I want to talk about Donald Trump. Specifically, I want to speak to his campaign slogan, the ever boastful, "Make America Great Again." Regardless of who you align with politically, regardless of your party affiliation or your voting plans come November 2016, I think it's important to really look at what Mr. Trump is implying here. He seems to think that he's the obvious choice to pick the United States up out of turmoil and return it back to some former state of glory.
My question is, what state of glory is Donald referring to? It might be the unpopular opinion, but by stating that he can "make America great again," he really seems to be ignoring all the not-so-great facets of our history and the fact that, in truth, the United States has, at times, a pretty messed up past.
Don't get me wrong, I'm proud to be an American, but I also refuse to take part in blind patriotism and act as though everything about us is great. Sure, we are a nation built on freedom of speech, innovation, bravery, strength, and prosperity, but buying into patriotic histrionics doesn't change the fact that we are also a nation built on a dark past. Racism, sexism, greed, slavery; all of these have played a part in our nation becoming what is it today. Think about it: the leader of our country, a free country, rests their head on a pillow every night in a bed in a big white house built by slaves. What does that say about us?
Maybe he's referring to America's great past, Donald Trump has his focus on our great accomplishments: the first man on the moon, the Wright brother's airplane, the Ford Model-T, a functional democracy, etc. America has without a doubt produced great innovations and ideas and free thinkers. But what about the race riots of the 1900s? What about the internment of Japanese citizens during World War II? What about the fact that women weren't allowed to vote in elections until the 1920s? What about segregation and the Trail of Tears and the gender pay gap and all of the other moments in history we turn a blind eye to when discussing how wonderful our country is?
We as Americans have a lot to be proud of, but we have a lot we need to work on as well.
We are still a nation that fears what we don't understand. We boast freedom, but that freedom doesn't exist for everyone. How is it that a nation that has been in existence for 240 years seems to be making the same mistakes we always have? How is it possible that race is still a conversation we need to have? How is it that women are still treated as lesser citizens compared to men? How is it that a mother has to fear for the life of her son every time he leaves the house, just because of the color of his skin? Why is it that a young man sexually assaults a woman in a brutal manner and the media is more concerned with his future than the status of the victim?
It may seem as though I'm glossing over the bright side and all the ways that the United States is a great country, but it is so important to remember that we are not an infallible nation. America has come a long way, but we still have so far to go.
Wherever your political alliances lie, it is up to us as U.S. citizens to make sure we hold ourselves accountable and do our part to shape our country into what we want it to be. We have to do our research. We have to make sure we are as informed as possible come November 8. We absolutely must look at where our nation has been in order to best judge where we need to go next. So, how about instead of trying to make America great "again," we work together to build it into the great nation it's always had the potential to be.
