They say that Disney

 

is the happiest place on Earth.

 

They say that America Runs on Dunkin’.

 

They say Just Do It.

 

They say Love.

 

That’s what makes

 

…

 

a Subaru a Subaru.

 

They say a lot of things to grab your attention.

 

They say a lot of things to make you feel good.

 

They say a lot of things that will make you want what they are selling.

 

They are all lies.

 

They are wrong about Disney being the happiest place on Earth

 

if your mom gets mad that your sister spilled her $8 milkshake

 

and yells at her in the crowded Disney Space-Themed Restaurant

 

and threatens to take a taxi cab home.

 

Away from you.

 

Alone.

 

~

 

They are wrong that America runs on Dunkin’.

 

America runs on the materialistic ploys that big businesses like Dunkin’ throw our way.

 

America runs on this idea of an “American Dream”,

 

a dream that is attainable through hard work.

 

Well, that person who just handed you your $2 Dunkin’

 

is just finishing a 12-hour shift.

 

But the guy in front of you just treated her

 

like she’s worth

 

as much as his $3 Dark Roast.

 

She’s working hard.

 

She is running on Dunkin’.

 

6 cups of it.

 

She got no sleep last night

 

as she was studying for her chem final.

 

She’s going to be a neurosurgeon one day.

 

But the guy in front of you at the drive thru just screamed at her

 

for being too slow.

 

He’s not respecting her because she’s lesser than he,

 

standing in the drive-thru window.

 

Right?

 

America runs on the feeling that wealth and privilege

 

equates to success.

 

And fails to consider that the girl in the Dunkin’ window

 

is working to pay her way towards her American dream.

 

So that after some other Dunkin’ worker knocks that asshole out,

 

she can do the operation to fix him.

 

~

 

They say Just Do It.

 

That’s fucking stupid.

 

Just do what?

 

Just do whatever you want, right?

 

Just litter and pollute the earth.

 

Just take your Starbucks cup and leave it on the windowsill

 

of some Chicago store-front window.

 

Just do it.

 

Just cut off the guy in front of you like the pain in the ass you are.

 

Just do it.

 

Just fail to realize that those $150 Nikes you just decided to purchase

 

were probably sewn by a little impoverished boy,

 

hardly getting by,

 

hungrily sewing a little check mark logo

 

onto those fancy shoes,

 

in a sweatshop in the Northern region of China.

 

You know what his overseer said when he started to cry?

 

“Shut up boy. You have a lot of work left.

 

Just do it.”     

 

~

 

They say Love.

 

It’s what makes a Subaru a Subaru.

 

I don’t find that is true.

 

What makes a Subaru a Subaru is the 30-40 MPG

 

it takes for it to drive from point A

 

to point B

 

and back again.

 

Those 30-40 gallons are going to take you to work while you are running late.

 

They are going to make that silver, shiny vehicle go forward.

 

They are going to push forward

 

straight past that stop sign.

 

Past that bright, red stop sign that you just missed.

 

Since you were rushing to get your coffee

 

because you can’t run without Dunkin’.

 

But you were too busy staring down

 

at your silver, shiny iPhone,

 

and that supposed “love” that’s powering your Subaru

 

just powered you straight past that stop sign

 

into a little girl.

 

A little girl who’s life is now less fortunate than that of the sweatshop boy.

 

Because your “love-driven” silver Subaru, and your matching silver iPhone were just

 

more important than your regard for the lives of others.

 

Because it’s not that hard to miss,

 

her bright pink back pack filled with pencils and markers.

 

Or her pink and green helmet

 

with orange dots

 

that just might be

 

the only reason

 

your love-powered silver Subaru

 

with the matching silver iPhone

 

didn’t crush her skull.

 

They say a lot of bullshit to get your attention.

 

They say a lot of shit to get you to buy.

 

But what you’re buying into is worthless.

 

It means nothing.

 

They want your money and your attention,

 

but really it’s a ploy.

 

What matters is people.

 

Not their things.

 

They say that Disney is the happiest place on Earth.

 

It might be, if you’re holding hands with your mommy and daddy

 

while they swing your little 3 year old body between them

 

and remind you how much they love you.

 

People.

 

They say that America Runs on Dunkin’.

 

Maybe it runs on the morning you wake up late because you were studying

 

and your best friend in the whole world texts you to come outside

 

And you leave school to find them there waiting in their car

 

with a handsome smile and a warm cup

 

of your favorite hazelnut coffee

 

and there’s a note they scrawled on the side of the cup that makes

 

your smile

 

last the entire day.

 

And you give them a kiss before they pull away

 

sipping on their own Dunkin’,

 

but you run on the fact that you got to see them

 

and the note on the side of the cup

 

and the color of their eyes.

 

The Dunkin’ was only an excuse to make it happen.

 

That’s not what you run on.

 

It’s the thought of that person.

 

That Subaru has belonged to your old neighbor for 35 years.

 

She and her husband saved money to get it

 

when they first moved into their little ranch house.

 

She was widowed at 29, with two little boys.

 

Her husband died in the Marines.

 

He left her a post-it on the steering wheel

 

every

 

morning.

 

It said “I love you, gorgeous.”

 

Love.

That’s why she kept her Subaru, a Subaru.