Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Didn't John Wayne Drink Lattes?

This is probably my least favorite commercial on television. There are many reasons why I am embarrassed when Americans stand slack jawed at the prospect of having to pronounce words like "Half Caf Cap." This tone of vague anti-foreign sentiment is always troubling. I mean, how can I expect to order coffee if I have to learn two new words? What's worse, we Americans invented coffee. Did you know that 97% of the world's coffee is grown and consumed in the United States? Look it up. Given that fact, shouldn't we dictate how the words are said? I mean, this trend of Americans needing to know things in order to exist in the world is bad. I mean, if the woman behind the counter tells me that what I thought was a large is a 'deici', I will refuse to patronize such a place. I am not the kind of person who can commit a word to my short term memory and then repeat it back to someone. Moreover, I should not have to when I am ordering that most American of drinks, a latte. Look at the guy at the end of the commercial sipping his latte deep and proud--that's an American drinking our national drink.

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