chris hiosis - Arz-e-Pak

The Cult ofMasculinity 91
"I really believe that the devil really tries to work on mothers
at home," she told Dobson. "We all know he's the master of lies,
and he will do everything he can to try to make mothers at home
feel that way, like we're so inadequate, we're not fulfilled. And
through my prayer life and just my relationship with Jesus, I feel
without a doubt this [being a housewife] is the most imponant
thing I can do. It is what God wants for me; it's what He wants
for my family. So I have in the early days-I did once in a while­
Rick would be leaving to go to some nice event in a tuxedo, and
I'd be on the floor cleaning up milk. I'd be like, 'What's wrong
with this picture?' And I feel so blessed and honored to be home,
and I know that my presence in their life will make a difference."17
The televangelists Benny Hinn and Pat Robertson rule their
fiefdoms as despotic potentates. They travel on private jets, have
huge personal fortunes and descend on the faithful in limousines
and surrounded by a small retinue of burly bodyguards. These
tiny kingdoms, awash in the leadership cult, mirror on a smaller
scale the America they seek to create. There is no questioning.
Followers surrender their personal and political power, in much
the same way women and children surrender their power to the
male at home. The divinely anointed male leader rules a flock of
obedient and submissive sheep. All must hand over their freedom.
All must cease to think independently.
The earnestness on the part of believers often gives the mass
movement its air ofhonesty, sincerity and decency. Believers are
not brainwashed. They are not mindless automatons. They are
convinced that what they are doing is godly, moral and good.. They
work with the passion of the converted to bring this Christian
goodness to everyone, even those who resist. They believe that
what they promote is moral and beneficial. And just as they fear
for their own souls, they fear for the souls ofthose around them
who remain unsaved. This often well-intended earnestness, although
employed for frightening ends, is a powerful engine
within the movement. These idealists are willing to make great