“Drinking the Kool-Aid” means blindly accepting something, often used in American corporate culture and politics. Its origin may be from the Kool-Aid Acid Tests or the Jonestown massacre. It implies faith in a leader and recklessness, and is often discouraged in favor of critical thinking.
The term “drinking the Kool-Aid” is used to describe blind acceptance of something, whether it’s a high-stress work environment, an order from a superior, or membership in a particular group. This term is commonly used in American corporate culture and politics, usually by outside commentators, who might say that someone is “drinking Kool-Aid.” People will also tell one another not to drink the Kool-Aid, in hopes of encouraging people to wake up to a situation before it’s too late.
There are two different explanations for the origin of this phrase. Some claim it is a reference to the Kool-Aid Acid Tests administered by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters in the 1960s. These tests were framed as challenges for followers of the Merry Pranksters and involved consuming Kool-Aid which had been laced with LSD, informally known as acid.
It has also been suggested that the phrase may have its origins in the infamous Jonestown murder-suicide that occurred in 1978. During this horrific event, hundreds of people in a cult called the People’s Temple died from drinking poisoned beverages or were forced to consume poison. According to popular mythology, the poison was mixed with Kool-Aid. In fact, as ample evidence from the period indicates, the Jonestown suicides were actually drinking Flavor Aid, a slightly different beverage.
Both explanations for the origins of “drink the Kool-Aid” imply a certain amount of faith and trust in a leader, and also suggest a certain amount of recklessness. In the case of the Merry Pranksters, the people who drank the Kool-Aid did so knowing it was laced with a psychedelic substance, while the Jonestown victims gladly drank the poison, well aware that it would be deadly. Because of the association with the terrible events in Jonestown, some people find the term distasteful.
Whether or not people find the term offensive, most people agree that blindly accepting something is generally not advised. When someone is told not to drink the Kool-Aid, the speaker usually suggests that the person engage in critical thinking and perhaps reconsider a course of action. This is especially important in the field of politics, where it can be easy to be blinded by rhetoric from reality, and it can be tempting to align yourself with a candidate or a way of thinking based on superficial information.
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