Hey again! This is the last installment in three of my critique on Make America Great Again. My weapon of choice? History.
- In the 1980s, there's a super neat accomplishment for women: Sandra Day O'Connor was unanimously approved to be on the supreme court as its first female member. But the next year (1982), Wisconsin became the first state to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation. (Who, by the way, weren’t allowed to get married in all fifty states until 2015.)
- When one of the biggest headlines was that George Bush didn’t like broccoli, you know you’ve reached the 1990s. There was a lot of good going on at that point. In ‘91, Silence of the Lambs was released. In ‘97, the first Harry Potter book came out (in the US), and the world fell in love with it. Nothing that bad is going on so far...until two boys killed thirteen people and then themselves in a small high school in Colorado. (And the world became more aware of racism, grief, and mental illness as a result. Do your own research if you dare.) America surely wasn’t great in that way; fifteen adolescents died because two mentally ill teens got their hands on guns.
- The 2000s weren’t a great time for America. In 2001, we pulled together as a nation, but only when tragedy struck. Then, in 2006, we invaded Iraq. I’ve read a few articles about this. While these probably seemed like good reasons to invade their country and forcibly radically change their government at the time, ten years later, there doesn’t seem to be nearly enough reason to start a war where many men died. That may be an unpopular opinion, but I’m a pacifist. It seems to me that the nation as a whole didn’t seem united at that point. The U.S. wasn’t great to the military for sending them into a dangerous place, even if that was the idea when those in the military joined.
- 2008 needs another bullet point by itself. Bailing out big businesses isn’t great for the majority of the American population.
- Do I even need to go into why the #blacklivesmatter movement is needed? Do I even need to go into police brutality? Do I even need to go into people trying to get back at police? Bill Cosby? The Pulse shooting? ISIS? The ridiculous number of collegiate shootings alone in 2015, one of which I experienced firsthand?
As you can see, I’ve put far too much time into proving that America has never been great for everyone. I wish it was, but it wasn’t. America needs to be fixed, and if you think you’re the man for the job, Mr. Trump, then you might need to stop talking for once in your life and start listening. Or are you too busy exploiting “your African American?” Are you too busy using “your” latinos? (Which, by the way, Trump supporters, “Latinos para Trump” is grammatically incorrect, unless Trump is trying to say “Latinos for Trump's use.” Oh wait.)
So, Mr. Trump. Choose for yourself what your slogan means. Make America Great for White Men again? Or Make America Great for The First Time for EVERYONE?
Disclaimer: Look. I’m not voting for Hillary. But that doesn’t mean I’m voting for Trump. No, I won’t vote for a liar who put a crap ton of lives at stake to save face. I also won’t vote for an imbecile who says, “I prefer [soldiers] who weren’t captured.”
I refuse to put that man as the Commander in Chief of my brothers and sisters in the armed forces.
I’m not sure who I plan to vote for otherwise, but neither of the most popular options feel any less painful than an arrow in my leg.