In the 1300s, a “blower” was a person who thought much of themselves, blustered, threatened, and made “much of their muchness,” to misquote Shakespeare. By the 1800s, they were called “blowhards,” a navy term for self-important know-nothings. Hollywood is filled with them – many threatening to “leave America” if Trump wins. Good on you, let’s do it, good riddance.
So far, between 2016 and today – from public sources – we have an impressive group ready to “leave America” if Trump wins, or pledges to do so. Do not get excited – but let’s keep ‘em to it.
The “Never America” crowd includes Barbara Streisand, Taylor Swift, Lena Dunham, Amy Schumer, Omari Hardwick, Snoop Dog, Samual Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, Miley Cyrus, George Lopez, Raven Symone, Bryan Cranston, Neve Campbell, Ne-Yo, and a dozen others.
Interestingly, Cher and Jon Stewart – either secret admirers of Elon Musk, or like Biden, of China – have pledged to “leave the planet.” So, ready the rocket.
Confidentially, looking at that list, half of these people have no meaning to me. The other half I had forgotten. If they choose to depart for Iran, Russia, China, Venezuela, Cuba, Laos, Gambia, Gaza, Canada, or France – making that their new home, no loss. As they say, c’est la vie!
Take a look at what America has done for these ungrateful snots – an insult to sinus hydration. While they criticize capitalism, limited government, tradition, and Trump’s policies, they bank ungodly wealth. On the one hand, good for them. On the other, get real. They owe what they have to … America.
Barbara Streisand is worth $430 million, Taylor Swift worth $1.1 billion, Lena Dunham $12 million, Amy Schumer $45 million, Omari Hardwick $5 million, Snoop Dog $160 million, $250 million, $60 million, Miley Cyrus $160 million, George Lopez $45 million, Raven Symone $40 million, Bryan Cranston $40 million, Neve Campbell $10 million, Ne-Yo $9 million …
Note: Median worth for those of median income and in their prime (40 to 44) is $134.730, house, car, and retirement.
So let me say this straight, and personally. More than 20 of my family lie in Arlington. Eighty percent of all Americans have a veteran in their family. None of my relatives, and likely most of those, have anything like that wealth – nowhere near.
Now hear me on this: I do not – unlike communists, socialists, and anti-capitalists – have any problem with people earning, keeping what they earn, getting rich, and thanking God and America – our blessed Constitution, history, bygone patriots, and the miraculous free market – for their luck.
But lack of gratitude, a sense that you can take the money and run, owe no one, and take down someone like Trump, being reamed by a corrupt group of hacks, and then castigate the likes of Reagan, Buckley, Ike, Bradely, Patton, and those who made that wealth possible, that angers me.
We live in a time when people bluster, blather, and bluntly embarrass themselves on TV shows like “The Five,” CNN, MSNBC, and Networks, pure self-aggrandizing entertainment. They have no idea – really and truly none, no real understanding, of what made their happy lives happen.
What bothers me, and I walk Arlington often, those inexpressibly humbling, pristine, sobering rows of stones, tearing up as cannot help it – is that these buffoons, known-nothings have absolutely no appreciation … no idea, what they are doing, saying, and missing, what their ingratitude looks like.
So, here is the thing. We do not have perfect candidates, and never will. We elect people willing to step into the arena, get beaten up, and abused, and yet – in the spirit of Rocky, keep at it for America.
Rocky was fiction, but the message is real: We honor those who came before, we fight for the right, and we do not back down when criticized, punched, or forced to endure. That is America. We Americans –real Americans – would NEVER leave America.
Bottom line: For those who think the answer, when Trump wins, is to “leave America,” then have at it. Enjoy the Russian, Chinese, and Iranian life. We do not need more blowhards. Good riddance.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC.
