A national and international debate that has raged for over a century has come home to roost.
Confused linguists have struggled to explain why so many different terms are used for the same subject. There is even a website devoted to the topic, where people can fill out a survey with a map that shows the areas of the country that use each term.
Naturally, we’re talking about soda. Or pop. Or, in some cases, coke.
Soda reigns supreme in the Northeast and Southwest to name the refreshing, nonalcoholic carbonated beverage. Pop is the term most used in the Northwest and Midwest regions, and areas in the South prefer to call all soft drinks coke.
We defend our regional labels with stubborn tenacity, scoffing at the audacity of someone using the wrong term.
Debate in the office has carried on for years, but now the stakes feel higher and battle lines have been drawn. Phrases such as “I don’t know how I can even speak to you” have been muttered as recently as last week.
While playful, these debates can lead to an “us vs. them” narrative. All too common in today’s culture, especially around state and national issues, this can lead to increased animosity directed toward those with differing opinions.
Issues become labels. Labels place us into groups that are used to divide us. We become focused on winning the argument, proving our group is right, and treating the opinions or views of others as wrong so we can ignore them.
While the soda vs. pop debate may be an overly simplistic example, it has deeper roots. The name we use for these fizzy soft drinks stems from where we were raised, who we listened to growing up, and the culture of the communities that shaped us. The word we use is a reflection of heritage, honoring tradition, and preferences developed over our lives.
At the office, we have been able to put aside our differences this week and produce a newspaper. It is because we were able to not let our differences define and restrict us, but we chose to focus on the bigger picture of shared goals, and a bigger sense of serving the community.
Much like the local Democrat and Republican committees continue to do with their joint fundraiser for the Community Energy Fund of Lincoln County, there are goals that need to transcend political differences.
On Saturday, Feb. 7, at the First Baptist Church of Nobleboro, Democrats and Republicans will put their labels aside and come together for a good cause. For the fourth year in row, the two town committees collaborate to host a soup and chili luncheon. The food and labor are donated by volunteers. All funds are put toward keeping Nobleboro residents, regardless of their beliefs, warm this winter.
So next time you hear someone order a pop or coke, try to avoid correcting them, but enjoy that we live in a society that allows for everyone to think, speak, and drink differently. Treat those that live in this community as neighbors instead of the targets for your next debate conquest. Let’s help move the needle from “either/or” to a community that supports “both/and.”
