The phrase "Make America Great Again" implies of course that America went from great to, I guess, less than great.
America being great is something which might need some discussion, what qualifies as great and how would we achieve it.
We clearly are the greatest military power in the world and that hasn't changed, although it comes at a pretty great price.
We don't match many countries in social programs and I don't think the current people in office are trying to.
Many of our citizens face discrimination and people are often condemned for their sexual preferences.
Recently we see that sexual harassment is pervasive and it think we are seeing the tip of the iceberg on that so far.
We have the world's biggest economy and in general the lifestyles of most Americans exceed most of the world, although not all of it.
Our health care is great for people with money and a little below average for most others, although costly.
What also needs to be discussed is when was this greatness that we aspire to recapture?
It seems like it is focused on the period after World War 2 when our major competitors were facing significant devastation to their infrastructures or Communist regimes that stifled economic improvement. you want to recreate that period, which did include significant fear of a nuclear holocaust you would have to bomb a lot of major cities.
No, in most ways, the challenges facing America have been in existence for the whole time and while we did cover them up a little better in the past, that isn't really better.
America was great for most of its history because it was the land of opportunity where people, oppressed or impoverished in their home countries could come and start anew. This greatness was recognized around the world and it was what made us a shining example, everyone could come here and provide their families better opportunities than anywhere else.
So those talking about making America great again, who also want to build a wall really just don't get it.
Not even close.
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