Cult/kuhlt/ n. 1. Worship; reverential homage rendered to a divine being or beings. 2. A particular form or system of religious worship; esp. in reference to its external rites and ceremonies. 3. Devotion or homage to a particular person or thing, now esp. as paid by a body of professed adherents or admirers. (Oxford English Dictionary Online)
Cults have gotten a bad rap recently, as is evident by the 2004 definition that I initially left out: "A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister." Just because a couple of bad eggs like Charles Manson and the Branch Davidians get some bad press for killing people doesn't mean all cults are terrible. Perhaps the devotion and discipline instilled by cults are just the cures for the slipping standards and apathy of the American people.
If you look back on history, all the great civilizations were doing it. Ever hear of the Cult of Isis? It started in Egypt and spread to the Hellenistic and Roman worlds. The Greeks had a ton of gods with cult followings, as did the Romans, who established an empire that lasted for 500 years. The Hindus had more gods than they knew what to do with, and Buddhism originated from a Hindu cult. Even in Europe there is a tradition of worshiping kings as semi-divine and picking personal saints, and you remember those medieval monks.
All the great civilizations had state-endorsed cults, and what do we have? Nada. We need a way of harnessing the fervor of religious devotion to combat our country's growing apathy while respecting the clear and binding separation of church and state. So why not form cults to the great presidents of the past? We already have a strange reverence for the dead white guys -- why not take the next logical step?
Think about it. The Washingtonians could get together, cut down trees and then admit to doing it. Grover's fans could invite Drew Carey to join them in singing "Cleveland Rocks." We already have a cult to Taft, as evident by the growing obesity problem. Eisenhowerians would play golf. The Kennedys would get together in a compound on Cape Cod and drink -- wait, I'm being told they already do that. Nixon's cult, The Tricky Dicks, would lie and be paranoid. The Fords could organize events to trip and fall on national TV. We'd have to draw the line at worshipping live presidents. So, Carter, Bush, Bush and Clinton, get busy.
How does this apply to us? Why, we would be the model cult, of course. We've been worshiping Jefferson for years. We speak of him in such reverent tones and almost hushed voices. Its not Thomas, Tom, TJ or even Thomas Jefferson. It's Mr. Jefferson. We introduce our school as either "Jefferson's University of Virginia" or "The University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson." We talk of him not as if he's dead but rather as if he's just gone away for a long time and we're waiting for his return. Casteen is clearly just keeping Mr. Jefferson's seat warm. Jefferson, at least to us, has grown to mythic proportions. Clearly we've got the "reverential homage" thing down, almost to the point of considering Jefferson divine.
As for specific rites and ceremonies to Jefferson, they're all around us. We celebrate the man's birthday; he's been dead for 181 years. We pine over and study his papers and letters. Don't get me started on his architecture -- we've all but red-bricked- and white-columned Charlottesville. We carry on his love for knowledge and the curriculum he laid out. Dropping a Jefferson quotation in an argument is the end of a debate, check and mate. There are statues of him everywhere. You might be told the Rotunda is an Enlightenment Age Temple to Knowledge or a half-scale model of the Pantheon, but really it is a temple to Jefferson. Concerning rituals, I don't think it gets any more cult than streaking the Lawn.
I may have described our devotion to Jefferson as a bit ridiculous. And really, it is. But all worship borders on the bizarre. We just really love the guy, and that's probably why a lot of us came here. We could to spread our beliefs to the rest of the country, if not the world, or just keep doing what were doing: paying respect to a great American man.
Good night, Mr. Jefferson.
John's column runs biweekly Fridays. He can be reached at gregory@cavalierdaily.com.
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