lebron - Blogs - TheBlackList Pub2024-03-29T13:58:04Zhttps://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/lebronThe Cult Of Personality and Modern Day Idol Worship. What Does Lady Gaga, Obama, Trump, Beyoncé, LeBron James and Jay-Z Have in Common?https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/the-cult-of-personality-and-modern-day-idol-worship-what-does2017-04-15T18:29:42.000Z2017-04-15T18:29:42.000ZNana Baakan Agyiriwahhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/NanaBaakanAgyiriwah<div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align:left;"><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:16pt;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mtt-mQjsDlw/WLz453X9BCI/AAAAAAACk4U/IXJmELiw-KM5aJtOJU92rmrB2oj5OKQDACLcB/s1600/Cult%2Bof%2BPersonality.png" target="_blank"><img src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mtt-mQjsDlw/WLz453X9BCI/AAAAAAACk4U/IXJmELiw-KM5aJtOJU92rmrB2oj5OKQDACLcB/s400/Cult%2Bof%2BPersonality.png?width=320" width="320" class="align-left" alt="Cult%2Bof%2BPersonality.png?width=320" /></a><span style="font-size:14pt;">Humanity in the modern age, treat celebrities like their predecessors of the old days treated their gods. It seems that human beings have to have something to idolize, look up to, admire, wish to be like or live their lives for.</span></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QpGU0xnipzE?wmode=opaque"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"></div></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">Celebrities are the new age obsession of modern man, who once built altars and brought offerings to their gods, the modern day devotee (fan) now does the same, purchasing their pictures, videos, music in a frenzied state of wanting to be next to them, if only through a conduit.</span></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;">The Modern day Priest is the peddler of these New Age Celebrities Gods. They<br /><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7WZjEMJLz-o/WLz7KgQLAPI/AAAAAAACk44/UfHwP0NquvAwLxNCmljeHnfT64tcI87vwCLcB/s1600/Lady-Gaga-Monster-Ball-Living-Dress.jpg" style="clear:right;float:right;margin-bottom:1em;margin-left:1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7WZjEMJLz-o/WLz7KgQLAPI/AAAAAAACk44/UfHwP0NquvAwLxNCmljeHnfT64tcI87vwCLcB/s200/Lady-Gaga-Monster-Ball-Living-Dress.jpg" width="200" alt="Lady-Gaga-Monster-Ball-Living-Dress.jpg" /></a></div>pose as media moguls, press agents, producers and distributors of the mania that consumes the fans. These modern day idolaters scream, dance, sweat and cry over the "gods" they chose and keep their gods amply supplied with all the modern conveniences, and sometimes so modern, their "gods" can live in full furnished multi-million dollar homes.</div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;">Like any religion, the worshipers keep the Gods and their Mediators in power as the devotee depletes his resources just for one more favor or act of kindness towards them. These acts of kindness maybe inclusive of but not exclusive of, autographs, pictures, handshakes, special tokens and VIP seating at a gala affair.</div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2rFIkzfT-PQ/WLz68WZ2XdI/AAAAAAACk40/tipYkPyuit8N2duAhmntX5Plqd47UQV7ACLcB/s1600/Barack%2Bobama-as-christ.jpg" style="clear:right;float:right;margin-bottom:1em;margin-left:1em;"><img border="0" height="117" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2rFIkzfT-PQ/WLz68WZ2XdI/AAAAAAACk40/tipYkPyuit8N2duAhmntX5Plqd47UQV7ACLcB/s200/Barack%2Bobama-as-christ.jpg" width="200" alt="Barack%2Bobama-as-christ.jpg" /></a></div>When the devotee sees, reads or experiences the lives of their gods, they are energized living through their imagined world, or lack there of. They are excited by the challenges, the scandals, the lies, the deceit that shrouds their gods, because in order for their god to exist in the world of Celebrities they must face these and many other obstacles of success and/or failure. The Modern day devotee(fan) takes the life of the Celebrity in full scale of it's own life, moving and progressing along as the God would demand of them. Dare they fall in the disfavor of their Gods or other devotees find them trifling.</div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1m-qXvAIkSU/WLz7jW9chQI/AAAAAAACk48/O7ErdCooJBkJyLRUOvv-cEAegLoGToR2wCLcB/s1600/Jay_z_King_Of_Newyork-front-large.jpg" style="clear:left;float:left;margin-bottom:1em;margin-right:1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1m-qXvAIkSU/WLz7jW9chQI/AAAAAAACk48/O7ErdCooJBkJyLRUOvv-cEAegLoGToR2wCLcB/s200/Jay_z_King_Of_Newyork-front-large.jpg" width="200" alt="Jay_z_King_Of_Newyork-front-large.jpg" /></a>Some devotees become so obsessed they will kill for their god, or kill their god itself, destroying its life, history and perchance its effect on any other devotee other than they.</div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;">Perhaps this it is a displace madness, an obsession generated by the total lack of self ownership and self power. Perhaps the Celebrities while only temporary give the devotee the moment in time where they can feel overwhelmingly powerful and completely divorced from their miserable lives or completely disconnected from the miserable lives their very Gods live.