I'm giving up all Coke and Pepsi products for lent.
Will Braun of Geez Magazine writes:
I was sipping a soda on the eve of Lent when it became clearer. The stars in my head - those specks of truth orbiting inner space - aligned themselves with rare clarity. The ancient rhythms of Lent presented me with a liturgical path leading beyond the consumer fatigue of our era, a gentle path of spiritual de-corporatization.At that moment I recognized my willingness to not only fill my body with a substance of nutritional detriment, but to actually pay Mr. Coca-Cola for the self-destructive opportunity. It felt in every way like a matter of dignity. I was repulsed by the bottle in my hand. If I was making a donation of $1.39 to Mr. Coca-Cola in exchange for his plastic-packaged froth, he was smarter than I. I felt that change was not only possible, it was inevitable.
The decision to give up something for Lent had been made for me. It happened before guilt or duty had even stated their nagging case. The motivational force was other, and stronger. The forces of my inner universe placed the value of dignity squarely above the value of fizz. I would abstain from big-name soda (i.e., Coke and Pepsi products), and I knew that after Lent there would be little reason to revert to the carbonated ways of old. (Read the rest here)
Braun continues on about Coke's numerous human-rights and environmental abuses, and proposes that Lent be understood as a season of liturgical decorporatization.
I am going to try follow Braun's example and give up sodapop. Yes, this includes Slurpees. It also includes all Coke products, like Dasani water, Minute Maid juice, Odwalla, etc.
Really after reading about all the crap that Coke has been doing, I should have done this a long time ago. To begin with, Coca-Cola is responsible for the murder of eight union leaders at its bottling plant in Columbia. Many (hundreds?) more Coke workers have been tortured, kidnapped and/or illegally detained by violent paramilitaries, often working closely with plant management. Plus Coke and Pepsi play important roles in passing awful trade agreements like the FTAA. Plus the whole Nazi collaborator thing. Plus the obesity epidemic, and the fact that carbonated beverages have surpassed bread as the #1 source of caloric intake in this country. We are paying them to slowly kill us!
Braun writes, "[Coke's] legacy is littered with environmental and human rights abuses. Its greatest redeeming quality is fizz. I am pleased not to be a part of it."
This may not be easy for me. I like fizzy sweet things. But I will try to remember that smart guy who said "Noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good." Wish me luck!
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good luck on this noble journey, Kevin. I am blessed with the lack of desire for soda pop. It is truly a terrible scourge on our nation's health. Plus, how about all the bottling plants that buy up all the clean water in countries like India where water is scarce, then turn it into Sprite and make people BUY it? For Lent, I am going to give up secretly throwing away jars when they get moldy in my refrigerator. A true patriot washes and recycles them.
Woah! I have never really had an addiction to soda pop, but there was this summer when my friend Kirsten and I drank a lot of Knudsen Spritzers and I do drink a lot of Perrier...
But Odwalla??? I thought they were like a "big" company from Santa Cruz or something... Ouch. That hurts. I guess I am just going to stick to tap water...
Odwalla sold out, bro. A couple years ago I think. All I drink is fair trade coffee and mineral water, so I feel pretty good about my beverage politics. Although who knows what dastardly deed "San Pellegrino" is up to?
Coke kills people? Soda Pop makes people fat? Boo hoo. Look around you and if this is the most rightous "noble journey" you dare, I think Coke stock holders are OK.
I HIGHLY suggest you try an ice cold glass of the new DIET MOUNTAIN DEW or how about the kick ass DIET CHERRY VANILLA DR PEPPER!!!
Sweet Jeezus, that is some good libations and now they come in 20oz bottles!!! Personally, I am now in Soda Pop heaven. The choices are o'plenty and I am often torn when forced to make a selection at my favorite Freddies. Well, er, good luck? with your notice me antics and rest assured that I will track your progress by benchmarking my Pepsi stock prices as of today and begin monthly reviews. Until then, let India and Columbia wallow in their own piss. I am a good consumer.
BTW - In protest of child labor practices by Nike, For Lent I am giving up walking and will only travel in my new Nissan Armada.
Let me guess, Joe: Wieden + Kennedy employee? Anyway those beverages you list contain ingredients that give me excruciating headaches, so I don't think I'll be trying them.
Again, I shall quote Will Braun: "I do not imply here that people who drink Mountain Dew or Dr. Pepper are bereft of moral fortitude. We are all indictable on multiple counts of less-than-noble consumption, and likewise, all worthy of boundless grace regardless of our shopping habits."
The point is not that this is the "most righteous noble journey" one can undertake, but that's it's one simple way to get started.
Not afraid to be cheesily sincere,
Kevin
SWEET! (no pun intended)
no, joe is right. it's crazy to think you're making any difference in the world by drinking coke or not.
exercise is an amazing thing. don't give that up for lent.
and what's with hipsters suddenly thinking lent is cool?
wow, you fucking idiots sure have it all figured out. Jeez, why do ANYTHING? If there's always a more worthy cause, then all your efforts at even minimally changing your life according to your beliefs are DOOMED. Lucky there are so many people like you in the world who are here to tell everybody how pointless it is to give a shit about anything. YOU RULE AND ARE AN AWESOME THING ABOUT AMERICA, THANK YOU FOR PLAYING. NOW LET'S BOMB SOME MORE COUNTRIES BECAUSE IT'S POINTLESS TO TRY TO CHANGE ANYTHING. Dumbasses. Do you seriously not know how powerful boycotts can be? Why do you think tuna is now "dolphin safe?" Because of the late 1980's, when people started writing letters to Chicken of the Sea and shit. Or Ford rescinding its "no homo publications" advertising policy. Or even the alternate version, where Sassy had to stop running stories about abortions because crazy christian groups boycotted their advertisers. BEING KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE PRODUCTS YOU BUY IS LIKE LEVEL ONE OF BEING A RESPONSIBLE CITIZEN. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves for being so goddamn lazy and cruel. You think we should just buy whatever we want? Regardless of labor issues or environmental issues or human rights issues? What kind of fucked up Paris Hilton world are you people LIVING in? Jesus! And by the way, Kevin is a christian as well as a hipster. So I guess he can celebrate Lent without jackasses like you getting all up in his shit. Fuck, what a waste of time (me writing this post). As if anything would ever get through to people like you.
Wow, ritchey, you just, in a few short sentences, gave a better and more understandable explanation of why people should pay attention to what they buy than anyone else has, ever, to me. Thanks! Good job.
"Liturgical Decorporatization"
I know this is a silly superficial post, but I'm posting anyways.
I plan on using these two words, together, in a phrase like that, more often.
B
Hey Kevin,
Glad to read your blog again. I bumped into Kate (evangelical expat) today and she mentioned that you'd done a fine job w/ your thesis and were blogging some cool stuff. She wasn't wrong.
I'm glad I tuned in.
I'll be back,
brandon
"For Lent, I am going to give up secretly throwing away jars when they get moldy in my refrigerator. A true patriot washes and recycles them."
This made me chuckle, for I am guilty of the same sin.
Ritchey: How have I lived without your beautiful rants? You are a forever-stalwart hero, and I really appreciate your indignation. Your presence on the internet makes it easier for me (and probably others) to actually care about shit. Thank you.
Kevin: I'm impressed with the patience and consideration you show in your blog and your replies. It's very special. But perhaps it's easier to be patient with the cynics because you know Ritchey is looming in the e-shadows, like a watch dog of the light.