According to a number of people, the mere question of another language spoken in America all of sudden makes you a terrorist. This is the buzz that is circulating around the newest Coca Cola commercial that first aired at the Superbowl. It’s not “I like it,” or “I don’t like,” or indifference. Instead it is, “I really love the step forward Coke took.” or, “Well, Coke has allied with the terrorists #TeamPepsi” …seriously?
I mean, sure, question American pride because here in America we speak… English. Well, let’s look into that. The national language of Italy is Italian. France is French. Spain is Spanish. America is…American? No? We actually don’t have a set language for America. No, no, no! What’s that you’re saying? We speak English! Well, actually, the United Kingdom’s national language is English. We just kind of adopted the language when our great-great-however many great-grandparents came to America. As immigrants, I might add. I won’t deny the fact that English used to be our primary language, however, times have changed. It was our primary language because there were not a high number of any other languages spoken. Now, we have 34 million Spanish-speaking individuals in America. That’s 34 million individuals who do not speak English as a primary language. And, that’s not even counting those who speak Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and many more. So, it’s not like we are changing our national language (which actually isn’t set), for a handful of people. No, it's millions of people. On another note, and I’m not speaking for the masses here, but think about when Americans travel abroad. In my experience (well, I should say friends/family/others, because I’ve never been out of the country), we don’t learn the language of every country we are going to visit, we just hope they speak English, and when they don’t we are confused. Wait, so, here in Greece, you don’t speak or even understand English? Why? Well, that’s because the people of Greece speak Greek. All of these nations have a set language for their individual country. And here we are questioning why others don’t speak English in their homeland, but have our panties in a bunch because of course when people come to America they absolutely need to speak English. Why not try to immerse ourselves in the different cultures in our own backyard instead of traveling internationally? (Of course, I am not saying don’t travel here.) And why fight it? So, everyone doesn’t speak English? That’s okay. You say it’s the “American Way” to speak English, and you do? Well then, gold star for you. Back to the main point of it all… The uproar about Coca Cola’s new ad. I just don’t understand it. They didn’t change the words. The sang “America the Beautiful.” Let me repeat that…They sang “America the Beautiful,” for all those up in arms because Coke’s ad featured our National Anthem sung in different languages. That is not our National Anthem; so let’s get that discrepancy cleared up. (You keep on preaching your American pride, though, when you can’t even correctly identify our National Anthem.) And we are now saying that if someone speaks a different language they are automatically a terrorist? Not cool, people. That is such a severe accusation, as well as such a derogatory term, and for what? For speaking their native language? I believe that what Coke did was an accurate representation of America. We don’t all speak English. And those who are hell bent on American pride (don’t get me wrong, I have it and love my country), who argue that the ad is “Un-American,” and those who are blissfully ignorant need to come to terms with the fact that America is a multilingual country. Which, in reality, is pretty cool. America has been known as the “melting pot” culture because of our diversity and all the differences it brings. America is an immigrant nation. Way back when, our ancestors came to America in hopes for a better life, and with them came their culture. The wide diversity in cultural background that makes America the “melting pot” is something that I believe is admirable about America. Blonde hair and blue eyes isn’t actually the poster child for America; and thank God for that, because I am neither. We have the ability to go to different places around the U.S. and immerse ourselves into different cultures. However, what I believe is shameful is the fact that even with all the possibilities for growth, knowledge, and diversity in an individualistic sense, as well as nationally, we turn our backs and degrade people for not being “American” enough. Which, if someone could clear up for me what exactly being the perfect “American” means, that would be great. America is known as a “melting pot” of cultures because of our diversity. I think it is time that we celebrate and learn from our different backgrounds, instead of trying to “Americanize” everything. “It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” -Maya Angelou
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http://debiehive.blogspot.com/2014/02/addiction-mental-health-and-society.html
I read this article, and I believe it is very well written and expresses the need to understand that an addiction is not something people want to fall into. Drug addictions are a means to an end, and we, as a society, ignore the mental health side of addictions. “What led that person to drugs in the first place is the problem.” More focus needs to be brought on the mental issues in regards to drug use, as well as many other behaviors. In addition, the stigma of mental health needs to be removed so when people are in bad circumstances they will reach out and ask for help and not suffer alone.
Just thought I’d share the quote that made my heart melt tonight. I babysat for Adam and his sister Cali, and when I was tucking him in, I told him goodnight, and was about to walk out when I heard, “Ms. Molly hug, please.” I was so excited and of course scooped him up and hugged him, and I’m not really a hugger myself… When I told his mom, all she said was, “Really?!” Because that is just not something Adam would do. It’s safe to say this child has my heart in his hands. He is seriously the most adorable human being in the world.
Also, he wanted me to pick him up and spin him around, because he really likes getting dizzy, and he said, “Ms. Molly bizzy, please.” I told him, “Adam, it’s dizzy. With a d.” And he followed up with, “Ms. Molly dizzy with a d, please.” SO CUTE. And, just one more thing about why the tiny human population is my favorite, when I was putting Cali to bed she said, “Before I go to bed, can we do a booty shaking conga line?” Uh, DUH! So, that’s what we did. We did a booty shaking conga line to get her book, and took it to her bed, where I read a book in a Stitch (As in Lilo and) accent. Actually a pretty hard thing to maintain throughout a whole book. What can I say? I love the little people! |
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May 2017
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