</div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dI0jwYDaEIw/WLz5abDOeoI/AAAAAAACk4c/HhP0Mb5Tuis-2S8X4XC3a8Vg5B1R2NwxQCLcB/s1600/Donald%2BPresident%2Bof%2Bthe%2BUS-Superhuman%2BEffort.jpg" style="clear:right;float:right;margin-bottom:1em;margin-left:1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dI0jwYDaEIw/WLz5abDOeoI/AAAAAAACk4c/HhP0Mb5Tuis-2S8X4XC3a8Vg5B1R2NwxQCLcB/s200/Donald%2BPresident%2Bof%2Bthe%2BUS-Superhuman%2BEffort.jpg" width="200" alt="Donald%2BPresident%2Bof%2Bthe%2BUS-Superhuman%2BEffort.jpg" /></a>It is part of the social construct. Children see parents as gods, infallible and <br /> invincible, and as adults this lifelike onus is given to the Celebrity of their own choosing. In the realm of Celebrity worship, there are no boundaries as anything that would prove disconcerting to another can be hidden in the privacy of the devotees home, away from the scrutiny of any onlooker.</div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;">Devotees can get into fierce verbal battles with other devotees of other Gods, and like the Gladiators of old, can fight to the teeth about their particular god and its "well deserved" greatness and power.</div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xCQTR6_vXqI/WLz5ziyEHBI/AAAAAAACk4g/VY53iaSBHxs_zdRNh9Nzg0C9-ZEM35cngCLcB/s1600/lebron%2Bjames%2Bpraised%2Bby%2Bcrowd.jpg" style="clear:left;float:left;margin-bottom:1em;margin-right:1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xCQTR6_vXqI/WLz5ziyEHBI/AAAAAAACk4g/VY53iaSBHxs_zdRNh9Nzg0C9-ZEM35cngCLcB/s200/lebron%2Bjames%2Bpraised%2Bby%2Bcrowd.jpg" width="200" alt="lebron%2Bjames%2Bpraised%2Bby%2Bcrowd.jpg" /></a></div>Like any usurpation of power handed over freely or forcefully taken, the taker is as much a victim as the giver. The co-dependency of this relationship between the Devotee and the god, keep them inexorably bound to each other creating a life long dance of fierce passion and need to give the each other validation. The concert hall, theater, stadium or fan club is the Church of the Celebrities. The devotees attend these churches religiously and participate in the ritual celebration of their Gods.</div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;">The question to me becomes, what is missing from the human psyche that such props are needed? How has humanity come to this? And what is missing inside of the human being that this type of attribution of power is needed to be given to an "Idol" or object of their devotion. How is it that the social construct supports and promotes this type of mania?</div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;">I would suggest, that it is part of the overall Social Engineering of the masses to seek help, guidance and support outside of themselves instead of being sovereign and responsible from within themselves. I would suggest that for the many many thousands of years that humanity has inhabited this planet, there is something missing, something so intangible that it created a void that needed to be filled.</div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;">The Ancient Gods seemed to have left its creation behind, to squander and wallow<br /><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lG4QEXvdSxs/WLz6EEPEkEI/AAAAAAACk4k/_ox--6iVdSY06iNgF81vzsiCCrHktqH-ACLcB/s1600/beyonce2.jpg" style="clear:right;float:right;margin-bottom:1em;margin-left:1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lG4QEXvdSxs/WLz6EEPEkEI/AAAAAAACk4k/_ox--6iVdSY06iNgF81vzsiCCrHktqH-ACLcB/s320/beyonce2.jpg" width="213" alt="beyonce2.jpg" /></a></div>in the abyss, a fog, the unknown and sometimes predatory environment called Planet Earth. In man's quest to find security, he re-invented gods, the gods he barely remembered, who seem to be there to take care of him. After reinventing these Gods, certain men became empowered by their connection to these gods, relegating the rest of the masses to the position of devotee. He set up positions of governance over these devotees, promising to bring the messages of the gods back to them, pure and direct. He selected special devotees who would have just a little bit more than all the others. Then, he created powerful armies to protect these re-invented gods, along with fables, myths and legends of the Greatness of these gods. They became Super Heroes with super powers and abilities beyond what any human could even imagine having.</div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;">He also created an economy, one that would support the enormous army that he needed to keep his re-invention secure from attack.</div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;">He created massive imposing structures to his gods as if in a competition to prove his god's greatness over another. He also performed rituals and sacrifices to these Gods so that they could be happy and continue to support and protect them from harm.</div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;">What he did not realize, is that he was and is the gods he created. The Gods of Old<br /><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--7kPJ71mUgo/WLz6Uy8KAxI/AAAAAAACk4o/_zwt9JGGcZcUFqho0UL5MNNOt9JFF6uuACLcB/s1600/Gods-Annunaki-around%2Bthe%2Bworld.jpg" style="clear:right;float:right;margin-bottom:1em;margin-left:1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--7kPJ71mUgo/WLz6Uy8KAxI/AAAAAAACk4o/_zwt9JGGcZcUFqho0UL5MNNOt9JFF6uuACLcB/s200/Gods-Annunaki-around%2Bthe%2Bworld.jpg" width="178" alt="Gods-Annunaki-around%2Bthe%2Bworld.jpg" /></a></div>did not shared that secret, but enjoyed the adulation they received from the ignorant masses. They played on the innocence, the ignorance and in some cases, the fear of the masses.