Living Outside the Lines: “Drinking the Kool-Aid”

by, Becky J Milller

In 1978, the Jonestown Tragedy in Guyana took the lives of 918 people. Members of the People’s Temple unquestionably followed their misguided leader, Jim Jones. Jones convinced his congregation to drink cyanide laced Kool-Aid. While no one knows exactly what occurred that fateful day, it stands to reason that none of the members dared to be different.

Of the nearly 1,000 church members who began that day in Jonestown, only 33 survived to see the next day. 11 members fled through the jungle, 14 lived through an airport ambush occurring earlier in the day, Jones sent 4 away, and another 4 survived the mass suicides. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/12/jonestown.survivors/index.html

While I certainly do not begrudge those individuals who ran for their lives when given the opportunity, I cannot fathom the type of blind obedience that caused 918 others to drink the Kool-Aid. An act, based on accounts from survivors, they certainly knew would end their lives.

How about this imaginary scenario:  meet Sally and Cindy, two dimple cheeked, beribboned cuties, who play hopscotch, ride bikes, dance in their pajamas and share each other’s secrets.

As the years pass, the friendship blossoms. Thinking the relationship will last for always, the girls share the joys and heartaches of their lives. Sadly, though, the friendship unravels and there is an ugly split. Sally tries to keep the matter private amongst their mutual friends, but Cindy prefers to rally the troops and form sides.

Moving on with her life, Sally decides to host a dinner party for all of her friends. The friends graciously accept her invitation with no intention of actually attending. You see, they drank the Kool-Aid. These once mutual friends blindly took up the mantle of Cindy’s cause, with no real knowledge of the circumstances. Not one friend stood up for Sally.

Another example:  An airline executive decides to take a safety shortcut that will save the company money. This shortcut could potentially endanger the lives of innocent travelers.

The crewmember charged with carrying out the directive sees the danger in the shortcut, but unwilling to risk his job, keeps quiet and does as he is told. The plane crashes, everyone on board dies. Why? Someone drank the Kool-Aid.

Do you see where I am going with this? When we mindlessly follow the crowd someone gets hurt. We were created to be unique individuals, endowed with the capacity to think and reason.

What if ONE person in Jonestown had stood up and said, “This crazy, I’m not drinking that poison”? Perhaps others would have followed suit.

What if ONE of Sally and Cindy’s friends had said, “I’m not choosing sides,” and instead opted to be a catalyst for healing the relationship?

What if the crewmember said, “This is not safe and I won’t do it”? Maybe the airline would have found a safer alternative.

Being the lone voice of reasonable dissent is not always easy, but personally, I’ll take standing alone versus drinking the Kool-Aid and dying any day!

Until Next Time,

Becky J Miller

“Warrior Princess”