Attribution to Nancy Wong – Own work
Jim Jones was an American preacher. He was a charismatic figure. He had a massive ego. He believed in his own divinity. He became more and more controlling of his followers. He took a dark path. His and the lives of over 900 of his followers ended in November 1979, in Jonestown, Guyana. It was a mass murder suicide. He got his followers to drink fluids that contained cyanide. The phrase ‘Drink the Kool Aid” came from that event. This is just mere broad strokes of the life and death of Jim Jones.
There was a man named Adolph Hitler. He had his own cult following back near 100 years ago. Similar traits to Jones. Hitler brought out the darkest nature of his countrymen. He exploited it. Millions died including over six million Jews in death camps. When the word ‘holocaust’ is mentioned, everyone knows what it refers to.
There is such a man today, having the same characteristics as Jones and Hitler. He has a cult following. He has brought out the worst of his following. He has blinded them to reality. Many of his supporters have ended up in prison due to their blind loyalty to him. He nearly destroyed American democracy, culminating in January 6. He still is a threat to that democracy. Some of his followers believe, they actually believe, that he is the second coming of Jesus Christ. He is three times married, a serial adulterer and an accused serial sex abuser.
The following is an example of the blind loyalty of his cult followers. This person would not know what the inside of a church looks like. But, evangelicals, such as Frank Graham, the son of Billy Graham, keep praying for his success and either forgive or ignore his many sins. Meanwhile they call Barak Obama, married to the same woman for years, and regular church goer Joe Biden, evil incarnate.
Whereas the legacy of Jones and Hitler is mass death. the legacy of Donald trump may be the death of American democracy as we currently know it.