The following represents serial letters-to-the editor, written to the Parkville (Missouri) Luminary. The first, reprinted here with the permission of the Parkville Luminary, was written by Frank McCoy in response to an earlier letter (not reprinted here) from Susan Brown, who had written to comment on the qualifications and merits of John DeStefano, a retired Kansas City Power & Light (KCPL) executive who declared his candidacy for the Missouri House of Representatives. Ms. Brown has been a leader of an effort to prevent KCPL from building a much larger power plant directly adjacent to the location in Platte County, Missouri where they already have a plant. KCPL's electrical generating capacity would, as a result of this plant construction, far exceed the demand needs for this geographical region. Consequently, KCPL would then sell their excess electricity to the "grid" on the open market, with Platte County paying the penalty in terms of being the primary recipient of most of the resulting pollution. Ms. Brown's efforts, though valiant, appear to have been of only limited success (KCPL may only build one, instead of two plants, with a somewhat smaller than initially-feared generating capacity). When I read Mr. McCoy's letter, I felt he was applying an unfair standard to Ms. Brown. I also thought the logic he employed in his letter was less-than-stellar. My letter, published in the January 6, 2006 issue of the Luminary, was a response to Mr. McCoy's letter, which also provided me with a jumping-off-point to go off on a tangent about the topic of culture.

Here are the letters:

Dear Editor

As I read the Luminary last week, it is never too cold for the character assassinations, personal attacks from the Kool-aid drinking, environmental wacko tree huggers, doom and gloomers from the high Sierras of Dearborn, MO.

The liberal left just can not ever seem to get away from their same old worn out play book. Attack, Attack, Attack - it's the same old garbage. Starving our children, taking social security from the oldfolks and the like. We have all heard it a million times.

Now just because a man [John DeStefano, candidate for state representative] chooses to become a part of the process and step up to the plate, he is accused of being unworthy simply because he works for an honest living. At least Mr. DeStefano is honest in who he is. He's the guy you thank when you go over to the wall and turn on the switch and it works.

Can you say the same thing about Mrs. Brown?

I would assume that Mrs. Brown is a nice woman. I just wonder if she could put the good of the people over her own friendships and personal financial interests. Last time I checked, Mrs. Brown's backers [The Sierra Club] were one of the most powerful lobbyists in the country.

So, come on down out of the forest Mrs. Brown and be just a little honest with us all. It could be a refreshing change for everyone.

Frank McCoy
Parkville, MO

Editor

In response to Frank McCoy's letter, published in the December 30, 2005 issue of The Parkville Luminary, I have a few observations. First, I don't know Susan Brown (about whom Mr. McCoy complained in his letter). Nor do I know Mr. McCoy, or his motivation in writing his letter. However, because Mr. McCoy's letter was such an astonishing assemblage of illogical flotsam, I felt it was necessary to comment.

Outside of the profound overall strangeness of Mr. McCoy's letter, one thing that I found most curious was a strong incongruity. Almost in the same keystroke, Mr. McCoy ridicules the "Kool-aid drinking, environmental wacko tree huggers, doom and gloomers", then, quicker than you can say "swift boat veterans for lies", he admonishes the "liberal left" of employing the "same old worn out play book" - "attack, attack, attack". Such logical schizophrenia does not a strong argument make.

I must admit I had to look up the etymology of "Kool-aid drinking" to ascertain the intention of this clever missive. Most of us remember (or have heard about) the ugliness of the situation when, in 1978, 913 people, mostly followers of the Reverend Jim Jones, committed suicide (some were murdered) in Jonestown, Guyana. Most of these people drank Kool-aid (actually Flavor-aid, a cheaper substitute) laced with cyanide at the urging of the Rev. Jones, a messianic madman. Mr. McCoy's insinuation is that "environmental wacko tree huggers" are the type to show cult-like devotion to their leaders. Exploiting the mass suicide of the gullible followers of a charlatan is all in good fun, I suppose. I think Mr. McCoy must have been listening closely to the "hilarious" pronouncements of the likes of Ann "My only regret with Timothy McVeigh [the Oklahoma City bomber] is he did not go to the New York Times building" Coulter (I could go on and on with other examples, but you get the point). I also think that just who are the "Kool-aid drinkers" in our society is arguable. If you don't feel some despair in watching the degradation of the environment in the interest of suburban sprawl and more heart disease, I contend you're not paying attention. That portion of the population which chooses to not be aware of this degradation is, in my opinion, swilling happily their fruity elixir.

