“This year patriotism shouldn’t be about pride of country. It should be about love.” – John Cena
This was one of the main messages that WWE superstar John Cena shared during a new Ad Council video titled “We Are America” that aired on the 4th of July as part of the ‘Love Has No Labels’ campaign. In the PSA, Cena is seen walking around a small town speaking straight to the camera about what it means to be patriotic today.
One of the statistics he said that really resonated with me was that there are currently 319 million U.S. citizens, 27 million of them are disabled and that almost half the country belongs to minority groups. As someone who currently lives with a disability in autism I’ve always supported statistics such as this because they truly show how diverse of a community we actually have. These are numbers I constantly share in my community as a disability advocate.
I’m inspired by John Cena for taking the time out to do this PSA because it shows us all that we are not alone in this effort to spread acceptance for people who may be considered slightly different than the norm out there. By using his celebrity and platform to support the cause we are indebted to him for going out there to make a difference for those who may be considered different.
A line in the PSA that Cena said couldn’t be anymore true when he said, “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?”
For me, this message is not something we should only be promoting as part of 4th of July but all year round. Not only in America but around the world. He concludes by saying, “Remember to love America is to love all Americans because love has no labels.”
I hope you will remember this message in our community everyday…
