"The Tragedy Of Platitudinous Piety" by Bill Best--Book Review

I have written previously about the work of Bill Best on this blog.  Bill is both  an internationally known expert on saving, propagating, and preserving heritage food crops and an Appalachian author of some note.  He managed to do all that while working as a swim coach and administrator at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky.  I first became aware of Bill and subsequently became friends with him when we both recently had true Christmas stories published in an anthology from the  Jesse Stuart Foundation.  I respect Bill and his work tremendously both for what he has previously accomplished in his highly productive life and for the work he continues to do today in a variety of ways including his work with heritage crops, the ongoing work he does in the field of Appalachian Studies, and his continued work on a part time, volunteer basis with Berea College.  

This little book was published in 1982 by Kentucke Imprints, a short lived publisher in Berea.  The book was reviewed in winter 1983 Volume 10, Number 2 of Appalachian Journal by Tijan M. Sallah.  It is also anthologized in Bill's book, "The Great Appalachian Sperm Bank and Other Writings" which was also published under the Kentucke Imprints label and might be easier to locate a copy of in that collection, which I will also discuss at length in this blog at some date in the future.  "The Tragedy Of Platitudinous Piety" is more appropriately a pamphlet since it is only one piece of satire of about fourteen pages.  If you attempt to locate a copy of the book, in either form, you will likely have better luck on used book websites such as Alibris or AbeBooks where I often locate such disappearing works.  But be aware that AbeBooks does not have the tight systems of response time and other aspects of quality control from their independent vendors which is more commonly adhered to on Alibris. 

Bill loves to write satire and this is one of his best.  My only objection to it (and this might be due to my own density at times) is that it can be a bit slow for the average reader to figure out the actual subject matter which (if my aforesaid density has not misled me) is the Jonestown Mass Suicide and cults of personality in general.  Platitudinous Piety is actually the main character in this little story and becomes enamored with a cult which leads to his eventual demise.  A great deal of Bill's thinking in the greater discussion of cults of personality can be contained and summarized in the final paragraph of the work.  That paragraph reads "I must say that, although I disagreed with Platy's philosophy, his activities, and his programs, I was very upset and saddened by his death.  He was truly a lonely, searching person, and none of us knew how to reach out to him in ways which he would understand."  Since this book was written about the Jonestown Mass Suicide, it is easy to pass it off as not being relevant in today's world.  But having come to know the author a bit more than superficially, I can assure that Bill Best would tell you that "The Tragedy Of Platitudinous Piety" has a very serious application in American politics today.  Nearly every person who falls victim to a cult of personality is "...truly a lonely, searching person..." and in most of those cases "...none of us (knows) how to reach out to.." them in ways which can salvage these people both from their own self-destructive tendencies and from those people like Jim Jones, Marshall Applewhite, and the TRAITOR Donald Trump who would use them, abuse them, and discard them when they are no longer useful or when their destruction will serve the cult leader's purposes more than their ongoing lives might. 

Since Jonestown, America has suffered from several other cults of personality and related mass suicides including the Heaven's Gate suicide of 39 people in California.  But the worst case of a cult of personality in America is ongoing today and involves the irrational, indefensible, and bizarre devotion of a few million people to the TRAITOR Trump.  He is far more dangerous than Jim Jones or Marshall Applewhite ever work and is wreaking havoc on the moral and political centers of American society while serving the needs of his Russian master Vladimir Putin.  But what the hell?  Why should I waste my time and energy continuing to warn America and the world about what is going on when no one seems to listen?

Read this little satire by Bill Best, or better still, go dig up a copy of "The Great Appalachian Sperm Bank and Other Writings by Bill Best and read several of his satires in one volume.  They are enlightening, informative and fun.