of loyalty to previous leaders, suspect Personalitycultoma.
Then there’s loyalty itself. A fixation on it, and on a far higher level of loyalty than most people would expect, is another sign of this pernicious condition. Donald Trump is known to value unquestioning loyalty above all other qualities, far ahead of competence, intelligence or know-how. Which is why his staff either screw up big time or let him down, in his own estimation, lamentably.
Similarly, Corbynistas make loyalty to Jeremy the keystone of any political position in British Labour. The notion that members, and above all Members of Parliament, should hold a leader to account is shelved. What is due is unqualified support. ‘Back the leader or shut up’ is the key slogan. Telling truth to power? Forget it. Outmoded. Not left wing enough. The true believer takes truth from power, where ‘truth’ is what the leader says.
Finally, there’s the wild claiming of success and denial of failure. Corbyn, with a little help from others, achieved a huge increase in Labour’s vote in the last general election. That’s a triumph for him.
Did he win? No. That’s an indictment of those who questioned him.
Similarly, Trump achieved a major diplomatic success in his talks with Kim Jong Un. By doing so, he ensured the nuclear disarmament of North Korea. Personalitycultoma sufferers will celebrate the breakthrough.
Has North Korea actually disarmed? No. That’s the fault of the fake-news brokers in the media, who spread this kind of uncomfortable news.
Truly an insidious and debilitating condition. Sufferers lose all capability to reason critically. With their heads in the dust by his feet, they can no longer see the glaring faults of the object of their reverence. His failings are invisible to them, however obvious they are to the rest of us.
What’s the cure?
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| Absolutely not the right treatment for Personalitycultoma However tempting it may sometimes seem |
Sadly, treatment options are unclear at the moment. The best hope seems to be regular dosages of reality. Unfortunately, it’s unknown how long the treatment would have to last to bring a sufferer out of the delusion. Would a defeat for Trump be sufficient? Or a second defeat for Corbyn? We fear that it might take far more, so parents should persist in delivering doses of reality over an extended period, until it is quite clear that the patient is beginning to return to sanity.
And, in this context, ‘parent’ means anyone with their feet on the ground. Because although the condition particularly affects children, those children are not necessarily young. Why, I know one sufferer well into his seventies.
Childish, certainly. A child, not necessarily.
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