Polianiac

A couple of years ago, during the break in a seminar, a young student approached me and asked, “Karen, what does it mean when people say drinking the Kool-Aid?” Immediately, I responded, “Jonestown!” I could tell by the look on his face I may as well not have answered.

We headed for the Cappuccino Bar and I went into detail about a massacre that happened “sometime in the late 70s”. People from the United States had followed their religious cult leader, Rev. Jim Jones, to a place in South America called Guyana; and ultimately, committed suicide by “drinking Kool-aid” laced with cyanide. Over 900 people died there and ever since, “drinking the Kool-aid” is Pop Culture speak for blindly following a leader—even to one’s death.  

The 30^th Anniversary of the Jonestown Tragedy, as it is now known, is being commemorated this weekend on cable news channels. Both MSNBC and CNN have specials that historically recount this very sad event. This moment in U.S. history marks the only instance of a United States Congressman being killed “in the line of duty”. All in all, it is a piece of modern history that deserves attention. This is not an easy story to digest. It portrays people in a time and place that many can not imagine. The fact is, the story is true and it happened to United States citizens. By learning and knowing their story, we become aware and hopefully know not to make the same mistakes.

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