Wikipedia says, The saying "Do not drink the Kool-Aid" now commonly refers to the Jonestown tragedy, meaning "Do not trust any group you find to be a little on the kooky side," or "Whatever they tell you, do not believe it too strongly." Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly is famous for using the term in this manner.
Having "drunk the Kool-Aid" also refers to being a strong or fervent believer in a particular philosophy or mission — wholeheartedly or blindly believing in its virtues.
It seems that all of us have "drunk the Kool-Aid". We seem to feel so sure that our position is the only correct one, and that anyone who disagrees with us is either stupid, or uninformed. We label people or ideas. "Liberal", "Conservative", "Left-wing idelogue", "Right-wing", "Extremist", "Obstructionists", "Reactionaries". All of these labels are used to insult those we disagree with. They are used to divide us and pit us against each other.
Who benefits when we are so busy arguing with each other that we forget that every issue has more than two solutions? How about instead of shutting each other down for voicing an opinion different than our own, we do as President Eyring suggested in his recent conference talk. The great peacemaker, the restorer of unity, is the one who finds a way to help people see the truth they share.
How about we stop with the labels meant to insult each other and spend a little more time trying to understand where the other person is coming from. Maybe then we'll be able to fix real problems, like our broken immigration system, and the growing number of uninsured people and skyrocketing health care costs.
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