George Clooney was “raised” to be politically conscious.
George Clooney
The 59-year-old actor has said he was brought up in a time where “you had to be involved” in politics and social issues because of the climate at the time - which included that Vietnam war, the fight for women’s rights, and the fight for racial equality - and has said he’s “glad” his parents taught him to “stand up” to bullies and racists.
He said: “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].
“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.”
George also said that “2020 has sort of exhausted everyone,” but insisted he is hopeful for the future.
Speaking to People magazine for their ‘People of the Year’ issue, he added: “I’m always optimistic about this country. 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.”
Meanwhile, the ‘Money Monster’ star - who has three-year-old twins Alexander and Ella with his wife Amal Clooney - recently said he finds being a husband and a father is "very fulfilling”.
He explained: "There is no question that having Amal in my life changed everything for me. It was the first time that everything that she did and everything about her was infinitely more important than anything about me. And then we had these two knuckleheads. It is very fulfilling and something I didn’t see coming."
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