Who is an American?

There are always right-wingers who wanted to decide who is really an American, and who isn't. I suppose they'd agree I was, because I'm descended from two different Mayflower pilgrims.

But then I think that the late great James Garner and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, since they both have Cherokee blood, stand in front of me, along with all the other Native Americans.

Of course, my wife, who was born in Nanjing, is just as much an American as I am.

Donald Trump, whose father's last name was originally Drumpf, is only a third-generation American, but he gets to scream just as loud as someone whose family has been here longer.

America is stronger because it's a land of immigrants. When your ancestors got here is completely irrelevant. My daughter Allison's grandparents, who survived the Holocaust in Hungary, are some of the finest Americans I've ever met.

If you're lucky enough to have American citizenship, you're judged by what you do with it. If you contribute to making America stronger, more equal, or if you care for your fellow countrymen and make an effort on their behalf, you're a good American.

If you believe, as 20% of Trump supporters in South Carolina do, that we should still have slavery, then you are redneck bigot who America would be better without. Of course, I'm smart enough to know no one has the right to take their citizenship away from them.

If we'd just recognize that we're all in this together, and we rebuild our country every day, then everything could run smoother. Let's hope someday everybody understands that