A change of view

It's interesting how my views have changed as I have gotten older.  I view the world through much different lenses than when I was a teenager, some 20 years ago.  At one point in time I would have been nodding my head along with the "one language" purists who are up in arms about the Coca Cola commercial that aired during the Super Bowl.  That was then, this is now.

Now I work in an office building where there are multiple languages spoken in offices surrounding me.  At any one point during the day I hear French, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Tagalog and so many more languages I can't even begin to figure them out.  There are the loud, obnoxious white people too...and the British couple down the hall who are usually quiet but have recently been arguing, causing me no end of amusement.  Wait, that didn't come out right.  I'm not amused they are arguing, just at the sound of the clipped British accents...I can't hear the conversation.  In my 2014 worldview, THIS IS the sound of America.

Watching the Coca Cola commercial I honestly didn't get it at first...I can be a little naive...and then, gradually I got it, I understood the point.  Cool.  I'm not going to go out and buy more Coca Cola but it was a cool ad.  Then I saw the backlash.  Really?

First off, it's not the national anthem, a white opera singer sang that (someone who actually hit the notes in that ridiculously challenging song). 

Secondly, THIS IS the sound of America.  Americans are multi-ethnic and multi-lingual.  It's actually kind of cool, in my humble opinion.

Change is tough, it's threatening.  Change requires us to examine the ideals and things we hold as truths.  Change means we have to look at ourselves and realize that we don't have it all figured out or all together.  We tend to fear change and yet it happens all the time; many times without us noticing anything...kind of like my worldview.

The United States isn't a country made up of white people who speak English...American English.  The United States is a country made up of different races, religions, languages, orientations and so much more.  That Coca-Cola commercial looked and sounded a lot like the United States I live in.  And that America is Beautiful.