I read with interest Brian McLaren's latest post on Sojo this morning, where he speaks of immigration reform as the next fear-mongering issue, after health care. It reminded me of the recent Tim Horton's TV commercial below.
Now, I'm no fan of corporate interests manipulating emotions to manufacture profit, but this spot really is very, very good. The writing is "thin", so it leaves the back story to your imagination, forcing you to participate in the story and engage with it. As every Canadian knows, this spot played over and over AND OVER again during the Olympics. But if you were dialed into the twitterverse at the time you'll know that no one grew tired of it, and in fact many people spoke of being reduced to tears by it.
Here's the thing. Much to my dismay I've had more than one American friend tell me that it would never fly in the US because of the fuss over immigration. I understand the statement, but I find it hard to believe.
Filmed at Pearson International in Toronto, this spot is quintessentially Canadian. How does it make you feel? How would it be received where you are from? And as Brian implies in his piece above, what does that say about us? As people of faith, what should our posture be towards the stranger?
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