"Make America Great Again"
This phrase is most well-known as Donald Trump's presidential campaign slogan, and so many people are excited by this concept. I personally think that it's a great slogan, and it obviously does a great job of rallying people, but I have one problem with it: "Make America Great Again" shouldn't have to be used by a presidential candidate for people to suddenly want action. If you want to "Make America Great Again," start doing something. Just like with voting, each person matters, so start making America great again with eight simple steps.
1. Stop judging and hating others.
Why does what others do matter to you? Unless they are friends or family, the opinions of others shouldn't matter, and yours don't matter to them either. The choices of strangers have no impact on your life; so what if a mom decides to breastfeed or if someone supports guns? Just leave others to themselves, let them make their own choices, and keep your opinions to yourself.
2. Be kind to one another.
Say "please" and "thank you." Hold the door. Help people out from time to time, smile, and simply don't be a jerk. Let's go back to what our parents said when we were kids: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
3. Do not discriminate against others.
We are all human. We all have feelings, and we all deserve to be treated like human beings. Don't discriminate against someone else because they are white, black, Hispanic, Asian, fat, skinny, smart, dumb, or anything different. It really isn't that hard to do. And don't let others do it either; if you notice someone else discriminating anyone, call them out on it.
4. Stop supporting violence.
Remember what all the adults used to say: Violence is never the answer. Guess what. They were right. Violence only leads to more violence. If you have a violent urge, take up boxing, get a punching bag, or even go to a shooting range. But control your anger and violence because it solves absolutely nothing. Don't attack anyone in any way: not physically, not mentally, not emotionally. It doesn't matter if you think they deserve it, because that just keeps a violent cycle flowing.
5. Even if you don't agree with others beliefs, don't treat them differently.
Agree to disagree. Don't trash, bad-mouth, or discredit what someone else believes in just because you don't agree with it. Not only is it disrespectful, but it can make you seem ignorant or closed-minded with only your beliefs. People can be acquaintances, strangers, friends, or family without having every single belief in common, which means that you can treat people the same despite what you disagree on. Just agree to disagree.
6. Be open-minded.
Refer back to No. 5: Don't be closed-minded. You don't have to agree with what other people have to say, but at least let them share their voice and their opinion. They could offer you a new perspective that may change your mind or it may not, but I can't think of a single universe in which it would hurt to have more knowledge.
7. Do not lump people together.
Just because there are bad people in the world does not mean that everyone is bad. Just because there are a few bad cops in the world does not mean that every cop is crooked. Stereotyping has caused people to expect the worst in others and has caused negative associations of certain groups. Stereotyping people serves absolutely no purpose except to give yourself a category to fit someone in in your mind; 99.99% of the time, the stereotype is wrong, so why even have them? It's time to break them.
8. Realize that race, age, religion and beliefs, and nationality don't matter.
The color of someone's skin does not mean anything about them. We don't blame the mentally ill for being mentally ill, so don't blame someone for their race, meaning they can't help it. No one race is better than another; we are literally all the same except for the pigmentation of our skin.
Elders are not responsible for the peril our country is in, and neither are the millennials.
How someone chooses to guide their life and what to believe in causes you no harm. Do you believe in reincarnation? That's awesome. Do you believe in a single God? That's awesome. Do you believe in multiple gods? That's awesome. Do you believe in Nirvana? That's awesome. Do you not believe in anything? That's awesome. Someone else's beliefs don't matter because they aren't yours.
Where someone is from doesn't matter because, like race, it's not something they can help. Are you from Iraq? That's great. Are you from England? That's great. Are you from Canada? That's great. Are you from America? That's great. Stop blaming, judging, and stereotyping people based on where they are from because it ultimately doesn't matter.
TL;DR: You can make America great again by being a decent human being, minding your own business, and treating others with respect. Some people might think I'm a little naive to believe that these few things will have any real effect on the country, but those people would be naive to believe that it won't.
