How paranoid have we become about immigration? I ask this because of the recent Super Bowl Budweiser ad, and the many calls from people to now boycott Budweiser beer. Really?

I can think of many reasons not to buy or drink Budweiser. It’s a bland mass produced beer. They use rice, in addition to barley for their grain. Bud is now owned by InBev – a global conglomerate based in Belgium. But none of these are the reasons people are calling for a boycott.

People are calling for a boycott of Bud, because their Super Bowl ad tells the tale of Adolphus Busch and how he LEGALLY came from Germany to the United States in the 1850s. The ad shows a rough transatlantic ship voyage, Mr Busch processing through immigration, how he is not treated very well by those already here (something the Germans, the Italians, the Irish, and every other group that has moved to the United States has faced – go check your history), and finally he settles in. With another gentleman, they create Anheuser-Busch.  

This is a classic telling of the American success story and achieving the American Dream. Unfortunately, because it talks about an immigrant, never mind that he arrived legally, we have the call for a boycott. I guess now, not only are we against illegal immigrants, we are also against legal immigration. I’m feeling pretty sorry for us as a country, if this is what we’ve come to.

I’ve never been a big Bud fan. After serving in the Army in Germany, my tastes changed, and I moved on, beer-wise. I drink IPAs, Stouts, Pils, Porters, Sours, Session beers, and many others. Starting today, you may find a six pack of Bud somewhere in my fridge as well.