</div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;">The old gods were magnificent, in comparison to their human devotees. But they were fractured, imperfect, unpredictable, and flawed, just like their devotees were. They must have come from a world where this imbalance existed, or they would have never allowed the masses to worship them in the first place.</div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;"><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-evE0hWkIWpc/WLz6tALKEJI/AAAAAAACk4w/jKAPHAC_VdAeJQgodOiTnQpdnSjDdH29ACLcB/s1600/Colossi%2Bof%2BMemnon.jpg" style="clear:left;float:left;margin-bottom:1em;margin-right:1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-evE0hWkIWpc/WLz6tALKEJI/AAAAAAACk4w/jKAPHAC_VdAeJQgodOiTnQpdnSjDdH29ACLcB/s200/Colossi%2Bof%2BMemnon.jpg" width="200" alt="Colossi%2Bof%2BMemnon.jpg" /></a></div>So, in their absence, man has continued to build enormous structures, war machines, economies, myths, fables and legends to keep their re-inventions alive. It is only through the projection of power onto the gods, that the gods have any power at all and man seems to have lost the "I AM" knowledge.</div><br /><div style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:14pt;margin:0in;">Nowadays, the Celebrities hold the same position as the ancient Gods. However, they are only as important, magnificent, powerful as their devotees deem them to be. If every fan decided not to worship these people, they would disintegrate and fall from the pedestals (shrines) that were created for them. The idolatry of another human being would cease and man would be challenged with finding the God within.<br /> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MxS6XkJWOsg/WLz5FjmvRaI/AAAAAAACk4Y/n9dIwDPvzVkz0OrDRmVYpHsJWVH69_m2gCLcB/s1600/Beware_the_Cult_of_Personality.png" style="margin-left:1em;margin-right:1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MxS6XkJWOsg/WLz5FjmvRaI/AAAAAAACk4Y/n9dIwDPvzVkz0OrDRmVYpHsJWVH69_m2gCLcB/s400/Beware_the_Cult_of_Personality.png" width="400" alt="Beware_the_Cult_of_Personality.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align:center;"><br /> <br /><div style="text-align:left;"><b>LINKS OF INTEREST</b></div></div><div><table border="1" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-style:solid;border-width:1pt;"><tbody><tr><td style="border-color:#A3A3A3;border-style:solid;border-width:1pt;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt;vertical-align:top;width:7.2409in;"><div style="font-family:cambria;font-weight:bold;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3">Cult of personality Meaning</span></div><div style="color:#666666;font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbLMzC04uA0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbLMzC04uA0</a></span></div></td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:#A3A3A3;border-style:solid;border-width:1pt;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt;vertical-align:top;width:7.2409in;"><div style="color:#0038a8;font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><strong><span class="font-size-3">Cult of Personality? What Cult of Personality?</span></strong></div><div style="color:#666666;font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://the-american-catholic.com/2013/01/18/cult-of-personality-what-cult-of-personality-5/">http://the-american-catholic.com/2013/01/18/cult-of-personality-what-cult-of-personality-5/</a></span></div></td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:#A3A3A3;border-style:solid;border-width:1pt;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt;vertical-align:top;width:7.2409in;"><div style="margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37B_nOdRTAA"><span style="font-family:roboto;font-size:13.45pt;">Newsweek Editor Calls Obama "sort of God" - Literally</span></a></span></div></td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:#A3A3A3;border-style:solid;border-width:1pt;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt;vertical-align:top;width:7.2409in;"><div style="font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><iframe width="640" height="390" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/37B_nOdRTAA?wmode=opaque"></iframe></span></div></td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:#A3A3A3;border-style:solid;border-width:1pt;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt;vertical-align:top;width:7.2409in;"><div style="color:#02141f;font-family:georgia;font-style:italic;font-weight:bold;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3">“Another thing about it. It’s unabashedly the cult of personality (like Mussolini and Kennedy). It’s the epitome of symbolism over substance. It’s the kind of stuff that punk-ass kids would put on a tee-shirt ...”</span></div><div style="color:#666666;font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/21/trump-obama-the-cult-of-personality.html">http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/21/trump-obama-the-cult-of-personality.html</a></span></div></td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:#A3A3A3;border-style:solid;border-width:1pt;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt;vertical-align:top;width:7.2409in;"><div style="font-family:cambria;font-weight:bold;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3">Trumpismo: Eerily similar to Latin America's macho leaders</span></div><div style="margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:cambria;font-size:14pt;">"This cult of personality, the cult of the big man...the bravado, the machismo," says Steven Conn, a history professor at Miami University who has </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-conn/trumpismo-and-american-fa_b_9507034.html"><span style="font-family:cnn;font-size:13.5pt;">written</span></a><span style="font-family:cambria;font-size:14pt;"> on the subject. "For folks in Central and South America, that's a much more familiar character."