It is not clear why Mr. McCoy feels that Ms. Brown is being dishonest if she finds reasons not to provide paragraphs of background and autobiography when she outlines the merits (or lack thereof) of a political candidate (even if he does work for an "honest living"). Many who are paying attention are already well aware of Ms. Brown's leadership in trying to prevent KCPL (for whom John DeStefano is a [retired] executive) from building large, polluting, coal-fired power plant(s) upwind of large portions of Platte County. Her advocacy for clean air and energy conservation doesn't disqualify her from having and expressing an opinion about the suitability of a former KCPL executive to occupy a position of power in the Missouri House, does it? If disclosure is that important, Mr. McCoy should provide it as well - for "the good of the people".

Mr. McCoy notes that the Sierra Club was "one of the most powerful lobbyists in the country" the "last time [he] checked". I don't know when that was, but his assertion is laughable (and not just because he calls the Sierra Club a "lobbyist" [which they clearly are not; they are a "special interest" for whom lobbyists typically work]). While the Sierra Club works hard to make a difference on behalf of everyone, their influence is limited, to put it charitably. The "elected leaders" in state and federal government don't exactly quake when the Sierra Club issues declarations (and local governments don't pay any attention at all). On the other hand, when the power generating industry (another "special interest") wanted special favors, their friends in the federal government worked hand-in-glove with their lobbyists to produce the Orwellianly-titled Clear Skies, an initiative that gives big breaks (in terms of how much mercury to cut from emissions, and how quickly) to power generators while sounding benign and wonderful. The power imbalance between the environmental interests and the corporate interests (no matter which of the major political parties currently enjoys supremacy) is so profound that it takes but an instant to realize the absurdity of an attempt to portray the Sierra Club as anything but a nuisance to those who would extract wealth from the earth and walk away from the mess. I regard the fact that Ms. Brown has taken the time to point out that Mr. DeStefano's employment history might reflect at least the appearance of a conflict of interest to be a public service, whatever her motives.

Our culture is, metaphorically, a magnificent machine given to jaw-dropping exhibitions of cognitive dissonance, wherein we see one thing but, almost magically, accept or promote an explanation that is at the polar opposite orientation. So if the power brokers in our culture have a conflict of interest, they accuse their rivals of having a conflict of interest (and their proxies do so too). We like having it both ways: we accuse our opponents (in Mr. McCoy's case, "the liberal left") of character assassinations and personal attacks while engaging in them ourselves. We accuse those with whom we disagree of having ulterior motives, of having hidden relationships and "personal financial interests" while, if not proclaiming our neutrality, then not laying all our cards on the table either. Our cultural pastime is practically pointing out someone else's hypocrisy (Disclosure: I, too, am a hypocrite, but I'm working on it). I say practically because our real cultural pastime is consumption of the world, but that's the subject of another essay. We say one positive thing about someone ("Ms. Brown is a nice woman") and flaunt our subsequent "nice-guy license" to flame the same person without pause. Perhaps if Mr. McCoy has "heard it a million times", it is because he's familiar with the technique.

As author Derrick Jensen puts it

"When we do allow self-evident truths to percolate past our defenses and into our consciousness, they are treated like so many hand grenades rolling across the dance floor of an improbably macabre party."

In other words, we (as members of the global civilization culture) avoid the truth and accept the party line. It makes it easier to "thank [the guy] when you go over to the wall and turn on the switch and it works". So drink the (cultural) Kool-aid. Don't resist the machine. Don't think about the mercury pollution. Don't think about the global warming. Don't think about the species extinctions. Don't think about the culture indigenous to this land which was exterminated so that we would have the "right" to fast food and big box retail. And for god's sake, don't think (let alone speak) about anything "negative", unless you want to be labeled a "doom and gloomer", at which point the Hummer-driving, world-consuming, McMansion-dwelling set will quit inviting you to their parties and declare you a wacko. Which, if you've declined the Kool-aid, you might consider a compliment.

Bill Gresham

January 2006