America Is Beautiful, Ignorance Is Not

      I don't know why I am surprised each and every time I am let down by the stupidity and racism that exists in this country.

     Coca-Cola kept one of their Super Bowl commercials under wraps this year and after airing - almost instantaneously - bigoted, hateful comments began spewing into the social media sphere. The commercial in question begins with serene images of this beautiful country with America The Beautiful being sung in English in the background. Throughout the video, the song is then translated and sang by a group of young girls in a plethora of languages including - but not limited to - Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, and Tagalog.
     In case you missed it, here is the official extended 90 second video from Coca-Cola.

     Personally, I was moved to tears by this commercial (... and by the entire It's Beautiful playlist on YouTube). That is how beautiful I considered this commercial, and the message behind it. But, not everyone shares my opinion, as illustrated by just a few of the following oh-so-evolved and intelligent comments posted to Twitter after the commercial aired.

(Hmmm, Erik, check yo'self. The song in question is not God Bless America. #PatrioticSongButNotTheSame.)
c/o https://twitter.com/erikvela09

(Oh, sorry @uscliffordmc ... The song isn't our national anthem either. #StarSpangledBanner.)
c/o http://twitter.com/YesYoureRacist

(Ahhh, there it is. I knew I'd see it eventually, when all else fails blame Obama for the marketing tactics of Coke. #MakesSense)
c/o https://twitter.com/nothin_NEW

(Ryun, don't downgrade the importance of using apostrophes when writing contractions. #ElementarySchool?)
c/o https://twitter.com/rconn216

(Buddy, I wasn't aware Taliban members were such huge supporters of Coke. #FuckStupidity).
c/o https://twitter.com/buddycanty31

(Nick, Pepsi's CEO is an Indian-American, Indra Nooyi. She is considered one of most powerful people in the world. #AreYouNowConsideredOneOfTheDumbest)
c/o https://twitter.com/morikis

     ... And the tweets go on and on and on ...

     Now I totally get it. While I do not agree with a single point made in any of these tweets, you're entitled to your own opinion. I will listen to your opinion. I will engage in conversation with you about your thoughts and opinions. Just know that if you agree with any of this garbage and you don't see the positivity and beauty that was in that commercial ... You are not someone that I want to associate myself with ... You are not someone I would want to raise my future, hypothetical children around ... I mean, honestly, in MY opinion, you are not someone who I really want in my country because you are bringing us down one stupid comment at a time ... But we really can't go shipping you all off to your own little homes on Bigot Island, now can we? That would be totally un-American. 

     I take pride in surrounding myself with people from all walks of life and all cultures. I come from a multi-ethnic, bi-racial, dual-religious family. I have friends of all different ethnicities and races. One of best friends is Cuban, another is Irish, another is Indian ... and that, to me, is an America I want to live in - one where relationships are cultivated and bridges are built between those that may be "different" in some way.
     The It's Beautiful playlist features some behind the scenes video from the making of the commercial, and honestly, these girls who sing America The Beautiful - these children - they give me hope for a better future. They are part of the reason I don't give up on humanity every time I see a tweet like the ones above ... Because when I hear things like this from the mouths of babes ...

America is one union but with a mix of cultures and it doesn't matter who you are, we should always be friendly to each other no matter what difference we have. --- Naya

 ... Not everything fits the same way but I think that's what makes it so special. --- Carolyn 

We have the right to be ourselves, we can speak whatever we want, we can pray whatever we want to pray and I just think that's pretty amazing and that we're lucky to have it. --- Naomi

It's so beautiful that we are all the same, we just have different backgrounds, and that's okay. We're all Americans and we can come together to make change. --- Sushmitha

     ... That is what gives me hope for the future of this country. 

     So, if you are one of those people who choose to be ignorant of all the beautiful languages and cultures that make up this country, that's fine - you do you. Just do the world a favor, don't spread your vile thoughts to our country's future leaders who really give me hope that they can all get along despite their differences.

And maybe someday, we'll figure all this out, try to put an end to all this doubt, try to find a way to make things better now and maybe someday we'll live our lives out loud. We'll be better off somehow, someday. (Someday, Rob Thomas)

Side Note: The It's Beautiful Coke commercial, in addition to featuring all those beautiful languages, was also the first Super Bowl commercial to feature a gay family. See their story and others here.

Side Note II: I feel like I'd be doing an injustice to society if I didn't make this clear for some people ... So, for the record, this is America the Beautiful, this is God Bless America, and this is The Star Spangled Banner (which is the national anthem of the United States).