The Statue of Liberty is one of the most prominent symbols of America and is inscribed with this sentence: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” Other common American values include equality, freedom and the ability to make a good living for oneself with hard work. Another aspect America is surely known for is consumerism, a not-so-small part of this being the brand Coca-Cola, which has, whether we like it or not, been a most enduring part of American culture and demonstrates one of the ways we as Americans are connected. Because everyone drinks Coke, right? Screw Pepsi. (Just kidding, Pepsi is fine.)
Since the Super Bowl on Sunday was so damn boring in itself, I’m sure most of you were paying more attention to the commercials than to the actual game. Coca-Cola aired a chillingly-beautiful commercial including images of American culture with the song, “America, the Beautiful” being sung in many different languages. I don’t claim to like football all that much, regardless, this was the highlight of the Super Bowl because it demonstrated progress. I am extremely happy Coca-Cola was willing to do this, whether it was mostly for marketing or not. At the end of the commercial, we see their Coca-Cola symbol with the hashtag—America is beautiful. And isn’t it? Don’t all of these cultures that make up the American melting pot make America beautiful, and, perhaps make it exist in itself? Sadly, still not everyone thinks that.
Unfortunately, there was outrage on Twitter because that is where all the idiots go to voice their opinions. (They also don’t have to pay too much attention to spelling on Twitter, which works in their favor).
@ColonelDeej tweeted, “Singing America the beautiful in a different language is the most unAmerican thing I ever heard in my entire life. #boycottcoke”
@Stoyer_11 tweeted, “How dare you sing “America” in different languages. Fuck Coca Cola. That’s so disrespectful. #FuckCoke”
The most intelligent and patriotic tweeter of them all, @tombeyer6, tweeted, “bullshit, god bless America in other languages? #fuckcoke.” I would just like to point out he got the song title wrong amidst his outrage. Eventually, the Twitter outrage led to a trending hashtag, #speakamerican. There is no way to speak American, dipshits. There is a way to speak English, which is sung in the commercial. Had it been excluded, I could understand a certain degree of anger toward the commercial. English is obviously a big part of America. However, English was a part of the commercial; in fact, most of the commercial was sung in English.
Now, back to @ColonelDeej’s tweet—he clearly doesn’t understand what it means to be an American. The United States is a melting pot of different cultures. As mentioned previously, it is a sign of equality. When I think of the America that I am proud to live in and be a citizen of, I think of a democracy where anyone can come to make something for themselves, to experience freedom. I don’t just see a white, heterosexual, male. And it is time to let go of that image, because that is not the image of America, at least not anymore. And it shouldn’t be. The phrase inscribed on the Statue of Liberty does not mention any single race, sexuality or gender. As the Statue of Liberty states, America is a sign of prosperity for all who are lost, and that is what makes us human—that no matter what race we are or what differences we have, all of us can be lost at some point in our lives. America brings us together, despite our differences. We need to get to a point where there isn’t a separation, where there isn’t an “us” and a “them.” Thank you, Coca-Cola for showing a more accurate picture of what America is, rather than excluding the beautiful cultures that make up a large portion of our country. Thank you for showing that we have made progress, but there is much more to be made. As the song says, “crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.” This “brotherhood” knows no race, gender, sexuality or language.
To view the commercial, click this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=443Vy3I0gJs
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