</span></span></div><div style="color:#666666;font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/23/news/economy/trumpismo-macho-latin-america/">http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/23/news/economy/trumpismo-macho-latin-america/</a></span></div></td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:#A3A3A3;border-style:solid;border-width:1pt;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt;vertical-align:top;width:7.2409in;"><div style="font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><span style="color:#212121;font-style:italic;font-weight:bold;">If you stop and think about it, the former Obama campaigns and the current Trump campaign share much in common.</span> <span style="color:#212121;">Each of them are quintessential examples of the proverbial “cult of personality.” Their followers are focused on a person rather than principles. In the case of Obama, it was all about the </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/us/politics/21vote.html?_r=0">first black president</a><span style="color:#212121;">. Here’s some breaking news for Americans – if we want to get beyond the issue of race, then we have to stop making race the issue. Pretty simple, but somehow we keep missing it.</span></span></div><div style="font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><span style="color:#212121;">In the case of Trump, it’s all about his brash-sticking-it-to-the-man rhetoric. Another piece of breaking news – Trump did not get where he is by sticking it to people in power. Trump is where he is because he effectively cuts deals with people in power. Much like Sprint's </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG-VB5xb6KM">stick-it-to-the-man commercial</a><span style="color:#212121;">; do you really think Trump's going to stick it to himself?</span></span></div><div style="color:#666666;font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://ijr.com/opinion/2016/03/254377-jesus-cult-vs-cult-personality-lesson-americas-leaders-palm-sunday/">http://ijr.com/opinion/2016/03/254377-jesus-cult-vs-cult-personality-lesson-americas-leaders-palm-sunday/</a></span></div></td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:#A3A3A3;border-style:solid;border-width:1pt;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt;vertical-align:top;width:7.2409in;"><div style="font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><b>And for those liberals who don’t think that pledging allegiance to Obama is enough for their rock god/messiah, well, they can do like Madonna did last night and <a href="http://thehill.com/capital-living/in-the-know/258491-madonna-strips-for-obama-offers-profanity-laced-endorsement"><span style="font-weight:bold;">strip for him</span></a> during a DC concert.</b></span></div><div style="color:#666666;font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://www.frugal-cafe.com/public_html/frugal-blog/frugal-cafe-blogzone/2012/09/25/cult-of-personality-rewind-liberal-hollywoods-new-creepy-for-all-pledge-of-allegiance-to-barack-obama-is-similar-to-demi-moore-ashton-kutchers-creepy-2009-obama-i-pledge-video/">http://www.frugal-cafe.com/public_html/frugal-blog/frugal-cafe-blogzone/2012/09/25/cult-of-personality-rewind-liberal-hollywoods-new-creepy-for-all-pledge-of-allegiance-to-barack-obama-is-similar-to-demi-moore-ashton-kutchers-creepy-2009-obama-i-pledge-video/</a></span></div></td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:#A3A3A3;border-style:solid;border-width:1pt;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt;vertical-align:top;width:7.2409in;"><div style="color:#2c2c2c;font-family:cambria;font-weight:bold;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3">Madonna strips for Obama, offers profanity-laced endorsement</span></div><div style="color:#666666;font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://thehill.com/capital-living/in-the-know/258491-madonna-strips-for-obama-offers-profanity-laced-endorsement">http://thehill.com/capital-living/in-the-know/258491-madonna-strips-for-obama-offers-profanity-laced-endorsement</a></span></div></td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:#A3A3A3;border-style:solid;border-width:1pt;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt;vertical-align:top;width:7.2409in;"><div style="color:#544b40;font-family:cambria;font-weight:bold;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3">Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher’s “I Pledge” Video | January 2009</span><br /> <br /><div style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-3"><iframe width="500" height="281" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/51kAw4OTlA0?ecver=1&wmode=opaque"></iframe></span></div></div></td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:#A3A3A3;border-style:solid;border-width:1pt;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt;vertical-align:top;width:7.2409in;"><div style="font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-style:italic;font-weight:bold;">“Power,” Henry Kissinger once told The New York Times, “is the ultimate aphrodisiac.”