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ALPERN AT LARGE - Victor Willis, the co-founder and lead singer of the 1970’s disco group known as The Village People, just passed away a few days ago at age 74. He was a black man whose “YMCA” and other songs made it into the hearts and minds of innumerable Americans…including one President Donald J. Trump.
Willis loved the freedom that allowed his band to be an icon of the music community before and after the band was recognized as having its roots in the LGBTQ culture, and while not gay himself he had absolutely NO problem making gay people happy, making both Republicans and Democrats happy, and making Donald Trump happy.
In other words, a true-blue proud American. And a Macho Man at that.
And Willis chose the lovers and partiers and smilers over the snarling, sniping, snarky savages who too often just want to tear down freedom of speech and expression because of their own issues.
He went entirely above politics and played at Trump’s second inaugural celebration.
Incidentally, Sir Elton John of Britain isn’t an active supporter of the Republican Party, but he does have a friendly relationship with Donald Trump.
So do other gay and lesbian Americans who just want to be respected and left alone as to their personal social and sexual choices…and they love being part of a robust nation with economic potential and military strength to allow them to thrive in the open.
Ditto for many African-Americans, and Jewish-Americans, and Latino-Americans, and Asian-Americans, and more than a few Muslim- and/or Arab- Americans.
Frankly, the hyphen thing is pretty lousy, inaccurate, confusing, and divisive, and as we celebrate the new Roosevelt Library near Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, it’s to be remembered that President Teddy Roosevelt (almost certainly one of Donald Trump’s heroes, as well as Andrew Jackson) just absolutely HATED hyphens.
And so should we all—and especially so with respect to folks who identify as Democrats over Americans, or Republicans over Americans, etc.
We’ve got a lot of heroes, and many of them were by far more flawed than any of us will ever know or comprehend.
JFK and RFK—both heroes, both proud Americans, who died for what they fought for.
MLK and Malcolm X—both heroes, both proud Americans (more so than many will acknowledge), who also died for what they fought for.
The aforementioned Teddy Roosevelt—a proud American, loved the little guy, hated the New York financial overlords, and a bad-ass if every there was one.
Teddy’s distant relative FDR—also a proud American, beloved by many, more flawed than most will ever know but courageous, and was as loyal to his nation as was the nation to him.
FDR’s successor Truman—perhaps an even better many than the president he served under who shut him out of wartime strategy and even the Manhattan Project…a real gutsy hero who was probably among our most honorable and honest and noble presidents.
Eisenhower—a military hero who despised the military-industrial complex, hated bigotry and Holocaust denial after saving the survivors of the Nazi deathcamps, and like Truman really just wanted no glory.
Harriet Tubman—her own kind of badass who fought for woman’s suffrage, against slavery, risked her life to lead the Underground Railroad…and was too often mistreated by the same nation that should have been worshiping at her feet.
And so on—Lincoln, Jefferson, Madison, Washington, Grant, and Adams (both the father and son) were amazing men with amazing wives, amazing stories and amazing flaws (although perhaps Washington was quite a different sort of superhero)…
…all American.
That’s our heritage—filled with flaws, because humans are inherently flawed, and our forefathers and foremothers knew that.
And just because we don’t have the guts to pull off more Constitutional Amendments for our modern times doesn’t mean we weren’t given the tools to make them if we wanted.
Our Supreme Court has just thrown out a few big rulings that have infuriated both liberals and conservatives (and I mean some serious heartburn and outrage!), but much of what they’ve stated is that:
Congress does the legislating and debating and lawmaking…NOT US, the Judicial Branch!
So if the Executive Branch is doing too much (worsening for the past 30-40 years or so), much has to do with the cowardice and laziness of the Legislative Branch that’s prevented them from doing their doggone jobs to serve our nation.
Enter the America-haters, arguably more so on the Left than the Right, and arguably more than we’ve seen in our collective lifetimes.
Maybe Trump is the cause, and maybe a lousy public educational system that’s stopped teaching civics, critical thinking, accurate history, and economics for decades is the ultimate cause.
But the Europe that so many of us want to emulate is now beginning to emulate US in policies related to health, economics, defense, and immigration.
We’re still a shining city on a hill, and we’re still the place that FIFA fans from all over the world are just loving more than any of them ever thought they would.
Latin America is becoming more capitalist, democratic, “anti-anti-American” than any of us could have predicted 30-40 years ago.
And let’s not get forget a Middle East that is both chaotic and on the verge of peace and economic deals between neighbors we’ve never believed could get along.
It’s not just Trump—he’s boorish, he says dreadful things, and alienates so many who might otherwise supported him had he just spoken with tact instead of fury.
It’s that we the world needs a strong America that’s United.
Neither the European Union, the United Nations, or BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) can ever fill the role of an example that can only be perfected by the United States.
And if any of you reading this still just haaaaaaaaaate the United States, well enjoy your freedom to say what you wish as long you’re not violent.
And allow the rest of us the freedom to tell the America-haters to “bug off”, and perhaps read a truly honest book on history, economics, political studies, or philosophy that led to the creation of our nation, flawed as it inevitably was and is.
Keep up the debating as we should, but building is something we’ve got to do.
Count me in as someone who loves building sandcastles, and by and large looks down on those who love smashing them for fun or out of bitterness.
God Bless America, and Happy 250th Birthday to our nation!
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father. He was active for 20 years on the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) as a Board Member focused on Planning and Transportation, and helped lead the grassroots efforts of the Expo Line as well as connecting LAX to MetroRail. His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth, and can be reached at[email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
