OUR VIEW: Coca-Cola’s Super Bowl commercial not a big deal

Coca-Cola’s Super Bowl commercial “America the Beautiful,” had people on social media fuming Sunday evening.

The ad featured people of different races and nationalities singing “America the Beautiful” in several different languages. This started a firestorm on Twitter, with people posting about how people in America should learn to speak English. The hashtag #SpeakAmerican was trending for a brief moment.

There is an argument to be made on both sides here. For one, it’s no secret that English – not the fictitious “American” dialect – is the dominant language in the U.S. The most recent census data shows an overwhelming majority of Americans speak only English in the home. It makes sense most people living in America should know how to speak English for the purpose of communicating with fellow countrymen.

However, America has no set national language. We are a country of immigrants, from our English-speaking forefathers who came over in the 1600s; to our German, Italian and Chinese-speaking great-grandparents at the turn of the 20th century; to our Spanish-speaking brothers and sisters from south of the border today.  

The commercial was a tribute to the many races, religions and languages that shaped our country, not some attempt to undermine English’s position as the country’s dominant language.