Normally when people think of Super Bowl, they think of hilarious commercials that go down in history. This year many of the commercials were rather boring, but one in particular stood out to people. Coca-Cola’s advertisement enraged many Americans as it portrayed people of several different cultures singing “America the Beautiful” in their languages. Soon after there was a slew of people hash tagging “Speak American” and many vowed to boycott Coca-Cola products as they felt insulted by the company’s attempt to express how America is a country of immigrants. If anything, this commercial opened my eyes to the fact that there are still a great number of people who are xenophobic.
What outraged me the most about the hashtag that came along with the commercial is that people are claiming to be “true Americans,” while the only individuals who can consider themselves as such are the Native Americans. This country was built by immigrants and it seems that people fail to realize this. As a news anchor recently said in light of the events, the Statue of Liberty does not say “Give me your white, English speakers,” but “Give me your tired, your poor. Your huddle masses yearning to breath free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Historically, the United States has been a country that embraces people of all cultures.
Finally, the last thing that gets to me is that so many of these proud Americans seemed to be under the impression that “America the Beautiful” is our national anthem and therefore, considered the commercial to be disrespectful. If these people are so proud of their great country, the least they could do is know the difference between “America the Beautiful” and the “Star-Spangled Banner.”