The story of Jim Jones and Jonestown is one of deception and manipulation. Jim Jones’s personality was contradictory; even though he was a huge advocate for civil rights and racial equality, one of his childhood role models was Adolf Hitler. Tony and Albert from the podcast “Big Ideas” describe how Jones was drawn to the preciseness in the discipline and order of the Nazis, while most kids wanted to act like American soldiers. His persona of a benevolent preacher was also a façade, as he engaged in extramarital sex and heavy drug use. Furthermore, he acknowledged and justified these things to his congregation.
Whether his actions were genuine or not, Jones could be extraordinarily kind to his followers. He did his best to know every single member of his congregation, and when someone needed help on bills or rent, he would often times rally his followers around this person to help them.
In today’s polarized political environment, I think that it is incredibly important that we do not “drink the Kool-Aid.” It should go without saying that a mass murder-suicide is unlikely in our modern era, but with today’s mudslinging campaigning style dominating politics, it is crucial that we maintain the ability to see both sides of an argument. Evaluating each sides’ motive is the first step, and it further than concluding that they just want to win a particular position.
I think that really evaluating the things that we just innately believe is super important, and although it sounds so easy it can be very difficult especially when we get caught by the groupthink effect. It is really crazy how quick something with the purest intentions can turn deadly.
Jones’ personality is contradicting to say the least. Just like Tony and Albert in the podcast, I was floored how someone so brilliantly advocating for social change could become so twisted. And just as I began to wonder whether Jones became that way due to drugs or if the deviant characteristics had been there… they mentioned that he looked up to Hitler as a kid. That says a lot to me. Whether Jones really wanted to help people or not, it seems that what he wanted–in the end–was absolute power.
Jim Jones’ story is one that shows the dangers of charismatic and toxic leadership. While his kindness to his followers was nice, it seems obvious that he acted this way for his own personal gain. The issue is the difficulty in understanding that there is deception occurring, which is why Jim Jones was able to become a leader.