Make America Great Again?
As many have been following the elections and the rise of Donald Trump, a question that has occurred to me. What does it mean to make America great again? What are the implications? The phrase seems rather redundant, as if there was a time in American history that was preferable to the country's current state.
Being a black male, I am not sure that I would like to go back to a time in the past. We are experiencing an America where former second-class citizens are growing closer to the realized concept of equality. Returning to the past would negate the progress made to establish equality for all. It pains me that no one has raised this concern.
What does it mean to make America great again, and for whom? Going back five years or 10 years would take away rights for African Americans, females and anyone else who is not a white heterosexual male. Look, this is not an attack on white heterosexual males; I just want to get the point across that the redundancy in the popularized slogan. I want to recognize that times now are not worse than they were in the past, and it makes me uncomfortable that someone might want to return to the reality of past years in American history.
Mr. Trump has run a campaign built on fear; he has made people lose hope in the political system; he has claimed that America is in turmoil, that citizens feel unsafe and uneasy and he's made claims about racism and the emergence of police brutality.
Here are the facts, and it may come as a surprise to many people: Racism has been a problem since the first kidnapped Africans traveled on ships to America, it is embedded in American society and will continue to persist until fully dealt with.
I realize that the country has made progress regarding racial issues, and it is better than the U.S. 50 years ago, 20 years ago -- hell, even 10 years ago. To say that racism is completely eradicated or was not a problem until the shootings of Travyon Martin, Mike Brown, Eric Gardner and other black lives is just simply inaccurate. Modern day racism is institutionalized; it is systematic; it is why getting guns is easier than getting an education; it is why “being black you have to extra extra extra try;” it is why there are more black men in prison than any other race; it is why black males are portrayed in media as thugs, rappers, gangsters and -- if we are lucky -- a sports figure.
Our economy is far better than it was when Obama assumed office; unemployment is down from 7.8 percent to 5 percent; there are more job openings, we are closer than ever to equal pay, fewer people are uninsured than ever before and then some. Once again, to claim that these are the worst times in America is false. There are no grounds to support this claim.
I will agree that times have been better in terms of the economy, and there is external terrorism, but never have times been better for homosexuals, women, African Americans, Mexicans and other minorities. I will not go back five years. I do not want to be part of a movement that seeks to Make America Great Again. America is already great. It is has provided my family with many opportunities, it has allowed me and my brothers to live a life far better than my parents. America is better than any previous version. A black male, who once was considered mentally inferior, one who would be a slave, is the president of the United States.
It is stated in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Although. this quote has contradicted America’s ugly past, we are closer than ever to it becoming the truth. So to all who stand by the slogan, “Make America Great Again,” reconsider that statement because America is already great.
