Jimmy Fallon, unlike the current residents of the White House, isn’t aiming for having his image on Mount Rushmore. The SNL alum and inheritor of “The Tonight Show” has much deeper and more serious concerns on his heart, ones that don't even seem to be hitting the radar of the president. Jimmy Fallon usually leaves it to Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Trevor Noah, or Jimmy Kimmel to take the dive into politics. But recently the horrendous happenings in Charlottesville, VA, and the lack of any shred of healing, inspiring hope for true change from the man at the top, Donald Trump, got personal for the comic.
Jimmy Fallon's words of speaking on the subject as “my responsibility” were from the heart of a father, not merely a politically-conscious celebrity. His concerns as he related feelings of being “sick to my stomach” shared by most of America, were focused solely on his beautiful two and four-year-old daughters, playing in the next room. His remarks fathomed the impossible task of explaining insanity and hate to his children, just as millions of other parents considered the same daunting issue. Heather Heyer was cherished by her father and mother, too. Now they and her many friends have only the memory of her stubborn conviction to do what was right, with “a fierceness of heart” that no one will ever forget.
Tears in the face of terrorism
Like every thinking person, Jimmy Fallon knows that the fight against wrong in today’s world, with every conceivable form of terrorism, cannot be won with emotion. Still, he could not stop tears from coming to his eyes as he appealed for “people to look up to-- to show them what's right and good,” and besides parents and teachers, he stressed the need for “leaders who appeal to the best in us.” The long-delayed, disingenuous, and over-corrected official presidential response shamefully fell far short of anything approaching that “best” quality, and Jimmy Fallon deemed it “shameful.” He unapologetically called for white people to speak out, saying “ignoring it is just as bad as supporting it,” referring to the tragic and deadly assault against protesters from supremacy and alt-right groups.
A nightly dish of respecting diversity
Every night, Jimmy Fallon serves up his own dish in appreciation of diversity, not just through his invited guests and performers, but with his “house band,” The Roots, whose percussionist leader, QuestLove, lets life and equality flow in every beat. The outcome would have perhaps been very different if music instead of mayhem could have taken hold of souls that day in Charlottesville, long before police were needed.
No backward steps
“They fought and died on the right side of history,” Fallon spoke, honoring the self-sacrificing service of men and women in the armed forces across the globe, surrendering lives “so this kind of hatred doesn't spread.” He reminisced once more about looking into the faces of “my beautiful, growing, curious daughters” and not being able to say nothing.
In heartfelt, patriotic fashion, the man known for being funny was completely serious in calling for the nation of all American people “to stand up for what is right, civil, and kind.” He reiterated that the ongoing fight for human rights is hard-won and so worth the battle.
The closing words of Jimmy Fallon are worthy of remembrance for the ages. “We cannot do this. We can't go back. We can't go back.“
