Posted by:
eddie
(
)
Date: November 12, 2011 04:11PM
Nothing like being framed by those who you are trained to trust. The expectations created by Mormonism are impossible to meet therefore failure is assured. It is an excellent way to strip people of their autonomy, self-esteem, and decision making abilities. It creates a state of learned helplessness and a condition where people are more passive, readily giving away their power to those in authority. When a person is made to believe that they can actually live according to an impossible standard they begin to doubt themselves and their ability to function at a peak level. Within Mormonism, this results in people going to their leaders for "help" in overcoming their "sins" and thus a further reduction in dignity and power.
Making decisions for people of any station in life without their full and completely informed consent is despicable. Mormonism once again proves to be an unethical institution and devoid of morals by the manner in which they manipulate behavior. This is even more blatant in the covering up of distasteful historical information. "Everything that is true is not useful" is a prime example of a violation of full disclosure. Anyone who will operate under such a rubric cannot be trusted with anything. You never know when they are going to decide that they know better than you and everyone else. Then they will make decisions large and small for you without your knowledge and without giving you a chance to intervene in your behalf.
The argument that this behavior is in the best interest of the supposedly less intelligent/capable/educated masses is dangerously flawed. In my opinion, there is no such thing as a pious fraud. There is also no such thing as the supposed benevolent philosopher-king.
Thinking, making decisions, and going against the grain is hard work. Many people are not able to do those things. It is even more difficult for those who were raised in that environment.
I think most people are capable of thinking and acting autonomously. The problem seems to be one of expectation, training, and lack of will power. If more people were trained and empowered to be the captains of their own lives the planet would be better off in my opinion. Thinking, strong-willed people do not tend to be dupes. It would also mean that leadership training would need to change and many current leaders would no longer be effective. Many leaders use manipulation and other unethical tactics to influence others. Thinking people would demand a leader to be a straight-shooter and lead by providing rational explanations for their plans.
Some cultures are moving more toward this level of autonomy. After My Lai, the U.S. military has moved toward an approach where anyone (even a private) can call foul and if they do not they will be held partially accountable also.
Quite frankly, I would not give a plug nickel for a leader that manipulates rather than leads or a follower who blindly follows. There are too many dysfunctional teams in government, corporations, religions, etc because of these imbalances of power and toxic tactics. Glad to be free of Mormonism and free of that "yes man" culture anyway.
This is exactly the problem that led to the criminal behavior thriving at Penn State. It appears that the court system is not going to cut much slack for those who "just followed orders." That comfortable easy path is going to lead to many years of hard time and/or destroyed careers for the followers (McQueary) as well as the leaders.
Mormon leaders think they are in a good position with their top-down, "thinking has been done" culture. They do not seem to understand the incredible fragile and dangerous position they have placed themselves and the members.