FREE ESSAY ON WACOS AT WACO

WACOS AT WACO

In studying millenarian movements many theories have attempted to explain the behavior of
past groups who believe the end of the world is soon approaching. Historically, these
accounts have been brought to light mostly by second-hand accounts. Yet these movements
have continued until the present day, allowing us to collect information about similar
millenarian movements through current observations, and comparing them with the
societies, events, and people who led these movements in the past. As the year 2000
approaches, the words millennium, antichrist, and Armageddon have become commonplace in
our every day lives. While this happening, we are made aware of this shift in our
cultural conciseness and compare current movements to past theories of millenarianism in
order to better understand the place these beliefs hold in our culture. The fateful
events that revealed David Koresh to the world are exciting because the Waco disaster was
similar to historical events and enhanced our understanding of what is known about
millennial groups. The harshness of the events that occurred there are worth noting for
more than their sensationalism. (A)The Waco events demonstrated how our government reacts
to movements it sees as threatening to the social norm, and resulted in such dire
consequences as to suggest that all the studies that have been done on millenarianism up
until now are not considered deeply enough. (B)The available literature on the Waco
events also suggests that the prophet status held by David Koresh in relation to the
group was powerful enough to overcome societal pressures to conform to more acceptable
beliefs. (C)Finally, the Waco believers ultimately had a marked political effect that
draws more conservative believers to hold fast to their millennial beliefs. Waco movement
had political impact- gained suspicion from government, had power to arouse fear-
Why?***Second point to discuss. Such as: the role of prophets in the ___ movement.***why
power- was due to prophet status given by group to Koresh -explain how he gave strength
and power to affect government to this movement- lead to society***Third point to
discuss. Such as: The relationship of the group's millennial ideas and dogma to social
change.***waco movement was able to cause social change-why leader, power, resistance
,disillusionment of members in current society about there way of life(hopeless)***
Several biblical experts were called onto the seen during the conflict at Waco. One of
these experts, James Tabor wrote his account of the happenings at Waco. In his article
"Religious Discourse and Failed Negotiations, The Dynamics of Biblical Apocalypticism at
Waco" asserts that the government reacted to the actions of David Koresh without taking
into account what he was truly trying to accomplish. If this was seriously considered,
according to the observations of James Tabor, the conflict at Waco could have been
resolved without the harsh actions of the BATF.. Initial live interviews with Koresh were
very revealing if studied. Koresh believed himself to be the "Christ" that would be able
to interpret the seven scrolls referred to in the bible as one of the events preceding
the end of the world. The government approached the situation as a hostage rescue
situation, when infect they were acting out the beliefs that Koresh was teaching would
occur before the end of the world. The thing that the government had missed was that no
one in the compound had in the past or the present perceived themselves to be a hostage
of Koresh, instead the did feel themselves hostages of the U.S. government.
The government reacted to Koresh and his followers violently because thy perceived him to
be an insane con-artist with no chance of changing his views. The way Koresh spoke
contributed to this, but why was he seen to be such a threat as to allow the government
to deal with him with such extreme force? The ability of Koresh to be a charismatic
leader allowed him to surpass the authority of many traditional forms of authority. Max
Weber characterizes this type of authority as "…a certain quality of an individual
or personality by virtue of which he is considered extraordinary and treated as endowed
with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities.
These are such as are not accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of
divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is
treated as a 'leader'." By all accounts and of his followers and the media coverage he
received, Koresh was an exceptionally intricate speaker when it came to interpreting his
understanding of the bible. Because his interpretations were extreme and based on
fundamentalist ideologies, government psychologists and experts interpreted this to be
the ramblings of an insane man. It cannot be denied, however, that the people who
followed him perceived him to be endowed with a supernatural ability to recite and
decipher the meanings of the most complex bible passages. To a fundamentalist this very
ability did seem to be exemplary and therefore "true" believers felt compelled to follow
his teachings. There have been many prophets refereed to in the bible and it is not a far
stretch to believe in a present day prophet, especially if his preaching seemed to be
such infallible truths to his followers. This disregard for the traditional authority of
the federal government inflamed the situation. This also caused the government figures to
act more aggressively because of this disregard. Reacting to the actions of a "crazy" man
seems shortsighted. Why didn't the government allow alternative methods to be carried
out? Time was a definite concern at this point.
The tragedy at Waco was remarkably similar to the events that occurred at Wounded Knee.
Just like the battle of Wounded Knee, the events that occurred there have effected our
society to this day. The harshness of the government causes people who feel an attachment
to these causes to become strongly attached to there cause. Peter Worsely states: The
cults thus serve as an expression of reaction against what is felt as oppression by
another class or nationality." Having strong beliefs in this modern American culture that
are directly opposed to the popular common beliefs of the culture causes anxiety and
feelings of oppression. Although these feelings of oppression may seem unfounded to many
outside observers it is necessary to realize that these beliefs stem not from the
isolated events in one persons life, but from the concept that the followers of Koresh
felt they belonged to a narrative that was as old as the bible. Michael Carrithers states
that it is important to realize how a person may fell deprived of a past or present by
aligning themselves with a narrative that belongs to past ancestors or groups.
"…the temporal and social perspectives are intimately involved with each other."
"Moreover, these gradually attained characteristic of persons occur in a mutually
constructed flow of events extending beyond any one person's life cycle into the past and
the future." This can bee seen through the actions of many Indian groups who are still
trying to see recognition from the US government to this day for past injustices that
seem unclear in a look at the present American culture. This shows that people are
attached to the narrative of the groups they relate to, persecution for one's political
and religious beliefs is a tradition that has existed for numerous centuries and was the
biases for the founding of the United States of America. 
Summary paragraph reiterates the main idea from each of the preceding paragraphs.
A. Point 1.
B. Point 2.
C. Point 3.
D. Restate main idea (different wording) from paragraph 1.
Support
You're perspective on the main points.
What your ultimate conclusion is based on the readings and discussion of the group this
paper is about. State your opinion, subtly but firmly.Final concluding sentence (I like
to relate it mildly to the opening sentence of the essay.)