We Are America – Love Has No Labels

We Are America

We Are America is a short video from the Ad Council featuring John Cena. 

I was really surprised by the power of this message. John Cena is a professional WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment??) wrestler and he speaks very powerfully and passes on a very clear message in this short video. It really struck me how a big tough guy like John Cena talked about the link between love and patriotism. A country can only work if there is love between all its citizens, no matter their background. This reminded me on the sentiments I put in my recent article – Terrorism : How the world can respond

We Are America is  just 3 minutes long. Watch it right here or read the transcript at the bottom.

Three of my favourite quotes from this video are;

Love. For a word designed to unite, it can also be pretty divisive.

Patriotism is love for a country, not just pride in it… What is it we love?… It’s the people.

This year patriotism shouldn’t just be about pride of country. It should be about love. Love beyond age, disability, sexuality, race, religion, and any other labels.

But the whole thing is very powerful. Congratulations to John Cena and the Ad Council for creating We Are America – such a powerful video to remind everyone of what’s important. It’s amazing how quickly we can forget.

Transcript – We Are America

Patriotism. There’s a word thrown around a lot.
It inspires passionate debate and is worn like a badge of honor.
And with good reason. Because it means love and devotion for one’s country. Love.
For a word designed to unite, it can also be pretty divisive.
You see, there’s more to patriotism than flag sequined onesies, and rodeos, and quadruple cheeseburgers. Patriotism is love for a country, not just pride in it.
But what really makes up this country of ours? What is it we love? It’s more than a huge rock full of animals like cougars and eagles, right?
It’s the people. Do me a favor and close your eyes for a second.
I want to try something out. Picture the average U.S. citizen.
Think about it. How old are they? What’s their hair like?
How much can they bench? Got one? Ok.
So, the chances are the person you’re picturing right now looks a little different to the real average American.
There are 319 million U.S. citizens. 51% are female. So, first off, the average American is a woman. Cool huh. Is that what you pictured?
54 million are Latino. 40 million are senior citizens.
27 million are disabled. 18 million are Asian (that’s more people in the U.S. than play football and baseball combined)
9 million are lesbian, gay, bi, or transgender. More than the entire amount of people that live in the state of Virginia. Around 10 million are redheaded.
5.1 million play Ultimate Frisbee. And 3 and a half million are Muslim. Triple the number of people currently serving in the United States military.
Almost half the country belongs to minority groups.
People who are lesbian. African American. And bi. And transgender. And Native American.
And proud of it! We know that labels don’t devalue us, they help define us: keeping us dialed in to our cultures, and our beliefs, and who we are. As Americans. After all, what’s more American than the freedom to celebrate the things that make us us?
I mean, it’s stitched into the stars and stripes of this country, from the Constitution, to Gettysburg, to our motto, “E Pluribus Unum”, from many, one. It’s even in our country’s name – the UNITED States.
This year patriotism shouldn’t just be about pride of country.
It should be about love. Love beyond age, disability, sexuality, race, religion, and any other labels. Because the second any of us judge people based on those labels, we’re not really being patriotic, are we?
So let’s try this one more time. Close your eyes, picture that average Joe, or Joan, or Juan, or Jean-Luc. The real people who make America America.
And this year, whenever you feel the urge to don star spangled shorts, or set off fireworks the size of my biceps, to show love for our country, remember that to love America is to love all Americans.
Because love has no labels.