by Marvina Randle

Created on: December 09, 2008

Did Obama win the election by creating an Obama mania cult of faithful followers? For a cult to be successful the leader must have certain abilities to obtain the necessary membership to accomplish the goals of the cult. The leader must be able to muster an obsessive devotion to a person or an ideal through his teachings or leadership position.

All great leaders have the ability to communicate to their followers in a way that inspires them to perform according to the cult's needs by convincing them it will benefit them. The words spoken must be clear and concise and the message must be consistent, thereby gaining the trust of the listeners. The words must make sense, be believable, and spoken with sincerity.

The next qualification for being a great cult leader is to be a great organizer. The cult must be very structured to provide a clear objective to each participant as to their individual responsibility to the cult to perform their duties faithfully. Followers must be forced into efficiency with rules and regulations that will allow the cult to flourish. Cult members will only be promoted after showing an unwavering support for the goals of the Cult and their ability to turn responsibility into the necessary action to enable the Cult to reach those goals.

Another attribute of many cults is the ability to make the message general yet personal. This makes each follower believe the goals of the cult were created just for him or her to have a better, more purposeful life. Having the wisdom and knowledge to convince the participants that the only way they will see that better life is by following the teachings of the cult leader requires a great intelligence. The followers must believe their efforts in supporting the Cult will be rewarded if they are faithful in their responsibilities.

The final requirement of a flourishing cult is a need that is not being met elsewhere. Before one can become a great cult leader the followers must have suffered many disappointments in other life endeavors. They must be searching for some kind of change that they perceive may make their life better. The bigger the disappointments of the past, the more likely the follower will be influenced by the charismatic words of a leader promising better times.

Using the above criteria to define a cult and its leader, it is clear that the devotion to Obama could be described as a cult following. Our president elect has great oratory skills. He speaks honestly about the challenges facing our nation

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