Every presidential candidate is known for having a saying that basically sums up their entire belief system to the public. For Barack Obama, it was “Yes We Can” – a saying that meant unifying a country and not being overcast with doubt. For Dwight Eisenhower, it was “Peace and Prosperity” – urging American citizens to strive for a peaceful country after the end of the Korean War.
One of the more well-known slogans to come out of the 2016 presidential election belonged to Donald Trump’s campaign – and it is one that has bewildered me ever since I first heard it.
“Make America Great Again.”
The concept of making America great, I understood. The “again” part was what really stirred up confusion for me, and I’m sure countless others.
In a CNN interview, Trump explained what he meant by the saying, and what exact part of American history the “again” part referred to. The time period being referred to is the beginning of the 20th Century and after World War II and into the 50s.
Let me rephrase that: The time period that Trump’s entire campaign holds in admiration is the time before the Civil Rights Movement. A time period when Rosa Parks was arrested for simply being black. The time when women couldn’t even buy property or have a credit card. And to put it more bluntly, a time when white men were even more powerful and in control than they are today.
Of course, Trump supporters would be quick to defend the notion that this isn’t, in fact, what his campaign slogan is trying to say. It’s referring to the part of that time period when the economy was booming after winning the war. A time when unemployment rates were low and America felt like it was on top of the world.
But does that make it okay? To base an entire campaign around a certain time, but only focus on the positives? And why should an entire country be striving to return to a different time period rather than just focus on moving forward?
America’s economy is in drastic need of improvement, and to bring it back to where it was in the 50s would be great for everyone. But it won’t stop racism. It won’t stop sexism. It won’t stop minorities from facing discrimination. When you chose to only focus on a certain aspect of that era, you silence the pain and struggle of others who suffered immensely during those times.
Why do so many people romanticize the 1950's? Like calm down we still have milkshakes and racism
— Ayah (@palicvndy) February 13, 2016
America is a country that was founded on invasion and rape. And as much as we’d like to put that all behind us, we can’t. Native Americans are still suffering from those events today. You don’t have to look any further than the #NoDAPL protests for proof of that. You can’t call a country “great” when there are people who live in it that don’t feel respected or equal due to their gender, race, religion, or sexuality. Where is the “freedom” in that?
Don’t get me wrong, America has many pros. It’s a country that allows free speech and gives its residents basic civil rights that other countries are yet to even consider. But does that make it great? No. If anything, it just makes it fair – which it should be. Yet there are those who would still be willing to argue on how it only seems to be ‘fair’ towards a certain group of people.
You can’t ignore the inequality others face and simply dismiss it. Instead of looking back, we should be looking forward. This is a time when flaws need to be acknowledged in order to be worked on. But as long as we live in a time where there are an alarming amount of people that still believe that racism and sexism aren’t real, we can’t expect to move forward towards a brighter future.
So maybe it’s time to acknowledge that America isn’t great, and never was. Instead of rejecting that concept or trying to justify the good parts of the USA, maybe now is the time when we should focus on how to improve the country. When we can look at a country where the entire population is held equal and stands together in unity, then we can call it great. Because how can a country be expected to stand as one and fight as one when we’re all still fighting each other?
It’s not “Make America Great Again” that we should be striving for. It’s “Make America Great” that should be in our sights.
