I’m writing this column on Father’s Day.

On this day, I’m thinking about all my dad taught me about America. He was a WWII veteran who was proud of his service and proud of his country. As I grew up in the 60s, he taught me we weren’t perfect, but America was still the best country out there.

I wonder what he’d think of America today.

I wonder what he would think about the optics of the military parade. Would he be bothered by the tanks and soldiers marching before the President, reminiscent of the scenes in countries ruled by dictators? Or proud of the display of strength?

I know in his younger years, he would have supported the No Kings peaceful protest even if he disagreed with them. During the anti-war protests of the ’60s, my father would often tell me, “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

I wonder how he’d feel today.

How would he feel about America in the age of Trump? As an old man, he spent hours sitting in his favorite chair watching Fox News. Would he have converted to MAGA?

How would a man who fought in the Battle of the Bulge feel about the government taking undocumented workers away from their families to foreign prisons without due process? How would he feel about the Marines patrolling the streets of a major U.S. city?

How would a man who welcomed free speech feel about federal police wrestling a U.S. Senator to the ground and handcuffing him just because he dared to ask a government official a question? My father was a lifelong Republican. How would he feel about Senators Ricketts and Fischer, and almost every other Republican elected official who remained silent while one of their co-workers was treated like that?

As I walked through the crowd Saturday during the No King’s rally at Tom Hanifan Park, I thought that America didn’t have to get to this point. It didn’t have to get to a point where millions of citizens took time out of their Saturday to let their voices be heard. To march in the streets with the threat of the National Guard hanging over their heads.

As I read the protest signs, I thought that if we had elected a sane Republican, they would have realized that winning the election by 49.8 percent vs 48.3 percent was a victory but far from a mandate. A sane Republican who didn’t relish in the chaos would have realized that by only having a 1.5 percent advantage, they’d have to work across the aisle. They couldn’t make so many radical moves. They couldn’t always get their own way.

Yes, as I write this, it’s Father’s Day, one day after we saw two Minnesota Democratic politicians and their spouses shot. Two of the four are dead.

A day when millions peacefully marched in the streets, and a president held court over the troops. A day when military action escalated in the Middle East, and another day when the families of undocumented immigrants still don’t know the fate of those they love.

My dad was part of what’s been called the “Greatest Generation.”

A generation that saw the end of segregation. That worked to bring racial and gender equality to America.

A generation that had elected officials not afraid to tell a president of their own party that he had gone too far.

A generation that believed in the benefits of science. They put a man on the moon. They honored Jonas Salk and stood in line to take his polio vaccine. They had their children immunized for measles, mumps, and other contagious diseases.

A generation that ushered in a prosperous middle class.

They were far from perfect, but overall, they did their best to solve problems, not create more of them.

I hope you’ll forgive me for self-indulging in some nostalgia from my youth. You see, my dad taught me that America has always been great, but could always be better. I wonder if he’d still feel that way if he were alive today.

Would the man who took me to his Bohemian mother’s house every Sunday for a good Czech dinner of pork, dumplings, and gravy turn anti-immigrant after consuming a steady diet of Fox News?

There’s a part of me that wishes I knew. And a part of me is glad I don’t.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

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