In case you were too busy spending your 4th of July eating/drinking/celebrating freedom, you may have missed this incredibly moving video on the meaning of patriotism from, of all people, wrestler John Cena.
The viral video is the work of the nonprofit Ad Council, a producer of public service advertising that aims to "stimulate action" on issues and "make a measurable difference in our society."
As what sounds like the theme from The Truman Show (?!) plays, Cena shares an important lesson.
He then asks us to close our eyes and imagine something...
What does the "average" American look like to you?
Here's the catch...
"There are 319 million U.S. citizens. Fifty-one percent are female," he says. "So, first off, the average American is a woman. Cool, huh? Is that what you pictured?"
"Fifty-four million are Latino. Forty million senior citizens."
"Twenty-seven million are disabled."
"Eighteen million are Asian. That's more people in the U.S. than play football and baseball combined."
"Nine million are lesbian, gay, bi, transgender — more than the entire amount of people that live in the state of Virginia."
"Around 10 million are redhead. Five-point-one million play Ultimate Frisbee..."
"...and 3.5 million are Muslim, triple the number of people currently serving in the U.S. military."
"We know that labels don't devalue us. They help define us, keeping us dialed into our cultures and our beliefs and who we are as Americans."
"It's even in our country's name..."
"This year," he implores, "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?"
"Remember that to love America is to love all Americans..."
