Learning from a Tragedy

The article in the San Francisco Examiner wasn’t very big, nor did it command very much attention. It simply noted that Congressman Leo J. Ryan and several other people from California had left for Guyana, South America, in order to investigate the People’s Temple, a cult which had several members living in a settlement called Jonestown. According to several rumors, the People’s Temple had been abusing some of its members, and Congressman Ryan, a “get-involved” type of person, had decided to...