'Cherry' Diet Dr. Pepper for me. Addicted.

I can not look at any can of any "soft" drink and not see 10 teaspoons of sugar (or whatever it actually is). Drinking soda, something every 'Murican is supposed to love and be willing to practically die for the right to have access to it at any given moment (soda machines in school hallways, hospitals, offices, gas stations, etc) is something my parents thankfully weened us off in my teens. Probably continued to drink it in college, though mostly with bourbon - but had little taste for it ever again. I've probably had two cans of soda in the last decade, and don't think I even finished them. The thought of drinking soda actually makes me queasy. It's all marketing that got us to accept these extremely harmful drinks. Stay away for an extended period and it will be difficult not to be aware of the sugar on your teeth and the sick feeling in the stomach.

To that point, our diet is pretty grotesque here. I think folks, if they are able to, should travel a bit more. Being in Europe to visit friends I've noticed two all-American things you'll never see in a refrigerator (at least in Italy): soda and ketchup. Think about the average American lunch. Greasy meats and cheeses, with greasy fried potatoes, washed down off with obscene amounts of sugary carbonated water, and slight variations therein. At home, we do occasionally have club soda in the house, to satisfy the desire for some carbonation (the Europeans again have fixed that problem; you can buy a device to put in a bottle of water to make it full of bubbly carbonation, which makes it"frizzante").

We've been suckered into becoming a "soft drink" culture. As well as all the other dazzlingly packaged Frito-Lay, Kraft, etc garbage laden with high fructose corn syrup, passed off as "fast food" for people on the move. We're told we're too busy to sit and eat a decent meal (remember the tv dinner craze?). That's another thing I've never seen: someone running down a street, shoving a slice of pizza down his throat. No! People who revere and come from food cultures, actually take the time to enjoy the entire process of communing over a meal, from espousing the proprietor's decisions, the chef's abilities, and the variety of choices. The food is as billed, completely amazing. Many times it is sourced locally. The monopolization of our food system by huge conglomerates is a grave concern for me.

Trump is the poster child for the oafish, buffoon Ugly American, who ain't got a clue about much. No surprise that he still eats like a child from the 1950's weened on the worst of the worst American junk food menu. His intellect, mindset and most of choices are stunted to that place of conservatism, jingoism and fast food garbage.

That's my cultural food rant.