Banished - what brainwashing can do to people

Recently I finished reading a very interesting book, Banished-A Memoir, Surviving my Years in the Westboro Baptist Church by Lauren Drain (with Lisa Pulitzer). I love the public libraries in the USA, I borrowed this book from the New Haven public library. All public libraries in the US are free to people living in that area and one can borrow a variety of books and movies. This book is about the life and experience of a girl (Lauren) born in a moderate or liberal family who eventually ends up living in a very conservative and sectarian Christian environment. The book and its main characters are especially related to Westboro Baptist Church. It's not that I didn't know about this church before reading this book, I read about their provocative pickets and banners saying very derogatory things about people from their own community, they do these things all the time to get local and national media coverage. It was interesting to read how this whole enterprise is designed and managed by a few people who think that they are the only authorized agents of God and believe that they have the moral right to preach and dictate their God's message to the rest of the world. This book also shows what systematic and planned brainwashing can do to some people and their families. The book talks about a very conservative Christian atmosphere but readers should not get the wrong impression that such things are associated only with any particular religion, this is very common with all religions and cult movements.

I don't want to discuss the story of the book or get into details mentioned in the book. I advise readers to read the book if they are interested in knowing the complete story of Lauren and her family. I guess anyone who has seen a very conservative religious or sectarian environment can relate to the experiences of a girl living and growing up in such an environment where she is constantly told that whatever values her family believes and follows are the only right values and all others are wrong, and it's their duty to preach the RIGHT things to others who are on the wrong path even if such people may not like it. They must preach god's message because God has given them the responsibility and privilege to do this. We all see fanaticism or different forms of discrimination practiced all over the world in the name of religion (almost all religions and cult movements are guilty of this, there is no exception). They mainly do this because some book (word of God) tells them to do so. These books are written in such a way that they are open to many types of interpretations and everyone interprets them in their own way. Many people hate others just because they believe in different Gods and books, they do this so passionately and convincingly because they think they have blessings or orders from their God to do this. This mindset is a result of planned brainwashing, a strategy that every organized religion or cult movement uses very effectively to trap and recruit their subjects to propagate their ideologies.

Religion is a very personal and individual choice, just like food or clothes we wear. I can choose whatever dish I like from available choices or make my own if I want but I should not force my choice on others. I should not assume that something that suits my taste and needs is good for everyone. I don't think anyone will say that I have the right to hate or kill someone just because they are eating a different dish than what I like to eat. But if we bring religion into the picture, everything changes. People feel obliged to follow their religion and defend it, they feel it's not wrong to kill innocent people in the name of defending their religion. We read about such incidents all the time, they manifest into terrorist attacks and communal riots. Our minds work differently when we start talking or thinking about religion. We always feel that our own religion is better than others, we are right and others are wrong. A similar thinking pattern follows when we think about our own caste, race, or gender, based on our social and cultural upbringing we get trained or brainwashed to think that a particular race or caste is superior to others, one gender is superior to another. Everyone following any religion likes to claim that their religion doesn't preach any violence, discrimination, or hatred but still, we find a lot of communal tension all over the world. WHY? Even within the same religion, there are many factions who fight with each other. Why religion can't stop all this fighting? I can understand arguments, discussions, and debates but what purpose does spreading venom of hatred and killing innocent people including kids in the name of god serve?

This book describes Lauren's journey, and it gives an insider's perspective. Most of us can relate to her character, her story is gripping, tragic, and heartbreaking but in the end, leaves us with some hope. There are many hateful groups like this present all over the world, they belong to all religions. Such groups target people of all ages, brainwash them, and groom them to make their brand ambassadors, who can go and spread their false propaganda. I am not against any religion but I am against anything that spreads hatred and encourages discrimination and violence. We need to stop this. We need to spread love and unity instead of hatred and discrimination. We need to enlighten people and encourage critical thinking rather than brainwashing because brainwashing only creates fanatics. We don't need brainwashing but we need enlightenment of our mind and our society.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church