To the editor:
“Don’t drink the Kool-Aid” is a commonly-used phrase warning against blindly following people and/or ideas that dangerously coax us astray from reality and our values. It has a very dark origin dating back to the fate of over 900 Americans at Jonestown in 1978.
In 2016, Donald Trump falsely and arrogantly proclaimed that “I alone can fix it” regarding any and all of America’s problems. His faithful followers have been drinking his flavor of Kool-Aid ever since.
Trump, however, failed in his bid for reelection in 2020, losing by over 7 million in the popular vote and 306-232 in the Electoral College vote.
Instead of cordially conceding his loss (as every losing presidential candidate has done since the beginning of our nation), Trump did try to “fix it” — by inciting the storming of the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying Biden as president, by launching 60 frivolous lawsuits falsely alleging voter fraud and by attempting to insert fake delegate votes from numerous states, including Wisconsin, to proclaim Trump the “winner.” (The Wisconsin Republicans involved have since acknowledged they were duped into the con.)
We’ve now put up with four years of “The election was stolen.” “The election was rigged.” “Trump won.” “Let’s go Brandon.” All void of any fact, just in-your-face, angry rhetoric from the Kool-Aid clan. Sounds authoritarian to me.
Since Trump’s tumultuous four years in office, the courts, the congress, the media and the people of America have tried to sift through all that has transpired to make sense of it. As the saying goes: “Don’t confuse me with the facts. My mind is already made up.”
In this 2024 election, Trump has reiterated his same 2020 election strategy — that the vote will only be fair if he wins. The votes will again be tabulated by Congress on Jan. 6, 2025. As Trump tweeted to his faithful days prior to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot: “Be there. Will be wild!”
How much longer can America resist this onslaught of deceitful if not criminal behavior, misinformation campaigns that woo or con voters that aren’t paying exceptionally close attention, and spreading outright lies that become falsely legitimized simply by their incessant repetition? The tactic is simple: Wear people down, get them to tune out, cajole and/or intimidate them to join in — and drink the Kool-Aid.
Please, don’t do it. It’s dangerous.
Steve Parks, Bowler
