McDonalds: The True American Restaurant

Last week, I had the urge to eat at McDonalds before I headed to Starbucks to study for my dreadful finals. Stingy that I am, I decided to enter McDonalds in high hopes that I will spend less than 4 dollars for my meal. When I first entered the restaurant, it was pretty crowded with bunch of different types of crowds. There were the “I’m too cool for you” Mexican high school students in the right corner, eating their Big Mac while putting up a stern look as I looked at them. On the left corner was a Caucasian couple, drinking their coffees and having a delicate conversation at the same time. In the middle of the restaurant, three identical siblings were busy dipping their fries with barbeque sauce and trying to outrun each other on finishing the remaining fries. I chuckled to myself as I got in line to order my meal. In front of me was an African American man, who was on the phone with his family members, asking them whether they wanted apple pies or ice creams for the dessert. When it was my turn to order, my eyes immediately gazed toward the dollar menu section, and unsurprisingly, I ordered a chicken burger and double cheeseburger as usual . As I stood to the side, waiting for my order to be ready, I glanced around the restaurant again. Suddenly I realized that McDonald was not some shabby, cheap fast food restaurant. It was actually a decent restaurant with true American values. Different races were eating in the same room, eating with their loved ones. High school Mexican students, regardless of their impressions, ate contently together like a close family. The siblings in the middle of the room were bonding amongst each other as they raced to finish their fries together. The Caucasian couple was having a pleasant date as they were drinking their coffees. The African-American man was calling his family members so that he can buy something for his loved ones. Though the customers may not know each other, they, in a sense, created a community in this small fast food restaurant. To think that in the 1950’s, when the colored folks were banned from eating at the same restaurant as Caucasian folks, I found this scene fascinating as all the races were seated next to one another in one room. Plus, they were creating family values by eating their meals with their loved ones, which shows one of the American values. As I picked up my order from the counter, I smiled happily as I left McDonalds. As I entered my car, I whispered, “This is America.”