Customer Reviews

Them and Us: Cult Thinking and the Terrorist Threat

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Them And Us: Cult Thinking And The Terrorist Threat by Arthur J. Deikman (Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of California - San Francisco and a recognized expert on cult psychology) is a close and compelling study of human tendencies that can be (and have been) drawn into extreme variants that promote horrific human behaviors. Belittling others, clamping down on dissention, relying too heavily on an inspiring leader, are all common traits that, if embraced with no checks or balances, can readily lead to such nightmares as the loss of life at Waco or the September 11th attacks. Them And Us is commended as a particularly thought provoking, scholarly, and chillingly in-depth psychological study.

Deikman compassionately analyses the psychological mechanisms by which we can become enmeshed in cult thinking. The sobering conclusion is that none of us are immune: we are all vulnerable and, to some extent, already enmeshed in a number of "cults" ("If you're not with us, you're against us" -- sound familiar?). The key is to understand how the relevant psychology works, and recognize its action in ourselves and others, lest we allow it to "get behind us" and influence decisions that ought to be rational.

Deikman never despises the people he studies, nor does he reduce them to being helpless victims and/or evil oppressors. Rather, he presents a clear and compassionate view of complex truths, backed up by solid evidence from modern psychological and sociological data. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in religion, politics, or modern society.