In his 'People of the Year' expose, the 'Ocean's Eleven' star insists other countries around the world still look to the U.S. as a beacon of hope although they come up short a lot.
- Dec 3, 2020
AceShowbiz - George Clooney refuses to believe America has lost its spirit, insisting countries around the world still look to the U.S. as a beacon of hope.
The Oscar winner, who now spends much of his time in England and Italy, admits he has travelled enough to really understand what the world thinks of the U.S.A. - and it makes him proud to be an American.
"I'm always optimistic about this country," the "Ocean's Eleven" star tells People magazine in his People of the Year expose, "We fail a great deal, but I've been to so many countries that are really failed states, and they look to this country for leadership. We come up short a lot - race being our great original sin and clearly the one we've been the worst at - but we are in the constant process of trying to find a more perfect union... You can't give up. I believe in the American spirit."
And he's determined the be part of the rebuilding process following the departure of controversial leader Donald Trump next year (21), telling the publication he was brought up at a time when everyone was involved in politics and social issues.
"I grew up in a generation where all the people that mattered to us were being murdered, from Martin Luther King to Bobby and Jack Kennedy to Malcolm X and Medgar Evers, and all these things that counted were going on, with women's rights, civil rights, the anti-Vietnam (war protests)," Clooney adds.
"You had to be involved. My mother and father were involved, and we were (taught), 'It is your civic duty...' I remember my father saying, 'Don't come back and look me in the eye unless you stand up to (bullies and racists)'. I'm glad to have been raised that way."
