Perhaps I was just up in my feelings for whatever reason the other day, but this commercial made me feel a bit wistful, if not a bit misty-eyed. This was not because of the commercial’s direct message, which was about the World Cup and the global culture-mixing (and, really, for AirBNB). It got to me because the basic sentiment is the kind of thing that we used to almost universally celebrate in the United States.
And sure, some of us still do, but the party in power doesn’t. Just ask Stephen Miller. He’ll happily explain.
I get that this commercial is built on sentimentality, and goodness knows I cannot vouch for its historical/sociological accuracy. Still, the basic logic stands. The mixing of culture (food, music, art, etc) over space and time can lead to magical synergies.
Part of what made me think of this was this post on BlueSky:
That looks amazing, IMHO.
The United States of America has been, and I pray will remain, the land of magical syngergies.
Putting it all another way, you don’t get New Orleans if blood-and-soil ideologies rule the day. This is also true for Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Chicago. Every small town in Alabama probably has at least one Mexican food restaurant and one Chinese place.
You can’t get Tex-Mex without the Mex (not to mention you can’t get most of the Western United States without it having once been part of Mexico).
If you are ever driving down I-35 between Dallas and Waco, be sure to stop at the Czech Stop. It may look like just some gas station, but the kolaches are amazing! I finally visited Solvang, CA this spring–and some great Danish baked good were to be had. I had some lovely Italian food as well as some fantastic Pho when we were in Boston.
The list could easily go on and on.
And if Miller, Vance, and Trump would leave the Haitians in Ohio alone or the Somalis in Minnesota, or all the other migrants groups that aren’t Afrikaners alone, similar tales could be told.
The notion that we are all better off if we just cleave to our white, European “heritage” is utter nonsense. It is a recipe for weakness and stagnation. Simply inbreeding has long-term negative consequences.
This at least tangentially reminds me of a trip my wife and I took to Scotland a couple of years ago. We were chatting with the driver as we were transiting from the airport to our hotel in Edinburgh, and we asked me about local cuisine. He said the top three were haggis, seafood, and Indian food.
This struck me first as kind of hilarious: only two top indigenous foods before we get to an import? But it also speaks to the way in which there is a lot of love in the wider world, and those who seek to isolate us from all of that in the name of purity are simply wrong. (Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to try haggis, but we did have an awesome seafood meal while we were there.)
To that point, one of the best meals we had in London was at an Indian restaurant.
So, sure, it is a bit of a cliche, but bring on the diversity, because it is a strength.
Update: Speaking of Chinese restaurants in the South…
