Why Ellen DeGeneres’s Presidential Medal Of Freedom Is So Important

By Mikey Carr

In case you missed the heavy feels inducing video of Ellen DeGeneres being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom award by US President Barack Obama, watch it immediately here below.

Now, wipe away those tears of pride, take a deep breath and let’s just appreciate how huge a moment it is that the Whitehouse is recognising a gay woman for her work in promoting equality. And while DeGeneres is not the award’s first openly LGBTIQ recipient (Steven Sondheim, Harvey Milk, Sally Ride, Billy Jean King and Bayard Rustin having been previously awarded the medal) for Obama to recognise DeGeneres specifically for “how much courage was required for Ellen to come out on the most public of stages almost 20 years ago” is pretty special.

But Barry didn’t stop there,  explaining “how important it was, not just to the LGBT community, but for all of us to see somebody so full of kindness and light, somebody we liked so much, somebody who could be our neighbor, or our colleague, or our sister, challenge our own assumptions.

“You remind us that we have more in common that we realize. Push our country in the direction of justice. What an incredible burden that was to bear, to risk your career like that. People don’t do that very often,” he added.

To hear a head of state speak so eloquently and enthusiastically about DeGeneres’ contributions to society is very moving. Obama event choked up himself when Ellen received the award showing that his words were far more than just empty praise. Honestly for me it’s his genuine feelings that are so inspiring – not discounting from Ellen’s amazing achievements of course – and its moment like these that make the US two term limit so heartbreaking.

Really though Obama’s praise and recognition seem particular significant because he is preparing to leave office making way from Trump. And while the orange haired one has come out and promised not to abolish marriage equality or dismantle the protections Obama put in place for the LGBTIQ community, this does feel like a bit of a high watermark for LGBTIQ recognition that we might not see equaled for at least four years and maybe longer.

Some might argue such a medal is an empty gesture, or that there are people doing for mire vital work in advocating LGBTIQ rights than DeGeneres. And sure, being a TV and Movie star might not be the most important way of ensuring the community can prosper and thrive, but having role models like Ellen out in the open and being recognised by the president goes along way to letting the community know we are not only accepted but valued by society.

As the Whitehouse said when awarding her the medal, “Ellen DeGeneres has shown us that a single individual can make the world a more fun, more open and more living place, so long as we just keep swimming.” And with President Trump on the horizon, it’s now more important than ever that we don’t stop and flounder, Ellen’s achievement and Obama’s words giving us some much needed inspiration to keep as us afloat.