From Sea to Shining Sea

There has been considerable clamor caused by Coca Colas advertisement during the Super Bowl. The ad was a multi-lingual rendition of America the Beautiful. It seems to offend many that the song was done in a language other than English. Why is that a problem? Isn't one of the most beautiful things about America our cultural diversity? We seem to rejoice in our ethnic neighborhoods. Chinatowns in Chicago, San Francisco, Washington D.C. to name a few places. The Hill in St. Louis is a glorious enclave of Italian culture and heritage. Hispanic neighborhoods are in every large American city and in many smaller ones. Rushville, Illinois is clearly not the cultural center of America yet it has a substantial Nigerian community. Just down the road in Beardstown there is a growing Hispanic community. Both groups have been drawn to the area to work in the meat packing industry. They speak their own language in the comfort of the homes but are working hard to assimilate into our culture. There is no attempt there to remake rural west central Illinois into something else. It is just folks from a far off land coming here and attempting to realize their American dream. My ancestors came to America from Ireland, England and Austria. My great grandfather had his name changed when he entered through Ellis Island because the clerk could not understand my great grandfather's language or could not spell. He spoke whatever language he wanted at home. He worked hard and realized his American dream but assimilation took time.

Glenn Beck stated the following: "You need that to divide us, politically? 'Cause that's all this ad is. It's an in your face- and if you don't like it, if you're offended by it, then you're a racist. If you do like it, well then you're for immigration. That's what this is. You're for progress. That's all this is- is to divide people." You are confused Glenn. It doesn't matter if you like or dislike the commercial. It isn't about progress or racism or immigration. I will admit that Coca Cola does want to get in your face with this ad. They want to get in your face with a big bottle of Coca Cola. They weren't trying to make a political statement. They were and are trying to sell a product that no one has to have to survive. Mankind got along just fine for hundreds of thousands of years without Coca Cola unless you are a religious fundamentalist who believes the world is 6,000 years old. In that case it was about 5,900 years. If there was no Coca Cola tomorrow the world would go on. We would go back to drinking other things, maybe even healthier things and wax nostalgic for the days when we could enjoy a Coca Cola. It was about sales. About appealing to groups on a day when they try to watch and understand a sport that is distinctly American. Football everywhere else in the world is called soccer in America. They watch our championship game and try to understand and embrace something new and unique to our country. The folks at Coca Cola understood this and tried to appeal to them in their own language. They tried to bring them into American culture by encouraging them to buy an overpriced product they don't need and is bad for their health. What could be more American than that?