UNCULTURED

I worked for a paramilitary organization as a civilian staff. It was not easy navigating the changes to policies and procedures. I learned that during staff meetings when a supervisor asked for input, it meant volunteering to be gutted like a fish in front of your peers.

 Looking back at thirty years of prison employment, I sometimes wished I had spoken up more often, but then again, I don’t think it would have mattered. Bottom line: I had survived, and I got out; what more could I ask for?

In Daniella Mestyanek Young’s memoir, “Uncultured,” she writes:

Maybe groups are just groups. Evil cults. Great armies. Wonderful families. Amazing countries. Pile whatever modifiers on them you want. Each one has the same inherent strengths, weaknesses, and potential pitfalls.  

And she would know; from an abused child in The Children of God to an abused United States senior intelligence officer risking court martial, Young questioned group behavior systems and their influence, control, and impact on its people.

Her life is an amazing story of how her childhood trauma led to a heightened sense of awareness about the dangers of group behavior, i.e. cults, going unrecognized. I thoroughly enjoyed reading her book, and it is worth reading more than once.