I was
driving along today, just trying to get to work like everyone else in the rat
race. Not really thinking of anything in particular, just general thoughts. The
same thoughts everyone else has while driving in traffic. Such as; “Did I
remember to turn off the coffee pot?” or “Is the Amazing Race for real and who
the hell pays for all those tickets and hotels?”, “Can sheep get rabies?” just
normal everyday thoughts.
Suddenly a
song came on the radio that brought to mind of a dark period in our nations
past. Some of you are way too young to remember it, but it divided our country
and came really close to destroying it. That period in the 1980’s called “The
Cola Wars”.
We were a
divided people. Some were Coke, some Pepsi. No one can say for certain what the
cause of this conflict was, but even the loyalist to the brands themselves were
under attack from within their own ranks. In the Coca Cola camp, it was split between
the new and the old Coke. Even Bill Cosby was vocal on his drink preference
choosing the new version of Coke. Then there was regular and suddenly a diet
version was brought to fore. For Pepsi, they made a lot of hay with the split n
the Coke ranks but soon realized that their own brand was splitting! Who can
forget the Pepsi Free faction?
The
carnage was seen on TV screens every day, no one could sit this one out, I
personally choose Royal Crown Cola, just seemed to click with their philosophy.
It ended
like all wars do, someone claims victory, and yet no one ever really won, the
sentiment of the conquered is still festering beneath the surface of every pop
top and bottle cap in America. Even at
the Tomb of the Unknown Soda, there is always speculation as to whether it’s
Coke or Pepsi.
Perhaps,
future generations will learn to live in peace and love each other for the
character of the drink, not the content of their bottle.
Peace out
