Can We Talk 2

Making America Great Again

         That phrase is open to interpretation. I didn't give it much thought until the controversy arose over a hat worn to work with the slogan "America was never that great." The lady explained she didn't hate America, she just didn't like that campaign slogan. As I read it, I realized she was confusing the word "great" with "perfect". They are not the same. (Very few businesses would allow slogans on shirts or hats during work, especially if facing the public.)

         America has never been perfect. Maybe it would have stayed a constant if it had been perfect. But it has been constantly evolving. One of the things that made it 'great' has been that the voice of the people could make changes within its framework. We could culturally adapt without force from without. What has made it not so great is the financial debt of the nation, the decreasing opportunity for work, increasing dependency on the government for daily existence, and the intrusion of federal government into the states. Some would add increasing violence, terrorism, drug use, moral decay, the decline of the family. Maybe. I think those things have always been there, but with the rapidly increasing population, they're in our face more. And the Internet and TV keep us very in tune with what's outside our own little spheres. That may be frightening.

         In so many ways we have improved. We have done away with slavery, while many countries have not. We have in our life times stopped calling people from other races or countries names. Japanese, Chinese, Italians, Irish, Germans, as well as blacks and Indians, have had their share of name calling. It's not that most people meant to hurt them. They just grew up where those names were used. Redneck and cracker are names commonly used as well. They are just names that may or may not have carried bad intent with them, but people grew up thinking they were just labels for other people. I have heard a lot of people confess that they grew out of that. They worked on it and stopped labeling people like that, but now find themselves the victims of actual racism, not just a label.

         Making America great again is not about going back to some mythical Utopian status. It's about getting back on track, reducing our debt, securing our house (our country) just like you would your own home, letting people feel safe on the streets in daylight, having work available for able-bodied people, encouraging free enterprise, having politicians who serve "the people" and not their own pocketbooks, and re-establishing ideals and standards for people to follow. It's about trying to get better instead of spiraling downward. It's not about being perfect in anybody's book.