The Democratic Party is going down a dangerous path. It has convinced millions of Americans that Donald Trump is the single greatest threat to the country. It has punished people for daring to question the narrative. It has turned neighbor against neighbor and brother against brother. Sound familiar? We saw the same symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. So, what’s really going on here? Glenn runs through Steven Hassan’s 50 attributes of cults and compares them to the modern Democratic Party. The results are shocking! Plus, Glenn gives his advice on how you can help your loved ones escape this cult.
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: There's a lot I want to talk to you today, I just said a couple of minutes ago. Before we went on the national broadcast. That there are some things, that I have had on my mind, for 20 years. Some things that I hoped that I would never have to say to you.
But today, just very well may be that day. There's some really important things that are happening around the world.
For instance, the UN is voting in, all of these really Draconian laws. This week.
And we're going to get into that next hour.
It is the formation of one global government.
And we're all for it. Did you know that? That's happening right now.
Today. We'll talk about it coming up in just a second. We're not talking to each other. You know, I think every day of my friends and my -- some of my family members, who are -- who are living in a dream.
They just -- they hate Donald Trump so much, they just can't get past it. And they think that, you know, I'm delusional.
I know you have this in your family. You you've got to remember, my family -- you know, I'm the stinky brother. I'm the -- I was the youngest. So, you know, what does Glenn know? Nobody in my family is impressed by me, so -- it's a good thing too. It keeps humble.
But it's hard. It's hard. Because I know what I know.
How do you talk to people?
Why can't they seat things that you see? How come they can't see, this isn't about Donald Trump.
It's not about Donald Trump. It is truly about freedom.
But they are being told, that Donald Trump is the biggest -- the biggest obstacle.
The biggest dangerous to freedom and the republic.
And I think in some ways, COVID-19 broke us. I mean, this has been happening for a while. But COVID-19 broke. As people who were once reasonable, began to call for the banishment, of the unvaccinated from civil society.
It was truly remarkable, what happened to us. People were saying, we should be sent to jail, if you didn't get vaccinated. Some people said, we shouldn't get medical care. Doctors, nurses, said they wouldn't treat people. You let people with cancer die. Death was divided by vaccine status. And treated accordingly.
Information was censored, quote, for our own good. Anyone who questioned the leader, or fell out of line was deemed as dangerous or literally accused of killing people.
Steven Hassan developed the BITE -- B-I-T-E model, by among other things, studying the brainwashing that happened in Maoist China. BITE, B-I-T-E, stands for behavior, information, thought, and emotional control.
BITE. And it identifies the patterns used by cults or Communists to manipulate their members. This is the same things that the Germans did. The Nazis did.
Now, there are 50 attributes to watch for.
But I want you to listen to this. I don't know if I'm going to have time to go through all 50. But I will hit many of them quickly. But I want to you listen to this. And compare them to your experience during the COVID-19 pandemic and right now.
Here's what a cult does to its people, to indoctrinate them: Dictate where, how, and with whom the member lives and associates or isolates from. Financial exploitation. Manipulation. Or dependence.
Restrict leisure, entertainment, and vacation time. Permission is required for major decisions. Does any of this sound like COVID-19?
Rewards and punishments are used to modify behaviors, both positive and negative.
You could go to work, if you're vaccinated. You cannot go to work if you haven't had the vaccine.
Discourage individualism, encourage groupthink, impose rigid rules and regulations, instill dependency and obedience. Deliberately withhold information. Distort information to make it more acceptable.
Systematically lie. Number 12, minimize or discourage access to non-cult sources of information.
Don't do your own homework. God forbid, you're not doing your own homework, are you?
Internet, TV, radio, books, articles, newspapers, magazines, media, all critical information.
Don't talk to anybody who disagrees with what the leadership says. And keep people so busy, they don't have time to think or investigate, and control through cell phone with texting, calls, internet, tracking. In a cult, information is tightly controlled.
Members are discouraged or forbidden from doing homework, outside of the cult.
Critical thinking and questioning are not just discouraged. They're seen as signs of betrayal.
Sound familiar? Encourage spying, on other members.
Extensive use of cult-generated information and propaganda, including newsletters, magazines, journals, audiotapes, videotapes, and other media. Require members to internalize the group's doctrine as truth.
Think, if you're not an antiracist, you are a racist.
And come to this program, that we're now having in your office. And internalize it. Say it.
Live it. Say it! Preach it!
Instill black and white thinking. Decide between good and evil. And organize people into us versus them.
The use of loaded language and clichés, that constrict knowledge. Stop critical thoughts, and reduce complexities into buzzwords.
Follow the science. He's an existential threat to our democracy.
Rejection of rational analysis, critical thinking, and constructive criticism. Forbid critical questions about the leadership, doctrine, or policy.
