Coke vs. Pepsi

I have long found it discouraging that all rational discourse in this country is being reduced to consumerist dichotomies like Coke vs. Pepsi. You know, the way some people argue about which sports team is better: "The Yankees are the best." "No, the Red Sox are." "Your team sucks." "My team is awesome; your team sucks."

There's no reasoning involved; people pick an allegiance for irrational reasons and stick to it without reflection. It becomes part of their identity, as in: I'm a Yankees fan. That's who I am. Or: I'm a Republican/Democrat. That's who I am. In other words: It doesn't matter what that team says or does, whether it's winning or losing, whether it's right or wrong. It's simply a persona that people wear, and they'll defend it no matter what because nobody likes a flip-flopper and admitting to being wrong, at any point in life, is a sign of weakness.

Now it appears the Coke vs. Pepsi framework implicit in political discussion is becoming explicit. Read an article in Salon about Obama's sophisticated data-mining operation here. Grassroots effort, or consumer marketing? The lines are becoming blurred. I'm not sure what this means for future political discourse, but I can't imagine it's good.