“Together, We Are America.” At Super Bowl LX on Sunday, halftime show performer Bad Bunny held up this statement on a football. His vocal criticism of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as his Puerto Rican heritage, led some to question whether his performance was representative of the U.S.
In fact, conservative organization Turning Point USA held an alternative halftime show to celebrate the American ideals that they believed were not present in Bad Bunny’s performance. U.S. President Donald Trump publicly criticized Bad Bunny for performing completely in Spanish. These reactions beg the question: How is American culture defined? What does it mean to belong in America? We have heard many times that Andover is an intentionally diverse community. Then, what does it mean to belong at Andover?
Bad Bunny’s performance demonstrated to many that being American is not confined to one’s language or culture. America is a rare place where a Spanish album can be performed at a national event, despite the majority of Americans having a different first language. Andover’s diverse campus encourages a similar expansion of the definition of ‘Andover culture.’ Students from over 53 countries find solidarity across differences, identifying similar passions and hoping to gain similar things from Andover. When a student says ‘Andover culture,’ they are more likely to picture passion and hard work than one race or one language. Finding solidarity across a nation, though, is much harder.
Many students have noticed that being passionate about the American flag and championing ‘American culture’ is often associated with conservative values. But since presidents and government policy are never constant, American culture may not be grounded in the current political moment, but rather in the ideals on which the country was founded.
Patriotism can look like defending the right to protest, the right to vote, and freedom of speech. It can manifest in a shared hope for opportunity; a trust that hard work can yield results in America regardless of who you are. Just as Andover culture is defined by our community ideals rather than conformity to one image of an Andover student, American identity can be defined by shared ideals rather than uniform culture. That is how we come together.
