Anyone whose been paying attention to the news lately has heard about the presidential meeting that was held tonight between Harvard Professor Gates and Cambridge Police Officer Crowley. On the surface, it seems to be a meeting to resolve a conflict between two parities and ease what media sensationalism has turned into a national headline.
There is something much deeper than the story of race and resolution however. Yes, there is something so important it has taken precedence over the reality an American President is actually standing up to face race relations head on. What is the bigger issue? What beer will the President be drinking?!
In all seriousness, many American beer companies are in an uproar over the president’s choice of beverage tonight. Why? None of the beers selected by the people in attendance of the “beer summit” were made by American companies. They were all essentially international beers. I first heard this “breaking news” while I was driving today in Austin’s rush hour traffic. Apparently, Professor Gates drank Red Stripe, Officer Crowley drank Blue Moon and President Obama drank Bud Light.
These beverage choices angered the American beer companies. In defense of the President, Bud Light is about as American as baseball, real football and Route 66. You see Bud Light is owned by Anheuser-Busch, a company that had a rich history as an American company since the late 1800s until last year. Anheuser-Busch sold the company last year to Brazilian-Belgian brewing company InBev.
I have some advice for the American brewing companies…quit selling out to international companies and maybe there will be something American left for future generations to use at “beer summits.” There are more implications than beer here. How many times do we as average consumers assume a company is American when it is not, but it used to be? This is simply a sign of the times.
Maybe the President should invite the beer companies to a “beer summit” to resolve this issue and they can bring their own. Just a thought…
