English Idiom: Drink the Kool-Aid
You’ve probably heard of brainwashing. Well, the meaning of being brainwashed is the same as drink the Kool-Aid.
If you drink the Kool-Aid, you believe and follow someone unquestioningly, or you show complete obedience to a group or person.
It’s a term that may seem quite weird to you because it uses a well-known brand name product. It’s an American expression and comes from the Jonestown massacre in which over 900 people died.
Jim Jones was a cult leader who convinced many people to form a commune in Guyane, South America. To make a long story short, he convinced the people to commit suicide by drinking poison.
It hasn’t been determined if they drank it mixed with Kool-Aid or some other drink, but the idiom has stuck with us.
It goes to show you should never wholly believe someone. You should always think for yourself.
If we believe everything that our politicians or bosses tell us without questioning it and without thinking for ourselves, then we drink the Kool-Aid that they have prepared for us.
It is always good to take everything with a grain of salt and think about it for ourselves.
