Medal of Freedom Winners Who Might Not Have Been Honored During Trump Presidency

SNL's Lorne Michaels

Many of today's Medal of Freedom winners may have slipped in on Dylan's "last fire truck from hell," before the tone and culture changes under the Donald Trump presidency.

As Nena and I watched the award ceremony on CNN today, it occurred to me that SNL creator Lorne Michael might not have been so honored  under a Trump regime.

Trump, more thin-skinned than his predecessors and less sophisticated, has not taken kindly to his portrayal on SNL by actor Alec Baldwin.

For 40 years SNL has mimicked, mocked and caricatured the vast parade of presidents and presidential candidates without mercy, a privilege our Constitution guarantees, a freedom of speech not enjoyed in Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia or Vladimir Putin's Russia.

Muslim Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

It's doubtful that the 7'2" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the greatest scorer in NBA history, a champion at every level of basketball, a writer of note, but an unapologetic Muslim, would have been included on Trump's list of recipients.

Robert De Niro

Also honored, was actor Robert De Niro, famous for classic portrayals of mobsters, with toughness AND sensitivity, but also liberal politics and interracial relationships, that would likely have disqualified him for this honor in any of the next four awards ceremonies. De Niro's scathing rejection of Trump's bigotry was shared on this blog months ago(http://brownsvilleobserver.blogspot.com/2016/10/actor-robert-de-niro-comments-on.html).

E-Street Saxophonist Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen

Freehold, New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen, the "Boss," might have actually made a Trump list, considering his working class roots, but Springsteen's values, expressed in poetry and life, differ greatly from the bigotry, disrespect for women and handicapped, displayed by the President-Elect.

Actress Cicely Tyson, philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates, Diana Ross, Michael Jordan and Ellen DeGeneres may have made the cut in a nick of time.

We can only speculate who the nominees will be during Trump's time in office:  Former LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling, Strom Thurmond, Ted Nugent, Former Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott, Food Networks Paula Deen, former Alabama Governor George Wallace????