"Make America Great Again!"
Pretty catchy, eh?
But let me be blunt . . . it doesn't quite cut it.
In fact, lacking just two letters it is entirely wrong!
A wealthy America doesn't come from a strong dollar, skyrocketing stock market, or how many billionaires it has.
A strong America doesn't come from how many nuclear-tipped missiles or military bases it has across the globe.
A great America doesn't magically emerge by stomping from one continent to another as a belligerent bully making every other country cower and kowtow.
As appealing as this facile notion of "American greatness" is, how about some perspective?
Here's the way I think the meme should go . . .
"Make Americans Great Again!"
Mind you, the idea that every American can be great doesn't mean every person will be famous, a billionaire, or become president. It does mean that every individual is supported and encouraged to realize their individual greatness. You can be a great mother or father or sister or brother. You can be a great teacher or bank clerk or mail deliverer. You can be a great baseball coach or a great neighbor. You can be a great friend.
Let's be honest. Maybe Americans were never really great. Certainly, it has had its share of oppressed citizens, victims of racism, exploited underclasses, even desperately poor. These folks never had a chance to be great on any terms. The persecuted, disadvantaged and marginalized are forever scrambling, living on the edge of desperation.
But at least at one time most of us shared a belief that there was a potential for greatness in each of us, and we not only promoted that ideal but often actively encouraged it in our places of worship, neighborhoods, communities, schools, and among family and friends.
Values have shifted. America is now perpetually at war and divided as never before by wealth inequality and class apartheid.
This is both sinister and entirely by design. Thus . . .
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