Much love and respect, Tony Bennett

The award-winning singer died at 96 last week. [READER]( The Daily Reader July 25, 2023 I was never a particular fan of Tony Bennett’s music, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve been a huge fan of the man. Bennett was one of those celebrities who fascinated me when I was a boy—like Marlon Brando, Burt Lancaster, and Paul Newman. They were all white celebrities who stood with Dr. King, when it was exceedingly unfashionable to do so. In some ways Bennett reminds me of my mother, who died a few years ago. No, my mother never marched with King. And she was most definitely not a celebrity. She was, instead, a public school teacher. But she and Tony Bennett had a few things in common. They were born one year apart—he in 1926, she in `27. Her parents were Jewish immigrants from the Ukraine. His father was an immigrant from Italy. They both grew up poor. They both revered FDR. They both remained Democrats for all of their lives because of lessons they learned at a very young age. Such as . . . No one does it by themselves. Everyone needs help at one point or another. And it was the New Deal that helped save so many people from poverty. Neither of them ever fully forgave Republicans for fighting so hard against the New Deal. Speaking of unfashionable things to be, Tony Bennett was also a pacifist. His pacifism goes back to his days as an infantryman in World War II, when he spent several months on the front lines. “The first time I saw a dead German, that’s when I became a pacifist,” he said in [an interview with radio host Howard Stern in 2011.]( At the end of the war Bennett was part of the troops who liberated the Kaufering concentration camp. “I saw things that no human being should ever have to see,” he said. During his 2011 interview with Stern (ten years after 9/11), Bennett really stuck out his neck. “To start a war in Iraq was a tremendous, tremendous mistake internationally,” he said. Stern asked Bennett what he thought about how the U.S. should deal with terrorists, like the terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center. “But who are the terrorists?” Bennett responded. “Are we the terrorists or are they the terrorists? Two wrongs don’t make a right. They flew the plane in, but we caused it. Because we were bombing them and they told us to stop.” So many people I know change in ugly ways as they grow older and wealthier. They think they’re virtuous because they’re rich. Or they think their success says something special about them. They forget that there was a moment when they too needed help. Or they turn into war hawks. Like so many of my fellow boomers. Back in the day when they were young and there was a draft—oh, they were so anti-war. At least, they did what they had to do to avoid getting drafted. Let someone else go fight. And then when the draft ended and they were no longer in danger of being sent to war, they drifted to the right. Voting for Reagan. Or Bush. Or Trump. But Tony Bennett never drifted. He stayed anchored to his principles and his beliefs.. He may not have worn them on his sleeve. But he never ran from them. Much love and respect, Tony Bennett. May you rest in peace. 🎙Listen to [The Ben Joravsky Show]( 🎙 [What Ben's Reading] [Yellowface]( by R.F. Kuang: a snarky-funny and on-target satire of, among other things, publishing, political correctness, white entitlement, and internet trolls. Parts of this novel will make you laugh. Other parts will make you cringe. [Deanna Isaacs]( on politics & monuments in Chicago Ben Joravsky on [Prentice Hospital]( [Best of the Ben J. Show]( Kennedy Bartley, the new executive director of United Working Families, [on the future of lefty politics in Chicago]( Criminal defense attorney April Preyar [on the new “no cash bail” law]( Roosevelt University associate professor of political science and author David Faris on the “lunatic three” [(aka Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Joe Manchin, and Trump)]( [Review: Talk to Me]( It’s horror that tempts you with self-punishment. by [Noah Berlatsky]( | [R]( → [Fashion show celebrates Chicago’s diverse style]( “A Celebration of Chicago Style,” a long-awaited fashion show, brings hope to local fashion designers. by [Isa Giallorenzo]( | [Read here]( → [Sisters in song]( Marie and Rosetta is a showcase for two of Chicago’s greatest talents. by [Kerry Reid]( | [Read here]( → CHEW ON THIS! [SIGN UP FOR FOOD & DRINK]( [Issue of July 13 – 26, 2023 Vol. 52, No. 20]( [VIEW/DOWNLOAD ISSUE [PDF]]( [View this e-mail as a web page]( [@chicago_reader]( [/chicagoreader]( [@chicago_reader]( [Chicago Reader on LinkedIn]( [/chicagoreader]( [chicagoreader.com]( [Forward this e-mail to a friend](. Want to change how you receive these e-mails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. Copyright © 2023 Chicago Reader, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616