| Don't Drink from the Kool-Aid! | ||||||||||||||||
| The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe is a famous book in the 1960’s about a troupe of hippies who consorted around the country taking LSD that was instilled into Kool-Aid. So “drinking from the Kool-Aid” meant to live a life of being on high on drugs. In recent years, some political commentators such as Bob Woodward, have referred to certain politicians or political spin-doctors as people who were drinking from the Kool-Aid. That is, they believe their own version of things so much that they cannot escape being trapped by what they themselves have put out, whether it is real and whether other people accept it or not. It is very important to think creatively, to create a buzz, and that can link back to “Using Words Creatively” in Step 2 of the Heavenly Secret. But it is also very important to do this according to WCZ guidelines, because the pitfall of too much spin is that when you believe your own press, so to speak, and fail to see harsh reality in the light of day just as it is, you will fail to see yourself as others see you. The expression "drinking from the Kool-Aid" also refers to a mass cult suicide led by Jim Jones in 1978 in Jonestown, Guyana. He convinced his followers to move to Jonestown, and later to commit suicide by drinking grape flavored Kool-Aid laced with potassium cyanide. So the phrase has come to have meaning on the lines of "Whatever they tell you, don't believe it too strongly." This meaning reinforces the first meaning by highlighting the need to avoid a fantasy world. Back to WCZ Proverbs Home Page |
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