by Ron McLinden
Ozark Chapter Transportation Chair
It’s summer again, and with summer comes increased consumption of liquid refreshment.
Our industrial economy has devised many ways of refreshing us. All of them involve parting with some of our money, and most of them involve “signing on” to a corporate identity or life–style image. The industrial beverage folks have even lured some people into displaying corporate logos on clothing and accessories, thereby making them extensions of corporate marketing programs. Along with all of this goes the cost — and waste — of packaging. Even “recyclable” aluminum, plastic, and glass containers impose a heavy burden on the environment.
Here’s a radical suggestion, adapted from the writings of social philosopher Ivan Illich. Resolve to consume more of your liquid refreshment in the form of water: plain old tap water, distilled or filtered if you prefer, with or without ice or a touch of lemon to your taste.
A couple of decades ago Illich invented the term “radical monopoly.” Radical monopoly isn’t found in the fact that Coke or Pepsi dominate the soft drink industry. Radical monopoly lies in the fact that an industrially–produced, artificially–colored, sweetened, carbonated, refrigerated, pre–packaged beverage has come to be regarded as the answer to the problem of thirst.
When we are thirsty, our bodies are asking for water. Just water. We don’t have to give up soft drinks entirely. But this summer, just for a change, let’s give our bodies more of what they are asking for in the form of just what they are asking for. Water.