#americathebeautiful

On February 4th, the day which most Americans simply referred to as 'Superbowl Sunday,' millions took to the electronic airways, shamelessly expressing whatever flurry of logical or irrational thoughts came to mind. The hash-tag kingdom, as always, was home to people's candid ramblings - and on more than just the football, or lack there of (#painforpeyton) - it also became the limitless arena in which corporations could rise or fall. For everyone knows that Superbowl Sunday is not simply (or just) about a football game -- it's also about the commercials. Given that the Superbowl is a singular game rather than a series, it has become the most widely viewed single-day sporting event worldwide that takes place each year [source: Animal Planet]. In 1967, a Superbowl commercial in it's entirety was $42,000 (equivalent to about $121,000 today), but by 2009, a 30-second commercial cost upwards of 3 million bucks [source: Animal Planet]. Thus, it is quite evident that businesses and corporations will fully utilize such an opportunity to capitalize on everything from products, to slogans, to brand-names...and the audience continues to remain captivated. According to Trend-Watcher, five major corporations received between 125,00-175,000 mentions a piece on social media [source: Trend-Watcher]. And a new phenomenon, according to a Sysmos study, over 50% of the corporations airing advertisements during the Superbowl made hash-tag suggestions -- the result was thousands of references to products and their creators [source: Sysmos].

One of the most controversial hash-tags was #americathebeautiful. Conceived from the progressive minds of the Coca-Cola marketing team, the following commercial aired to world:


What followed, has to be one of the greatest public 'shamings' of an agency for their attempt to connect with more than, well, simply white, English speaking Americans. While some embraced the commercial, many instead posted statements that ranged from ignorant to downright hate-filled.
The following link provides assorted examples of people's responses (though, I warn you, many are wholly offensive): http://publicshaming.tumblr.com/post/75447787843/speak-english-racist-revolt-as-coca-cola-airs

So, what is it? What is so problematic about this commercial? What upsets people so deeply about the idea of 'America the Beautiful' being sung in English, Spanish, Tagalog, Mandarin, Hindi, Hebrew, Keres, French, and Arabic?

The definition of 'language' itself goes something like this...the human capacity to acquire and use complex systems in order to communicate with the external world [source: Wikipedia]. It is a way in which we express ourselves; and nothing speaks more powerfully or clearly than the language in which we learned from birth.
I will never forget listening to a fellow student in college share how profoundly significant it was when the worship team at InterVarsity (our college fellowship) sang songs in Spanish; while she was completely fluent in English, there was something much more intimate and special about praising God in the language that her mother used to sing her to sleep. The same I think is true for all of us. There is something substaintially more meaningful about expressing ourselves in the language that we were first encouraged, affirmed, nurtured, and loved -- it was the language by which we survived, and thrived.


The United States is one of the few sovereign nations that does not have an official language; although a little over 25 of the states have implemented English an official language on a statewide level [source: James Crawford]. A couple states and territories also have a secondary official language -- for example, Louisiana has listed French, American Samoa has listed Samoan, and Guam has listed Chamorro [source: James Crawfor]. According to the 2009 Census Bureau, there are actually over 25 languages that are regularly spoken by hundreds of thousands of people, and that is not even including native or tribal dialects (ex-of Hawaiians or Native American Indians), or American Sign Language. There are over a million people alone, in America, that speak Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Tagalog, French, Korean, German, and/or Vietnamese, in addition to English [source: US Census Bureau].


So back to my original question...why are people so bothered by 'America the Beautiful' being sung in other languages? Well, quite honestly, I'm not entirely sure -- but I'd venture to say that most of them know English as their first language, and thus, find their strength and pride is most fully expressed in English. But, I think that often these same people forget that English is not American, it is merely the most commonly used language to communicate in America (and many parts of the world). But that does not mean that it holds that same importance for others. This is not to say that someone who prefers to speak another language is un-American, or even that they don't understand the necessity of knowing it while living in the United States, it simply means that they have brought something of great value to America -- the language in which they were taught to communicate with the world around them.

So I think the question should actually be, why wouldn't we want someone to sing this amazing song in the language of their childhood? For it is in that language which they express the deepest admiration and fullest commitment. It is in that language that words resonate into the very fiber of their being, and thus, into the very fabric of our nation. A nation that was built - by people who literally died - for those who sought to experience peace and untapped freedom - not a new place in which people were expected to conform to rigid rules and policies dictated by the majority in power.


I was born and raised in America. My mother, father, grandparents, family, friends, teachers, and classmates, all spoke to me in English. It is the only language that I know - fluently and confidently. And it is the language that I use to praise God, pledge my allegience to this country, express gratitude for the amazing people and gifts in my life, and express myself most fully to those around me.

Yet, everyone else is not me.

And I am most excited to live in a place that, together, our voices really do make #americathebeautiful .