To say this year’s Super Bowl was controversial would be a severe understatement.
Along with the Richard Sherman fiasco, The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ halftime performance with unplugged instruments, and the possibility of the Broncos offense having their talent stolen by the little aliens from Space Jam, possibly the most debated topic was Coca-Cola’s “America the Beautiful” advertisement.
The one-minute commercial begins with stock footage of a cowboy riding a horse in the wilderness that would make Teddy Roosevelt proud. In the background is a female voice singing “America the Beautiful.” So far, it looks like the same old American product commercial, right? Think again.
As the line “for amber waves of grain” comes in, the lyrics are sung in Spanish, setting a theme for the rest of the commercial, which constantly changes from language to language.
Not only that, but the video changes tone as well, varying from the traditional Americana B-roll to shots of people of all different races, ages, cultures and religions.
Then comes the kicker. The next five seconds would push the envelope in a way no other commercial, especially for the Super Bowl, has ever done.
The footage of a young girl and two men at a skate rink, all three of which were embracing and holding hands, comes in just as the line “and crown thy good with brotherhood” is sung in another language.
This commercial, which was made to give American’s of all shapes, sizes, ages, races, religions and even sexual orientation that warm feeling of acceptance and love, caused others to cringe at the thought of their beloved country being inhabited by foreign cultures and gays.
Merely seconds after the commercial was over, armchair activists across the country took to Twitter with 140-character-or-less gems such as, “Hey @CocaCola This is America. English, please,” “We speak ENGLISH here, IDIOTS,” and my personal favorite, “English or GTFO.”
Along with that came responses against the sight of a gay couple.
“Coke commercial is sickening. Pandering to immigrants both legal and illegal. Next commercial will feature Gay wedding or NAMBLA meeting?” said one user, while others expressed their disdain for showing such a sight in a commercial that also mentions God in its music.
Leave it to Twitter users to take what was meant as a refreshing reminder of all of the different cultures in this country and turn into one big, steaming pile of “‘Murica.”
Let me remind you of something, Americans against “gibber-gabber-foreign-speaking-folk” coming into our country. Unless your great-great-great-grandfather shook hands with a pilgrim over a turkey a few hundred years ago, you are a descendant of an immigrant.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not promoting illegal immigration, which is, well, illegal. But to assume that someone is automatically an illegal immigrant because they don’t speak English is ridiculous. I find it hard to believe that Coca-Cola’s advertising department sat down and said, “Let’s make a commercial about people illegally crossing the border!” Just because someone is different does not make him or her illegal.
Which brings me to the idea of a gay couple in the commercial. Arguably the biggest debate in the country today revolves around gay marriage.  While the legalization of gay marriage is another topic completely in itself, my issue with the backlash to this commercial lies in the some people’s reactions just to the mere sight of a gay couple.
At no point did this ad flash the words “SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE” on the screen. It simply showed that the idea of a gay couple does not have to be hidden away in the media anymore. It was nothing more than a step in the direction of accepting others for their differences and realizing that just maybe we can live in this country together.
“But the idea of showing immigrants and a gay couple with a song like ‘America the Beautiful’ is disrespectful and offensive!”
Allow me to share an interesting fact with you. Katherine Lee Bates, author of “America the Beautiful,” was a lesbian. Just let that sink in.