"Breaking Bad" Star Says "Make America Great Again" Could be Racist

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Bryan Cranston is a talented actor, most notably from Breaking Bad. But just because you’re rich and famous doesn’t mean people should take you seriously. But since attention is influence, it becomes necessary to, sometimes, address the commentary of celebrities. Culture affects politics because it influences the voters.

In an interview with Chris Wallace, Cranston interjected an unoriginal idea: Make America Great Again could be racist! “Just ask yourself from an African-American experience when was it ever great in America for the African-American?” Cranston says, “If you’re making it ‘great again,’ it’s not including them.”

Instead of trying to put himself in the shoes of black people and imagine how offended we may or may not be, he could just go ask Republicans specifically what they mean as I did in 2016. After seeing Angela Rye’s claim on CNN that “Make America Great Again” makes black people think of being sprayed on with water hoses, I took my camera down to Novi, Michigan, and interviewed people in the rain. Between that Trump rally and another, I composed a video.

The answers were:

Changing up the status quo, stopping countries from taking advantage of America, cutting back on regulations that hurt businesses, more jobs, a higher quality of life, pride and patriotism, increasing domestic and foreign security, regaining the respect of other nations, supporting God, valuing and protecting human life in the womb, making good trade agreements, securing our border, building a good economy, and defeating ISIS.

These answers were gathered from a diverse audience.

I can promise you no one, especially the black people waiting in line to see Donald Trump believed “Make America Great Again” was racist or excluded black people.

When was America ever great for “African-Americans?” I mean, my whole life. What are we comparing it to? What other nation does Cranston believe would be better for me? When my dad and sister went to Nigeria in 2000, the people were amazed at tales of America. My family was horrified after being told a few times they were lucky our ancestors were enslaved. One man even went on a rant about how he blamed his ancestor for not submitting himself to his captors, so he could have been brought to America. He said it jokingly, but it’s still a terrible thing to say. My sister had multiple proposals, including three at the airport. She’s a pretty woman, but her beauty pales in comparison to a green card.

My dad loves being on the mission field and ministering to people, but after a month away, they were ready to kiss the soil once they returned to the U.S.

There are many African Americans (as in Africans who have immigrated) who believe black Americans are lazy, entitled, and blowing their liberties and opportunities. If America isn’t great, we might want to let all the black and brown people know before they risk their lives crossing the southern border. Someone must think America is great or at least better than the alternative.

Yes, American history is complicated. But just because you miss certain things about the past doesn’t mean you want to bring back everything about it. If I said I missed living out in Holly, that wouldn’t mean I miss living in a trailer park or that I long for the days when my brother was crippled and unable to walk. It may mean I miss the community and being with some of my high school friends.

If I say I miss the good old days, I could mean when black fathers were marrying black mothers and raising their children together, in the home. I could mean I miss the days when a girl could be a tomboy without some activist teacher implanting in her brain that gender is fluid, and she could be a boy because the doctors looked at her genitals and took a wild guess. I could mean I miss the moral character of the old Uncle Phil instead of Bel Air’s version. I could mean I miss the days when politics wasn’t so deeply involved in entertainment. I could mean I miss the days when violent crime wasn’t an area of major concern when I traveled across the U.S. I talked to my sister about going to New York comic con and paused, “You know they’re stabbing people in broad daylight, right?”

“Broad daylight?!”

Cranston is correct that someone could perceive and assume “Make America Great Again” is racist, but they make that assumption out of prejudiced attitudes toward their political enemies and ignorance. You may genuinely feel how you feel, but that doesn’t make your feelings valid or that you weren’t manipulated to feel as you do. And even if there are black people who feel America has genuinely never been great, that doesn’t change what MAGA is supposed to mean.

America has always been great to me. Even now, it’s great. But there were definitely things a lot better under the former president, and they can certainly be improved upon.

And acknowledging this, regardless of your skin color, doesn’t make you racist.