The cover story of the July 3 edition of People magazine carries the theme “100 Reasons to Love America,” and number one is Chip and Joanna Gaines, the stars of the HGTV show Fixer Upper. It’s odd enough that the four-page article never mentions Buzzfeed's attempt to scald them for attending a church opposing same-sex marriage.
Then came “99 More Reasons to Love America”…which largely skipped over the liberty-and-justice-for-all part and lunged into the typical liberal messaging, starting at #10, for “March Madness,” not the college basketball tournament, but “Standing up for women, science and more to exercise our rights of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.”
The #96 reason to love America was Jack Schlossberg, the son of Caroline Kennedy and the grandson of JFK. Oh, it starts with a mention of “freedom and equality,” and then comes the Trump-bashing (without naming him).
I love that I am free to say that I don’t love the new trajectory of American leadership. I am horrified by our government’s proposed immigration ban, I’m embarrassed that the United States pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement, and I’m frustrated that our government is attempting to take away health care for millions. I love how many Americans are speaking out against these developments that are antithetical to the values that made America the greatest nation on earth.
Jack also loves protein powder and making jokes on the Internet. People also makes weird Love-America choices in food, including American cheese, Spam, and the dreadful Unicorn Frappucino at Starbucks. Trader Joe’s is honored with this message: “As much religion as grocery store.”
The #27 reason to love America was Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer & Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump.” To inhabit Trump, Baldwin told Stephen Colbert, “left eyebrow up, right eyebrow down. Shove your face like you’re trying to suck the chrome off the fender of a car.” That’s liberal MAGA, apparently.
The anti-Trump note continued in #47, a 2020 presidential ticket of The Rock and Tom Hanks, and #49 with Neil DeGrasse Tyson, atheist scold. “With the issues before us like climate and energy, science literacy is urgent,” he says. Melinda Gates is #69, touting how her foundation “invest in contraceptives around the world,” so women can “space their pregnancies.” There’s no mention of their support for international abortion advocates.
Openly gay People editorial director Jess Cagle also hit a scale of LGBT notes, honoring Bette Midler in Hello, Dolly, the “Will & Grace revival,” Project Runway-winning fashion designer Christian Siriano, Bravo TV host Andy Cohen, and Barry Jenkins, who made the Oscar-winning film Moonlight, about a black, gay teenager.
Number 81 was “Children’s Hospital Los Angeles,” which saved Jimmy Kimmel’s son: “Kimmel used the platform of his late-night show to praise CHLA and to advocate for health care for all children, regardless of financial need or preexisting conditions.”
Comedian Aziz Ansari was #85, described as “a gentle voice of reason in a harsh world.” Um…they must have missed the episode of Ansari’s Netflix series Master of None where he had a character say of Justice Clarence Thomas “F--- his ass.”
There are two nods to Republicans. Number 60 is the “George W. Bush and Michelle Obama friendship.” Number 28 was Meghan McCain. She had a red-state list of what makes America great: “Freedom, the men and women who serve in the military, country music, Kentucky bourbon, the Grand Canyon, blackjack in Las Vegas and barbecue.”
