Cult of Personality free essay sample

Throughout time, some leaders managed to create an aura around themselves which has made them more respected and loved by their followers. These leaders are called cult of personalities. Thesis statement: Despite its changing meaning over time, the term cult of personality was and is being used to define leaders who have successfully created a public image of charisma and used their image to make their followers believe that they are working towards a common goal for their own benefits. . The Change of Meaning of the Term Cult of Personality A. The term was used to describe dictators of totalitarian regimes that managed to create positive public emotions about themselves B. Currently, the term is used to describe charismatic leaders regardless of nature of intentions II. How a Leader Creates his/her Personality Cult A. Cult of personalities dress according to the periodic fashion trends to create an ideal image of themselves B. Cult of personalities create a caring and thoughtful image of themselves to make the public think that they are being thought of and being looked after C. Cult of personalities put or at least how that they put their peoples need ahead of their own needs Ill. The Dangers and Benefits of Existence of a Personality Cult A. The public has an image to look up to and an example to be like B. The cult of personality becomes a hope for the citizens and their self-confidence is raised C. There becomes a mutual value that holds the society together D.Since the public thinks their leader is working for themselves, they can be fooled and be blind to evil doings of the leader, and even contribute to their dangerous objectives E. The public might fanatically protect the leader and fail to see the mistakes ND therefore fail to correct it. Conclusion Despite being a bonding effect, entity of a cult of personality is dangerous since it might cause the public to fall in love with the ruler to the limit that they might miss that they are being used to reach an unethical and selfish goal: power. Every society has a leader.Since the beginning of human history there are examples of leaders who are loved, some of them feared, some respected; and some of them a combination of these. Some leaders have created such a powerful aura around themselves that they have been remembered and appreciated long after their time; people never forget what he/she means for them and even after his/her death, continue to love and support them to an extent that is similar to religious worship. These leaders who have been successful in creating a powerful charismatic entity are considered to have a cult of personality.In this paper, the aim is to inform the reader about the term cult of personality; how it evolved, how leaders who are defined as cult of personality create this and also if this is beneficial or harmful by using specific examples; namely John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Eva Person and Mustang Kamala Taurus. At first, the term cult of personality was used to describe dictators of totalitarian regimes that sought to radically alter or transform society according to radical ideas (Cult of Personality). A well-known example that matches this definition is Stalin. Stalin reconstructed the Soviet regime so that man serves communism rather than communism serves man as it was under Linens control (Youthfulness). However, in time, the definition changed. Today, the meaning that is in use is synonymous to a charismatic leader, regardless of the kind of ideologies that the leader has or or whom they work themselves or the members of the society. As mentioned above, three example leaders that will be further examined in this paper are Eva Person, Mustang Kamala Taurus and John Fitzgerald Kennedy, all famous worldwide.People accept them as heroes without giving much thought to what they have really accomplished. All of these three people were powerful political figures in their own countries, namely Argentina (By 28, She Had Set), Turkey and the United States of America (Willets 260). They were loved by the majority of their people, and even after their death are embedded with deep respect and almost fanatical love. (By 28, She Had Set). The self-images that these leaders created in the peoples eyes and their actions have made the public almost fall in love with them, and blindly follow them and their ideologies.They are like Hollywood stars, idols for the public; in some cases thought of as a parent to the citizens, caring for them and nourishing their needs in a way that has never been done before. Therefore, these three leaders are most suitable to explain the term cult of personality. All three of these personality cults have common characteristics. Firstly, all here of them pay great attention to their physical appearance. All three are known for being very stylishly fashionable, dressing according to the popular European fashion of their time. Eva Person, with her Parisian outfits, mink fur, diamonds, blonde-dyed hair and red lipstick, knew that the public wanted her to be beautiful, as she stated in her own words. (By 28, She Had Set). John F. Kennedy, with his way of dressing (Stark) and his beautiful wife who was a fashion icon of her era (Willets 263), put forward a glamorous style. Taurus, with his very well tailored Western clothes (Popper 55) is still respected by Turkish citizens for looking smart and fashionable.The style of these leaders has dollied them, as they dressed as how the average person wanted to. Secondly, they portray themselves as caring and emphatic, to make their people feel as fifthly are being watched after like children. In a way, they are being a parent to the nation. They all defend the poor, and therefore loved by them, and since the poor is the vast majority of the population, they become favored by the population. For example Kennedy worked really hard on workers rights, and gained their love and respect (Willets 264).Similar to that, Eva Person Foundation, founded by Eva, helped