Cults and Dragons

When the Watergate scandal began to unravel, and underlying corruptions in money laundering exposed, Martha Mitchell did her best to save her husband from not only legal trouble but also disgrace. Not to be out played, Nixon used all his power to throw her under the bus. He leaked to newspapers that she was alcoholic and emotionally unstable. Her husband, John Mitchell, said the same thing in an interview, all to ‘save the President’. (A.K.A to save Nixon.)

I was seventeen when I heard of Martha’s jarring removal from her apartment to a hospital. (At this point in time, it wasn’t stated that she was kidnapped and drugged. It would take months for that to be revealed.) I was old enough to understand and experience the cruelty of self-preservation. Whoever exposed the lie, will be attacked, it’s as simple as that. But I was young and naive.

I had admitted in a previous post, I am a whistleblower. Some might label us high integrity some call us judgmental creeps. It depends where you stand and the secret exposed. Why do it? I hoped what I said would cause others to rethink past and current events. In my defense, you do it because not to do it is worse. Martha taught me, the folly of fighting a lie alone.

I learned early, lies never rest. Either someone pestered me until I finally told the truth, or my intuition badgered me because I knew something wasn’t, as it seemed. At that point I knew I had to speak. Each time I did I touched a nerve.

So, who shields the lies? Churches from all detonations have protected rapist pastors, priests and deacons against prosecution. Board of Directors from prestigious companies to universities, colleges, and multi-media corporations have protected high-level executives against allegations of sexual harassment and abuse. I could list yoga gurus, film directors, producers, talent scouts, doctors, attorneys, and the list goes on. Is it really about protecting the image of the company? Or is something else going on?

I suggest something deeper is going on. I will never be able to reveal the many layers of why people lie, cheat, steal and behave badly. But I might offer a tiny chunk of where to look so you can distinguish for yourself. For a moment consider a dragon.

A Medieval European dragon, to be specific. In that tradition dragons hoard gold and virgins, two things with which they can do nothing. A dragon can’t spend gold and what on earth will it do with a virgin?

In Western culture the dragon represents the ever-empty ego seeking greater and bigger ways to fill itself because somewhere there is an emptiness that needs satiation. And hope that the next reward, sales accomplishment, new car, bigger house, expensive dress, or a sexual conquest to notch on the belt will fill the void.

Cult leaders are like dragons. They covet things. Followers mostly. Cults appear to engage people that feel lost or empty and want answers. When followers hear a leader answer the unanswerable questions of life, reality, mastery it gives a sense of belonging. For followers of the cult, that reassures and if challenged easily threatened.

Martha challenged the cult of Nixon and paid for it.