I'm angry. Mad. More than that, I'm livid. Let me say it again...LIVID!
What started out as a sweet and nostalgic 40-year-later riff on "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" has become a policital commentary on just who belongs in America. Because of a commercial. For a soft drink.
Can anyone help me out here?
Even if you're not a football fan, you're surely aware that gazillions of dollars are spent on the Super Bowl commercials. In fact, 43% of viewers tune in for the ads and the socialization that now comes with this championship game. It's a party as much as a sporting event.
Count me among the 43%, although, this year I was cheering for the Seahawks. Twelve years in Seattle entitled me to be an "offsite" fan.
I had my snacks. I settled in to watch the game...and the commercials. When "America the Beautiful" started to play, I stopped what I was doing to watch. LOVE that song, would vote for it to be our national anthem. The cinematography was gorgeous. The people were authentic. The vocals were angelic. I was captivated. In fact, I got teary.
Did I understand all the languages? Heck, no. Did I get the concept? Hell, yes! And it was perfect.
Then came the fallout. Instant outrage. The Twitter world went wild with the hashtag "#SpeakAmerican." Why? Because the song wasn't sung entirely in English. (Which I'm guessing is the same as "American.")
Here's an example: "When my family saw this commercial, Coke products became banned in our home," said a certain David Rowell. "This is America. We speak English here. I'll choose other products besides Coke."
Gosh, David. Last I checked, the original native speakers in "America" had absolutely NO grasp of the English language. It was sort of forced down their throats...before they got displaced. And while I'm not an expert on American History, I'm fairly sure the early years were pretty much a hodge-podge of folks, starting with a bunch of misfits who were forced out of England. Then came other immigrants who did the real work: Italians, Chinese, Irish, Jewish, Polish, Mexican...on and on. People leaving homelands and families behind, forever, in hopes of finding something better.
Call me crazy, but isn't that what America is about?
TIME magazine reported on this "Ugly American" factor:
“'WTF?” asked one post on Twitter. “@CocaCola has America the Beautiful being sung in different languages in a #SuperBowl commercial? We speak ENGLISH here, IDIOTS.” Some of the vitriol may have been satire for all I know, but there was much too much for that to explain all of the “English or GTFO” sentiment–not all of it in impeccable English itself. To wit: “Dear @CocaCola : America the beautiful is sang in English. Piss off. #DontFuckWithUs.'”
Let's pause a moment. Clear our heads. Remember that Coca-Cola is a company. A super-huge-big-mega global company. It wants to sell its product and make money for its stockholders. To more than a single, foolish, bigoted piece of the world. That's what companies do--they sell...to as many people and places as they can. Coca-Cola is a master at marketing their concept of "inclusion." And it's always been a wild success, eliciting pure emotion. Coke = Happy. Go anywhere--ANYWHERE--and say the word "Coke." There is instant recognition. And you will receive a cold, sugary drink.
C'mon, the idea of the "melting pot" can't be so remote. Isn't that what has always contributed to the success of the United States? We have long welcomed people from other countries and cultures, people who have worked hard--mostly without any recognition--just to make everything better. People with really bad accents, by the way. (Never mind that English is probably their fifth language.) Should they be asked to leave, as well, until they can speak like a proper Bostonian? Or a twangy Texan?
If you're a genius...say, Albert Einstein, Ieoh Ming Pei, Madeleine Albright, John Muir, Joseph Pultizer, Martina Navratilova, Irving Berlin, Felix Frankfurter, Saint Frances X. Cabrini, Hakeem Olajuwon, Edward M. Bannister, Ang Lee, or Wernher Von Braun...welcome! The everyday laborers? Yeah...You're intruding. Get out.
But now--almost 250 years after the United States was born--a single song on a single commercial becomes a point of contention.
I have nothing else to say today...except that it makes me sad. Very, very sad.
My grandchildren deserve better than this. And so do yours.
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