If you’re anything like me, you’re probably sick of all of the news surrounding the upcoming election. I’ve never really been able to get into politics, but there has been a phrase from this election that has been on my mind. You’ve seen it on signs, hats, billboards, etc. The slogan “Make America Great Again” seems to be the theme of this election. While it sounds good, it is truly feasible? With everything that is going on in our country, is it possible to restore America to it’s former greatness? Lastly, Is the phrase “Make America Great Again” just a saying to win votes, or an actual plan to put the broken pieces of our homeland back together?

The first thing that I think of when hearing “Make America Great Again” is that the phrase carries a nostalgic sense of negativity when regarding the state of our country. This may not be the case for everyone, but when I hear this statement, I hear a side of discouragement towards the way our country is currently. I think this is because by saying this, we are implying that we no longer think our country is great, and that we have lost the fervor and determination that makes America an amazing place. I may be alone in this, but I don’t think we have. Granted, there are serious problems occurring in our country such as gun violence and discrimination. But despite these things, we have a lot of opportunities that people in other countries do not. America hasn’t lost it’s greatness, we’ve simply lost sight of how great it is because times are changing.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to make America great again, but in order to do that, we have to remove the ‘again’ aspect of the deal. There is no way that we can get our country back to the way it used to be 50 or so years ago. The fact of the matter is that we live in a whole new world in a whole new time, so we have to adapt. I believe that America can be great again, but not quite in the way that it was before. I think that America can be a new kind of great, in a way that corresponds to current issues and concerns.

Americans, it’s time to face the facts. America will never be like it once was. We are always going to have national issues. Even some of our most respected leaders dealt with huge problems such as slavery and civil rights. Instead of aiming to make America great “again”, let’s just focus on making America great. Let’s define greatness on current terms, and let’s look at the present instead of shaking our heads because America isn’t like it used to be decades before. We should aim to make America a place in which everyone has equal opportunities, where people don’t have to be afraid to leave their houses, and where we all start remembering that even though America isn’t the best it’s ever been, we still live in a place where we have freedom. If that isn’t great, I don’t know what is.