We have managed to make it through another year, and there were a lot of days I didn't think we would. I think America's in a bad place right now. But I don't worry about the future of America — and my granddaughter's future either — because I don't worry about anything anymore.
My life was changed by the Steven Spielberg movie “Bridge of Spies,” the story of the Russian spy Rudolf Abel [played by Mark Rylance].
When facing the death penalty for his crimes against America, his attorney William Donovan [played by Tom Hanks] says to him, “Do you never worry?” and Abel says, “Would it help?”
There was a day when I worried a great deal about the country my granddaughter Makenzie would live in. But I'm not worried now, because I know it wouldn't help — and I know where we've been:
The decade of the 2000s, when we were attacked on 9/11, when we decided it was okay to torture prisoners and a financial collapse emptied our bank accounts.
We impeached a president in the 1990s, because even under oath, he couldn't define what “is” is.
We celebrated tearing down a wall in the 1980s instead of arguing about putting one up, but that was a decade that only looked brighter to some, because of the darkness of the 1970s.
In the 70s, Americans were held hostage in Iran, we waited in line for gas and a president was forced to resign because some Republicans put their country ahead of their party.
I was a teenager in the 1960s, and as great as the moon landing was, John [Kennedy], Martin [Luther King, Jr.] and Bobby [Kennedy] were killed, as were thousands of young Americans in Vietnam.
And the race riots of the 60s that made our cities burn finally exploded because the discrimination of the 1950s wouldn't be quietly accepted anymore.
Our schools were segregated then. We had separate bathrooms and water coolers, and those businesses that were open to serve the public were allowed to decide who that public was.
The “good 'ol days” just weren't all that good for everybody.
America is a great country, but it's never been the great country it could be, and it's not now either.
We live in a time now when some people try to tell us our sons and brothers are in danger — when our daughters and sisters always have been.
My friend Gary Rich in San Diego wrote this for the women he knows, and I'm sharing it with you and Makenzie now.
Honey a good man like that wouldn't hurt a fly
He is a judge and a Christian
That B.S. is a lie
Honey he wouldn't hurt you, not in the least
He is a good man, our friend, he is our priest
Honey he is a good man, famous beyond reproach
How could you accuse the doctors and coach?
Honey he is a good man, we laughed at his tape
How could they accuse this comedian of rape?
Honey he is a good man, a famous producer
He promised a great role in order to use her
Honey he is a good man, an officer, no less
He promised to let her go if she would undress
Where are the good men who are supposed to protect?
We now feel contempt for those we used to respect
Honey a good man like that wouldn't hurt a fly
At least i used to think that — but it was a lie
We will survive this and America will get better, because America always does. Not as fast as some of us want, and not as much as some of us want, either. But I still believe in the basic decency of the American soul, and I don't worry about where America is headed or the country Makenzie will live in — because I know where America's been.
And I know this too: “Would it help?”
Thank God for kids.