Labeling alternative belief systems as illegitimate, evil, destructive, or not useful.
Make the person feel that the problems are always their own fault. Never the fault of the leaders or the group.
You just don't understand inflation. You're part of this racist system. Promote feelings of guilt, or unworthiness, such as identity guilt. You're a white man.
You're not doing enough to save the planet.
Your family is really the problem. Your past is suspect. Your affiliations are unwise.
Your thoughts. Your feelings. Your actions are irrelevant or selfish. They -- they pile on social guilt and historic guilt.
This is not about -- I didn't write this. Historical guilt. Fear, shame, and guilt are very powerful tools.
Members are often told that leaving the group will result in catastrophic consequences.
Either in this life, or the next. Now, let me ask you: Catastrophic consequences. You mean like, everyone will die because of global warming, if you don't step up. And shout down everyone who is questioning?
Those people should be put in jail. We don't have time to debate it.
Shunning all those who leave.
Giving a fear of being rejected by friends and family, if you leave.
Tulsi. RFK Jr. Roseanne.
Who else? Who else has left, and they've been completely shunned?
I'll tell you who else. Everyone else who has woken up. Everyone else, they all say, my gosh, I've lost all of my friends!
Phobia, indoctrination. Inculcating irrational fears about leaving the group. Or questioning the leader's authority.
That's not even -- that's not the whole list, by the way. Does it seem like maybe, we're witnessing this kind of stuff?
The antiracist stuff.
I can never be forgiven for that. No. The moment you're saying, you're not a racist, is taken as a proclamation of guilt.
And the cycle just begins over again.
Being an antiracist, it never stops. It never, ever stops.
It is really quite brilliant.
You know, you want to know, which one is building a cult.
Let me ask you: Which one has hired all of the best behavioral scientists, to help them form all of their policies.
It's not Donald Trump. Why would you hire a behavioral scientist?
Well, behavioral scientists are really a -- a modern version of propagandists.
How can I get you to do something, without you knowing I'm trying to get you to do something?
How can I play things off each other? It is manipulation.
All of the best behavioral scientists, are all working for the administration, and the democratic party.
It's all manipulation.
So what do we do?
I mean, because, they have -- they have sought out the people with vulnerabilities.
They have sought out the people who have a sense of guilt. Why are so many white people the ones who are telling black people exactly how to live? Why are they?
Because they have this sense of guilt, for some reason.
People with a vulnerability, also, you know, you've been kept down. You've been kept down.
If they can identify people that are vulnerable, the cult will offer an antidote.
And they have to -- they have to have a bad guy. They have to have a Satan, to point at.
So, what do we do about it?
How do we talk to our friends?
Well, there is no easy quick, I think we can do this in 40 days. That's not going to happen.
But I will tell you, as I was looking at the ways, you solve it, I realized, this is what has happened in so many relationships that I know of.
The wrong thing has happened. And it's because we don't know -- because we are looking at this like, wait. Think about this rationally. They can't. They can't. And that's no fault of their own.
They have been manipulated and brainwashed.
GLENN: So getting somebody out of a cult, is really hard, and very frustrating.
And it takes a long time. And you make a mistake, and you reset.
Because it's all about trust. No. I can't say that.
It's all about truly loving the other person. And listening.
And then, no matter how angry you might get, never expressing that anger.
Because if you want to save them, you must listen to them. And it's so hard. So let me give you some advice. Talking to your -- your family and your friends. This is -- this is going to become very critical.
Because even our own side, could splinter. And the only ones that will save the Constitution, even if it is just being lived in your own home, will be those who are exercising love in this way.
First, do not assume bad intentions.
There are people that have bad intentions.
But not everybody. Some of them actually believe -- most of them. If they're people you know. And they're your family.
You know them!
They -- they don't have ill intent.
They've been convinced that they're on the right side.
So don't understand assume ill intent.
And then it starts with asking questions.
I don't know, how my -- my friends got there.
I really don't.
How did you get there?
Wait. I really want to understand.
And if you try to defend yourself on this, you will lose, examine you will have to start all over again, some other time.
So you can't get angry. And you can't defend.
You just want to know the answer to questions.
And it has to be sincere. And it has to show respect.
Tell me about this. Tell me. I want to understand, Donald Trump and how you got there. And what you think. You've got to stay calm, which is another hard one. And then, you have to make the complete case. Your case. Complete case. Every single time.
It -- if you can do the first three, don't assume ill intent. And make sure that they know, that you're not blaming them for anything. Ask them honest questions. Stay calm.
Then you might be able to make your case.
But you have to make the full case. And it's got to be solid. The biggest problem we have now, we are -- we are becoming almost spiritually dead.
We're losing our spiritual well-being.
We've got a cultural revolution. A sexual revolution. We need a spiritual restoration, we need a national revival. Find all of this now, at GlennBeck.com.
