Today is the last day President Barack Obama will serve as the President of the United States. Some of us are marching this Saturday to celebrate our Constitution and Bill of Rights, to show solidarity in support of a free press and all the other rights we enjoy as Americans. A democracy, as many point out, depends on an informed citizenry, and an informed citizenry depends on a free press that holds government accountable, that provides the facts on the ground, and that is not intimidated into silence.
In 1987, in silence I left a high-control group—another term that describes the kind of group popularly known as a cult. For me, the freedom to launch out in the larger society of The United States was precious. It meant I could survive. I could breathe again. I could speak my opinions without fear of being ostracized from the “in-group” of The Way International, the fundamentalist cult in which I’d enmeshed myself for seventeen years (1970 – 1987). Leaving it, escaping its control, was not easy. But freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and freedom to choose a new path and regain my autonomy, was more important to me than remaining under the control of fundamentalist leaders whose ideas included valuing people for how they could serve the group’s aims, not for how they could develop into their own personhood.
Today, this post is my way to thank the founders of this country for forming the great republic we enjoy. I am indebted to them for the life I have to grow as a writer, to speak in a civil manner about my concerns, and to give back to the community that supports me.
Cheers to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
All my best,
A thankful citizen
Roz
We must all stand up to support that Constitution and what is right. My family will also be marching with you tomorrow. Thanks for all your wonderful words.
Rob Ruff
Hear! Hear!
Billy Williams
The freedom to make the right decisions has a companion IMO, and the is the freedom to make the wrong decisions. For how can you choose to follow the right path, if there is no other choice available?
If I had any advice for anyone reading “Undertow” who has never had involvement in The Way or another cult, it would be this: try to put yourself in the author’s place, experiencing the events that Charlene describes. Try to feel what you are getting out of everything that is happening to you in the Way. Feel how much, or how little, you are enjoying even the “fun” times and the good people that she writes about. Keep all of this in mind, then read her blog posts here. Any of them. Do the same thing; put yourself in her place. Are you enjoying your life more or less? Is it rougher or easier to get through the difficult things? Do you notice a big difference between doing life’s daily tasks under the structures and rules of cult life, and making your own good choices and mistakes free of the cult? Do you think Charlene was having more fun doing research and writing…something she was in to…in the Way, or writing today free of said structure?
How structured and blueprinted was very step of life in the Way Corps? I could give you a few examples from my own experience, but I think I would rather do that on request, and I don;t expect any requests. That is because Charlene is so good at accurately giving her account. I love her account of when she and Ed visited his family, then upon return to the Corps, got reamed out by “Doctor” for unwinding and resting. Those are a couple of things that were not on the Way Corps schedule. Even the “fun” things we did were training, such as the corps camping trip I went on out of Emporia, only to spend much of it in an exercise trying to show us what life would be like if we lost all our freedoms. That was kind o ironic, considering the entire corps experience was really such an exercise. (Charlene is of course perfectly entitled to disagree with me on that if she chooses). Anyway, in short (should have done this in the first place, right?) read her book, reak her blog posts, and see the difference.
Larry Sutton
You remind us Charlene, that what we have can’t be taken away unless we give it away, by saying and doing nothing to prevent that result.
Grace Valerie Claire
Charlene:
Great Post!!
Ralph Dubofsky
Hi Charlene!
Thanks for marching!
I will be watching that all day on 1/21/17! It will be great!
On 1/20/17, I’ll be watching The Animal Planet cable show all day long. That’s the best I can do.
I will not watch the eve of destruction of the Constitutional democratic republic the founding and governing documents and their authors designed for US.
“They may take our lives. But, they can never take our FREEDOM!”…Braveheart.