millions of poor people and did the work that normally the state is entitled to do (Foss 1 With her husband, she gave the Decrescendos the shirtless ones- the support they had never seen by giving them rights (Richards and Riley 127) and help through the Eva Person Foundation (Foss 1 Taurus gave the Turkish citizens something they never had, democracy, and educated them about its importance (Mustang Kamala That;ark. ). With their caring attitude towards the public, they are still commemorated literally as parents.Eva Person became Vita and little mother (By 28, She Had Set) whereas Mustang Kamala became Taurus elder Turk. Thirdly, cults of personality show that they are understanding and sacrificing. Person listened to the citizens and granted their wishes, she is even known to give fifty percent rise to workers when they asked for forty percent (By 28, She Had Set). Even during sickness, Person refused to rest. (By 28, She Had Set). Even their early deaths helped their images as leaders, and they became martyrs who died on duty.Kennedy was assassinated during a public rally (Willets 266), Vita died of Uterus cancer hen she was only 33 and while she was still the first lady (By 28, She Had Set), and Taurus died of cirrhosis at 57 during his term as the president (Mustang Kamala That;ark. Wisped). So, with their sacrifices these leaders made their people in a way entitled to continue defending their ideals and loving them. The factors that give a leader the personality cult are these. However, the question that has to be answered is: is presence of one dangerous or beneficial?Since cults of personality are generally apparent in totalitarian regimes (Wiggeries 8), this type of leader is considered ungenerous by intellectuals such as Marx (Daniels 212). However today it may be concluded that leaders such as Taurus have accomplished success using it in a positive way. Presence of a cult of personality gives people an ideal to look up to. In Turkish schools, still children are taught to admire and be like Taurus, and his values are still important throughout the society, and look as if they will be protected further.Kennedys charm and wits were characteristics that every American would like to be born with (Steel 24). Someone to look up to makes the society act more ethically, and therefore rates a healthier social environment. As people look up to someone who has come from within themselves, they develop a hope that someday they will accomplish things. For instance, Person is from a low class herself (By 28, She Had Set), and her moral and economic support to the poor gave them something to work for. On the other hand, Kennedy was from a wealthy background, he had high quality education and his family was portrayed as being perfect.Therefore J. F. Kennedy was the true adaptation of the American Dream itself to real life (Willets, 261-262), he proved to Americans hat dreams can come true. With Taurus making his cultural revolutions and showing them to the public to be for their own benefit, modernization became another reason for thanking Taurus (Outwits). Also by winning the Independence War, the Turkish nation began re-believing in itself. Memento of the independence war, tenacity and insistence are still common characteristic of Turkish people, and that is another thing a cult of personality creates: common values.The values and changes that a cult of personality brings to a society become mutual values of that society which hold it together. For example, in the Turkish society vast majority of Turkish people like Taurus, so no matter which class and background they are from, their Seemliest ideology makes them get along well (Mustang Kamala That;ark. ). On the other hand, existence of cult of personalities has negative sides too. Firstly, if the public loves the leader too much, they might fail to realize how they are being led toward an action they would not normally do, if they could see what it really is.They might be fooled into being blind to the unacceptable doings of the cult of personality. For instance, Kennedy nearly led his country awards a conflict with Cuba when he ordered marines to quarantine Cuba when the Soviets did not accept to take back their missiles (Willets 265). Person favored her family and gave them high-ranking job positions, spent millions for her personal jewelry, caused inflation and under her ruling educated civilians started getting the same salary with untrained workers (By 28, She Had Set).As it can be seen, the public fails to see the corruption of these leaders when there is a personality cult existence. Secondly, the over fanatical love felt toward the leader prevents his/her mistakes from getting erected. Normally, when there is a problem in a ruling system, it is fixed or at least tried to be fixed within the next generations. But since the cult of personality is over-respected, it is possible that even in the next generation mistakes can be continued to be made. Also modernization and new adaptations might be harder to apply to the society.In conclusion, every society needs a leader. From time to time along comes a leader who has the power to make-believe people that they are worthy again, and this way he/ she gains respect and popularity that continues even after their death. Despite the fact that existence of a cult of personality makes it easier for the society to work towards a common goal, it is at the same time very dangerous, since it can trick people to do things they would not normally do. The occurrence of a cult of personality can be blinding.If the leader has good intentions this blinding can be positive but if the leader has selfish intentions, this blinding might even lead the society to self-destruction, and even mass massacres. Human beings should make their own decisions with their own judgments, and not leave this responsibility to their leaders, even if the traders are making decisions that are good for the people. The only factor that should manipulate a persons decisions is that persons own will.