The Kansas City Disease is probably not confined to this region, but I have observed it to be very prevalent in this area. The affliction is no respecter of social status, race or focus of interest. My associates and I have been tracking it for years and have nearly given up hope of its ever being cured or even treated. What, you may well ask, are the symptoms, signs and causes of the Kansas City Disease? That is a bit hard to explain without advanced technical jargon. Perhaps a few illustrations of the insidious results of this tragic paralysis will help.

Several years ago the people who wanted to draw attention to the beautiful historic site, Longview Farm, organized an open house with tours and information on the Long family. The Longs were very wealthy, well-known horse breeders and active in the formation of the American Royal. Their in-town home now houses the Kansas City Museum which has in its possession many of the Longs' carriages and other interesting artifacts. Because the Longs were so important in this area and because there was much interest in Longview Farm, most reasoning people would have assumed that the farm tour organizers, the Kansas City Museum and perhaps even the American Royal organizers would have regarded this time as a golden opportunity to work out a cooperative effort that, at the very least, would encourage visitors of the one facility to check out the others. Unfortunately for everyone, the Kansas City Disease was at its full strength. Each regarded their activities and foci as unique and unrelated. "This is our event and not theirs. They have nothing to do with each other." Except, of course, the Long Family, the history of Kansas City and the general interest and benefit of the community.

More years ago than that, some folks were organizing a science fiction convention in the K.C. area. In the early stages when they were deciding on a date for the event, they discovered a Star Trek Con had already been scheduled for the weekend they were considering. Some of the S/F organizers insisted that there would be no overlap of attendees and proceeded with scheduling on the conflicting date. Of course, there was overlap and both cons suffered, as did the attendees who had to decide how to spent their time and money.

There are hundreds more illustrations of this disease. It is agonizingly prevalent in the regional Pagan community. While it is absolutely admirable that so many people recognize needs within the community, say the need for networking and community building, the Kansas City Disease infects the efforts of these people. True to form, these folks proceed with a good idea without first checking to see if someone else already had the idea or another equally good one or if others would be willing and able to assist and promote their efforts. Each merrily goes forward without considering that their effort might reap greater benefits if the ventures were joint or cooperative, or if they had an eye to promoting each other. I know from experience that it is not easier to start building a project from scratch than to lend a hand on an existing one. But the Kansas City Disease fogs the perceptions and convinces the victims that "mine" is better, more important or unrelated to "theirs."

How can we understand the hundreds, perhaps thousands of lost opportunities resulting from these failures of cooperation? I realize that ego, personality conflicts and desire for control of the project are predisposing factors for the disease, but failure to do background research into existing opportunities also contributes. Yet even these are not enough to explain the Kansas City Disease. After so many years of observing this phenomenon in institutions, businesses and organizations, my only explanation is, it must be something in the water.