Ellen DeGeneres received the White House Medal of Freedom yesterday, the highest honor bestowed on a civilian in our nation.
President Obama stood by her side while she welled up with tears as she heard the following praise:
In a career spanning three decades, Ellen DeGeneres has lifted our spirits and brought joy to our lives as a stand-up comic, actor, and television star. In every role she reminds us to be kind to one another and to treat people as each of us wants to be treated. At pivotal moments, her courage and candor helped change the hearts and minds of millions of Americans, accelerating our nation’s constant drive toward equality and acceptance for all. Again and again, Ellen DeGeneres has shown us that a single individual can make the world a more fun, more open, more loving place so long as we just keep swimming.
Powerful words for a woman who exudes happiness as if it were a contagious disease.
Who doesn’t adore her?
The LGBT community has so many reasons to love calling Ellen one of their own.
Parents everywhere enjoy having a family-friendly laugh with their kids when she comes on the air.
Your highly-conservative-Fox-News-enthusiast uncle shares funny clips from the Ellen DeGeneres Show on social media.
I’m willing to wager that even the folks at Westboro Baptist Church take a break from bedazzling their picket signs to tune into Ms. DeGeneres with glee, giggling at her always-hilarious monologue.
Life is hard, and Ellen just makes it better.
But here’s the thing: writing comedy is actually really difficult. It takes intelligence, instinct, and precision. And writing comedy that is also kind, uplifting, and universally funny? Now that is damn near impossible.
For that reason, Ellen DeGeneres may be the greatest comedic mind of our time. She has used her talent and drive to bring a smile to millions.
Let’s just stop and think about her career for a moment.
DeGeneres fought her way into stand-up comedy in the 1980s, a profession largely described as a “man’s game.” As a sometimes-stand-up comic myself I can tell you that it remains mostly a sausage-fest on stage. People are still skeptical of women speaking in front of a crowd. We are criticized for coming across as “too bitchy” or “pre-menstrual” if we employ sarcasm or feigned, hyperbolic irritation.
In an industry dominated by men, DeGeneres paved the way for female comedians.
Ellen had a hit sitcom in the 1990s wherein she bravely came out as a lesbian and promptly lost much of her following. No doubt she was hurt by such rejection. Anyone else in that situation could have become bitter and quit.
Instead she chose to keep swimming.
Ellen could have given up so many times, but she didn’t. She has graced us with her shining light for thirty years, and we are better for it.
I heart her.
In today’s world, filled with so much hatred and defensiveness, Ellen’s humble, tear-filled, ice-blue eyes are the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in ages.