Dr. Pepper vs. Coke

Wow, so many disappointments lately. I really feel like I am falling into some sort of crazy depression. Not being prone to depression, and not actually being allowed to be depressed (depression is one of the illnesses my mother would not allow me to have, along with asthma and allergies), I am not sure if depression is the right diagnosis. I tried to Google a diagnosis I read about in my freshman college psychology class to reference here, but I couldn't find it. The symptoms include being overly affected by negative happenings in the world. Wow - I have that disease, even if I couldn't find it on the Internet. So much negativity lately. I was so happy when Obama was elected, but - sadly, my right-wing-republican brothers and sisters would not let that happiness last for long. So much strife, so much derision, so much finger-pointing and name calling - so much, so much, so much - hatred. So many twisted truths, so many blatant lies, so many hidden agendas, so much bullshit. I am to the point where I want to either move to another country or find a fall-out shelter from the cold war era and hide out there for a while.

For weeks, or months, (or years) I have been thinking about the difference between the left and the right, Democrats and Republicans, (the sane and the insane - just kidding!). For weeks I have had a snippet of a poem I once wrote rolling around in the far, far corners of my brain. A poem I wrote when I was young, very young - probably all of thirteen, when I had my first heartbreak. A poem that referenced the basic differences in people which cause them to not get along. I found the poem amongst the flotsam and jetsam of my early years and the gist of it was: we ultimately didn't get along because - (drum roll, please) - "I liked Dr. Pepper and you liked Coke." Ah, if only life were that simple.

Now, some forty years later, I find myself looking at the differences between myself and my friends and family - the differences between myself and those whom I truly do love dearly. Could it be so simple, can it be so simple. Can't we just accept our differences and go forward without rancor? Can't we accept our differences and go forward to create a nation, a country, a world, a home where we can all be happy, and healthy, and well fed, and prosperous? A world where everyone has a right to a decent life, a life which includes basic inalienable rights?

I like Dr. Pepper, you like Coke. I am a Democrat, you are a Republican. Aren't we all human beings? Don't we all want the same things?