Now before you jump to any conclusions about my choice of song, hear me out. The song I have uploaded, I Stand Up Straight and Tall, was on Sesame Street, a show for young children. This song associates the letter “i” with “standing up straight and tall.” From a quick glance at the song, it may seem like it is just silly and nonsensical, but once you look at it past the superficial level, you see that it is trying to shape children so that they share the American value of verticality. From the sky-high buildings to the Oscar awards, everything seems to have a value. Think of soldiers and officers of high rank, they too are told to keep a proper posture. All of these are constant symbols of verticality. We, as a nation, associate up right positions with success and pride. It is deemed proper and thus we teach our children the same. When children are young are helpless, they crawl and as the elderly age, they start to hunch over and may need support from a cane. Therefore, it makes sense that we value standing up straight just as much as we value youth and strength.