The year was 1955. Word-of-mouth news spread around the campus in Abilene, Texas, where I was a firstyear college student. Elvis Presley was performing at the Paramount theater there that night! As a naïve country boy, I did not know who Presley was or why he was attracting such attention. Being curious kids, some of us went to see what was happening.
Even though it was long before the concert was to begin, we were stunned to see teenage girls lined up all the way around the block, some jumping up and down, others screaming. The evening news described girls fainting and throwing treasured articles toward the stage during the performance.
What is fandom? “A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant portion of their time and interest, often as part of their social network with particular practices differentiating people from those with only a casual interest” (Fandom—definition of fandom by Merriam-Webster.com).
Many fandoms of popular entertainers have come and gone. Taylor Swift’s “Swifties” are a fandom. But have you considered that fandoms can also exist for a religious leader, a sports figure, or a politician?
A current example of fandom is the MAGA (abbreviation for “Make America Great Again,” the slogan that fans of Donald Trump typically wear on hats or other items) phenomenon. It meets the definition. The reasons why people are drawn to this allegiance are many, but some consistently hold true.
Educators and professionals in the field of human behavior are familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (webmd.com/mental-health/what-ismaslow- hierarchy-of-needs). Maslow arranged human needs as a pyramid, with physiological (survival) needs at the bottom, and the more creative and intellectually oriented ‘self-actualization’ needs at the top.
Maslow’s first (lowest) level involves our need to breathe and to have food, water, shelter, and clothing. Before those essentials are met, we are unable to focus our attention on the second level, that of health, employment, property, and social desires.
Maslow’s third level is the need for love and belonging. This involves friendship, family, intimacy, and a sense of connection. This is where fandom becomes important, because it meets that need for camaraderie with others who share a common interest. MAGA people have found their need for a sense of community and of belonging.
Of course, being a fan is normal for humans. The danger appears when it crosses the line, such as when people neglect their families’ obligations, or by endless pilgrimages to rallies and other gatherings that take time and financial resources from other family needs.
Another danger of fandom appears when a person is seen to worship obsessively, even deifying something or someone.
Fights break out between sports fans who have become “fan-atics.” Some families must avoid certain political topics at gatherings, or angry arguments would ruin the occasion. Longtime friends stop communicating when fandom crosses that blurred line. This raises red flags of concern.
We remember Jim Jones and the Jonestown People’s Temple cult, also David Koresh and the Branch Davidians. Those groups, and others like them, force their members to renounce family members, even requiring total alienation from family.
Jonestown, and the suicide deaths of more than 900 ostensibly “Christian” cult members cannot be forgotten. U.S. military troops were sent to care for the bodies, then to gather up personal belongings. After that horrible task, one soldier said he had made a shocking discovery: “There were no Bibles” (doesgodexist. org/MarApr98/NoBiblesInJonestown. html).
Those poor people let an authoritarian leader tell them what they were to believe, and he prevented them from verifying his claims.
Authoritarian leaders restrict what their followers can read or see. This can be a direct order. More subtly, it can happen when an authoritarian leader convinces his supporters that anything other than his own message is fake.
In my view, the video “God Made Trump,” with its messianic implications that Donald Trump posted on his “Truth Social” account, is a case of idolization that has crossed the blurry line into the realm of religious cultism.
Cultism does meet a person’s need for camaraderie and for sharing a common interest, but at the expense of sacrificing one’s own ability to think objectively and accept unwelcome information.
Maslow’s fourth level of needs is self-esteem. When people reach this stage, they are capable of confidence, achievement, respect for others, and uniqueness as an individual.
Fandom has gone too far when it causes people to be unable to think for themselves. To be a unique individual means thinking for oneself and not merely going along with the crowd.
It seems obvious the line has been crossed for those who accept what their leader tells them without question or validation. When leaders use ridicule and insult as their only argument, and aggressively reject others who do not agree with them, these are warning signs that that leader’s beliefs are on the wrong track.
When we share our feelings, our memories, and emotions, we heal from within. A warm welcome and genuine camaraderie await good people who can step back from those blurry lines and ask questions, seek authentic answers, and accept reality.
These qualities are essential in reaching Maslow’s top tier of the hierarchy, self-actualization. At this level, one exemplifies morality, acceptance, meaning, and inner potential, not the least of which is personal integrity.
Lines often blur between fandom, religion, and cultism. But individuals need to be careful to retain their own identities and their own values, not give these up to appease anyone. Is any leader who would encourage such complete devotion worthy of being followed?