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Craft Beer Liberty
We are a country of revolutionaries. From our upheaval of England, to the equality movements of the sixties, to today’s events in Ferguson, MO, we live, eat and breathe the spirit of our founders. While not all of us may be ready to pick up a gun and take on our oppressors, I guess that’s the point: we’ve over time found peaceful ways to make our voices heard, in the hopes of making ours truly a land of liberty and freedom from tyranny.
Of late, I’ve been paying rapt attention to CNN’s series The Sixies; seeing film footage of events I never knew existed, such as what went down at the Altamont Speedway in ’69 or specific protests and marches through the struggles of the civil rights movement. And to think the events of that decade were the first time in decades where our people stood up to have their voices heard over those who were failing to represent them is astonishing. What’s happened since? The women’s movement, the environmental movement, a scientific fight against disease and viruses, a technological revolution and of course, our own craft beer revolution, have stirred our collective imagination and made us a better nation as a result.While we at ACB might be partial to that last movement, when homebrewers took up rosids against their mass marketed oppressors, we know that seeing our American brethren not being kept out of harm’s way is something that resonates with us. No matter how you feel about what’s been happening in that suburban town of St. Louis this week, I think we can all agree that something is amiss here. That while we all would like ourselves to be one more player in a Norman Rockwell scene, it just isn’t that way for far too many in a country who prides itself in equality and freedom.
Deep down, we’re all everyday people trying to make due, pay the bills and make a better life for ourselves and our families. That can’t happen if one entity overruns another, if one organization declares itself above the law, if one political party runs roughshod over all others, of if one or more breweries forces all others to play by the rules they paid to have in place. Having balance over these forces are what make our country unique and we’re stronger for it. Or at least it’s supposed to be that way until all hell breaks loose, the finger pointing begins, the media shows up and it becomes a circus, with tickets sold at the door.As Americans, but more importantly as human beings, we can only hope that we realize the world doesn’t revolve around us, or a specific race, religion, group, nationality, fashion sense, hop style, condiment bias, etc. I root on those who STILL yearn to be free, and hope, wish and pray that those who know not what they do – those on the fringes, can find guidance, a reassuring hug, and can sit down to share a cold brew with someone they might not otherwise share one with; to someday learn that we aren’t all that different on the inside.
It’s our common threads that weave us together and unite us. Just as leaders in Israel and Palestine need to understand, our differences should be acknowledged and understood to find common purpose, not used as a bludgeon to impose our own views. We cannot let those who wish to divide and unravel America bring us to only focus on our differences, but instead turn the tables, reach out to them and revel in our shared humanity as Americans. It should be this spirit rebellion and revolution that unites us… preferably over a few cold pints.
