There’s been an absurd amount of controversy about a Coca-Cola ad that aired during the Super Bowl.

For those who have not seen it, the artistically imagined commercial depicts fleeting moments in the lives of random Americans of various races, social classes and sexual orientations set to “America the Beautiful” being sung in several languages.

To most people, it was just another somewhat forgettable commercial — unless you remember it as one of the “not funny” commercials during the big game.

But, to some, the ad was highly offensive. Some of the comments on the YouTube video were laughably ignorant.

Some of the diehard “patriots” that were offended by this commercial thought it was appalling that anyone would allow the “National Anthem” to be sung in a foreign language. That’s right, apparently “America the Beautiful” is the new national anthem. Somebody tell my high school government teacher.

Others believed that “America the Beautiful” was written and intended only to be sung in “American” — the new state-official language. Singing it in English would be no better than calling up the Queen, apologizing for the mess and telling her she can have the whole country back.

One brief scene of the commercial that some commenters were particularly upset about was one that portrayed a same-sex couple and their child. If this scene is one that offends you, just keep in mind that “America the Beautiful” was written by Katharine Lee Bates — a lesbian woman who lived with her female partner Katarine Corman for more than 25 years.

Could this commercial really offend someone so much that he or she might truly feel the need to boycott Coke? If so, I say go for it.

But if you really feel that much anger toward Coke, you’re going to have to do more than just not drink your favorite variation of Coca-Cola. If you really want to put an end to these America-haters, then I suggest you stay away from any brands owned by the company — all 450-plus of them. That’s right, next time you drink Minute Made, Bacardi, Dasani, Dr. Pepper, Mello Yello, Powerade, Schweppes, Sprite, Squirt, Tab or any of the hundreds of other brands owned by Coke.

Instead, I suggest you put it all down and pick up a nice refreshing Pepsi. Just keep in mind that Pepsi is one of the world’s largest supporters of the LGBT community.

There may be dozens of reasons why one might reasonably consider boycotting Coca-Cola, but this commercial is not one of them. If having people of other skin colors associated with America bothers you, you’re living in the wrong country, because that’s what this country is — diverse and ever-changing.

But it’s only as beautiful as the people who live here are willing to see it.

Larry Philbin is the news editor for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].