Monday, February 3, 2014

America the جميل

For my first blog post on my new little blog, I'll tackle something very current.

During last night's Superbowl, which was a blowout 90% of American weren't expecting, this ad from Coca-Cola ran.  now, with everybody in such a foul mood over thier team getting blasted, this probably got more of a response than the other, more entertaining ads on the TV last night.  I think that's exactly what Coke was trying to do.



I immediately thought that this would be a topic of discussion on Monday's social media, especially among my right-wing friends who believe that the borders don't have enough barbed-wire on them.  And my poor left-wing friends who were just innocently sitting there, enjoying the game and all of a sudden they get to defend their stance on why we should just all hug and embrace and sing John Lennon's Imagine.

One response I saw (on a right-wing woman's site of all places), defending how they thought America shold be, quoted a speech from Teddy Roosevelt:

Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country.In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man’s becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American. If he tries to keep segregated with men of his own origin and separated from the rest of America, then he isn’t doing his part as an American.There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile.We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans, and American nationality, and not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding house; and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.

Yup.  Teddy Roosevelt said that back in 1907.  107 YEARS AGO!!!  Isn't there something a bit more current that they could hang their hat on?  Because, back in 1907, there were a BUNCH of things that were thought and said that I would reckon would rather be forgotten these days.   This was 12-13 years before women were allowed to vote.  So yeah - probably not the strongest example to base your 2014 opinion.....unless your opinion is still a 1907 opinion.

Those against the ad think we should just speak American cause this is 'Merica!  Like the people singing in their native language don't know English.  I mean, if they're singing "America the Beautiful" there are probably one or two things gong on.  1)  They are Americans, which means they probably live here and at least have been to exposed to English or English speaking people.  If they took the test for citizenship, they had to take it in English, right?  OR 2) They aren't Americans but they sure do love our country enough to learn one of our national songs.  That's awful nice of them, isn't it? 

Now, as an ad - <yawn>.  I would have rather seen well known Americans, preferably sports stars, who are of different nationalities with the same lyrics.  I think I would have been more entertained by the ad AND gotten the message a little clearer.  But, I don't think Coke cared about that.  I think they did it for the debate they knew would ensue.  Had this been played during a repeat of The Walking Dead, I'm sure very few would have blinked.

In MY 'Murica - the one where I work side-by-side with many Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, some knowing little to no English but working their butts off to build houses for people of ANY nationality, but usually for American soldiers based out of Ft. Hood - not everybody has to speak English to get by.  As long as they get by with respect from and to the person they are working for/with.


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