</span> Kissinger might amend that statement today: Now, fame is power, and thus replaces power as the ultimate aphrodisiac. In fact, fame isn’t just an aphrodisiac — it’s the ultimate nepenthe, a drug causing forgetfulness. The more famous our politicians are, the more we neglect their positions and character. No wonder the most admired woman in America is criminal Hillary Clinton, the most admired man is criminal Barack Obama, and the second-most admired man is loudmouth Donald Trump.</span></div><div style="color:#666666;font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://www.freedomsback.com/ben-shapiro/donald-trump-and-the-cult-of-personality/">http://www.freedomsback.com/ben-shapiro/donald-trump-and-the-cult-of-personality/</a></span></div></td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:#A3A3A3;border-style:solid;border-width:1pt;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt;vertical-align:top;width:7.2409in;"><div style="font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-style:italic;font-weight:bold;">The cult of personality is central to this process of spectacularization.</span> Instead of politicians, in the Weberian model, espousing substantive positions and bearing a responsible commitment to the necessity of compromise, the personages put forward by the major political parties (and here we are primarily speaking of the United States although the point could well be extended) become merely a complex of images intended to acquire value rendered in terms of electoral share. And in this way the political itself becomes an expression of economization, even in regions of political practice not structured by outright bribery.</span></div><div style="color:#666666;font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://souciant.com/2016/02/the-cult-of-personality/">http://souciant.com/2016/02/the-cult-of-personality/</a></span></div></td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:#A3A3A3;border-style:solid;border-width:1pt;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt;vertical-align:top;width:7.2409in;"><div style="font-family:cambria;font-weight:bold;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3">In 1943 Walt Disney turned a 100 year-old fairy tale, "The Remarkable Story of Chicken Little" into a cartoon short.</span></div><div style="color:#666666;font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://alittlereality.blogspot.com/2015_11_01_archive.html">http://alittlereality.blogspot.com/2015_11_01_archive.html</a></span></div><div style="font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"></div><div style="font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><div style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-3"><iframe width="420" height="315" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3HR9vqx9oTQ?wmode=opaque"></iframe></span></div></div></td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:#A3A3A3;border-style:solid;border-width:1pt;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt;vertical-align:top;width:7.2409in;"><div style="font-family:cambria;font-weight:bold;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3">Yoruba African Gods</span></div><div style="font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><a href="https://br.pinterest.com/pin/309341068125729258/">https://br.pinterest.com/pin/309341068125729258/</a></span></div></td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:#A3A3A3;border-style:solid;border-width:1pt;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt;vertical-align:top;width:7.2409in;"><div style="font-family:cambria;font-weight:bold;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3">Painting Depicts Obama as Crucified Christ</span></div><div style="color:#666666;font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/painting-depicts-obama-as-crucified-christ.html">http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/painting-depicts-obama-as-crucified-christ.html</a></span></div></td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:#A3A3A3;border-style:solid;border-width:1pt;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt;vertical-align:top;width:7.2409in;"><div style="font-family:cambria;font-weight:bold;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3">What is Obama Christ?</span></div><div style="font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3">Barack Obama is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This fact was witnessed by the world on November 4th, 2008 when Obama became the most powerful figure in the world. Obama was sent here from heaven to save our world from sin and destruction. Only worthy souls will be permitted to travel to heaven with Obama upon Earth's demise. The Church of Obama Christ has since been formed as a way for the world to worship and praise the new savior. He is the direct reincarnation of Jesus Christ and was placed here by the Holy Spirit. The end times are near and you must repent your sins to the Son of God, Barack Obama.</span></div><div style="color:#666666;font-family:cambria;margin:0in;"><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://www.obama-christ.com/index.html">http://www.obama-christ.com/index.html</a></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div>