Different Voices: The Cult of the Leader
Question one
The Radical Right and Radical left movements included cults of personality in order to ensure that the leaders and the state were viewed as one and the same thing. These leaders had immense power and authority that they were considered divine. As a way of stamping the power of their beliefs, the two movements used cults of personality to draw massive following from the people. From the excerpts, there is no revelation of differences in leadership cults as the leaders were all regarded divine and saviors of the people.
Question two
The cult of personality took a religious dimension in that the leaders were considered divine and the followers had total faith in them as saviors. The reason was to ensure that the cults attracted more people towards them. The modern nationalism can be viewed as a secular religion in that it represents some form of cult of personality. There is so much hype and adoration towards the great leaders of our times like Kennedy and Obama.
Question three
We cannot put these documents at face value. A lot of information was kept as secret in the cults of personality. Even though the leaders were held with extreme power and likened to the gods, people remained silent and always maintained their faith though not completely internally. The fact that the cults collapsed immediately the leader died shows that people were fearful of the leader; they kept their loyalty to avoid the harsh penalty for rebellion.
References
Muir, E. & Levack, B. (2009). The West: Encounters & Transformations, Volume 2, 3rd Ed. La Vergne, TN: Lightning Source.