Haven

    After reading the article, "The Democratic King: The Role Of Ritualized Flattery In Political Discourse", I learned about personality cults and how it is a strategy to further political legitimation. I did not know anything about political legitimation to begin with, so after doing further research, I gathered that is it the belief that a rule, institution, or leader has the right to govern, which make sense.      I also learned what democratic political rituals are, in which you have a polling function, which creates political solidarity, and elections function, which creates political legitimacy. As well as how political flattery is usually considered manipulative and comes with a social warning against its negative consequences. 

      Right off the bat I thought this article was going to be extremely interesting! I say this because it started off by calling Trump a murderous cult leader, but I was ready for what was next. I think this reading was a more intense one for me personally because I have never looked at Trump and the things he did in a way that would compare him to a cult leader, such as Jim Jones. I do not know as much as I should about politics either, but reading this information was shocking because of the fact that the acts Trump has been involved in seem very selfish. He seems like he is doing all that he does for power and for fame--not for the people.      What I found to be particularly interesting was the fact that the rioters from inside of the Capitol were keyed into Trumps tweets in real time. This showed that these rioters could have been following Trump's orders, which is insane!     What do you think about the riot in the Capitol? Do you really b...

    After reading this article, "Demystifying The Cult Leader", I thought it was crazy to learn that a cult leader is, "...a person of tremendous charisma who can make inroads into the hearts and minds of his followers", especially after watching the film on Jim Jones. I think it is absolutely insane that there are people out there who do this to others for their own benefit!     The more I read into this article, the more I realized how crazy cult leaders are. For instance, I had read that cult leaders use brainwashing tactics to, "...attract and keep followers and need degrees of conformity among members". I just could not imagine being in the trance of a cult leader and not having a safe way out.      After reading this information, I decided to see who is the most famous cult leader, and it is Jim Jones, which I am not surprised by. I say I am not surprised by this because of the amount of horrendous acts he has done in order to get people to ...

     After watching this video about evolution, I learned that everyone on this planet are meant to help one another and show each other kindness. This video showed how much of a difference there can be throughout the world if we are all kind to each other and help each other out. In the beginning of the video, Paul Bloom explains how individuals look at evolution as causing species to become selfish, when in reality it is kindness that can evolve through this natural selection!     What are some ways you show kindness to a stranger? Or even to your peers in a classroom?      Showing kindness in whatever way you chose can also help you! It can help you learn a life lesson from that experience, as well as getting the chance to build another friendship/ relationship with someone.