The first time he mentioned the program I said, mostly joking, “That sounds like a cult.” I think it was the name of the method or the idea that a five day course could have cured him of his work stress that made me suspicious. Or it could have been his oddly calm demeanor and long-lashed blue eyes.
He laughed and said that if I looked it up online a lot of people call it a cult, but it’s not.
For the most part, it was a pretty normal conversation for a first date, though slightly boring and no chemistry, despite his good looks and the fact that on paper he seemed like a good match. I wondered if I should give him longer to become interesting. Then he mentioned his libertarian leanings. Oh, well, I thought. Not a match, after all.
Not having anywhere else to be tonight, I made the argument that it is both compassionate and fiscally responsible to take care of the members of society who cannot take care of themselves. His response: He hasn’t thought about it enough to come up with any solutions. This from a guy with a graduate degree in Engineering? He also feels like people should be pushed to reach their highest potential and if we give them handouts, they won’t even realize what they could succeed in doing. At the time, I thought this was just the typical Libertarian dogma.
The program he found so helpful came up at least two more times in our hour-long date. Then he had to leave early to take a phone call–from a member of the program. As we stood to leave, he invited me to an introductory program in two weeks.
Of course I looked up the group online when I got home. The first Google result was an article in a regional paper comparing the charismatic leader of the group to David Koresh. The lengthy piece detailed various lawsuits against the businessman who attracts a large following, some of whom were pressured to satisfy his sexual needs and feared leaving the cult. Yes, all the bad cult stuff you read about it. That’s the program this guy tried to get me to join.
So that was my Friday night: date with a guy who tried to recruit me into a cult. Makes me nostalgic for dates who just want to get into my pants.
p.s. will you marry me? 