America Was Never Great
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Politics and Activism

America Was Never Great

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America Was Never Great
Salon

For Donald Trump, America was once a "great" nation. And as such, like his slogan says, he’s trying to make it "great again." But as his campaign trail continues to move on, there is one question that keeps coming back to me:

When was it ever great?

Philando Castile. Alton Sterling. These two names were just the latest of killings against African Americans from police. How can some of us continue to pride ourselves with American Values as these events continue to happen? As these protests and rallies continue to happen in order to bring some sense of peace and unity to our country, we continue to destroy ourselves on the inside as the rest of the world watches.

You can continue to live and breathe in America, as long as you're white.

Many people like to claim that America used to be great country—or even still is at the moment—and with current events, it’s silly to try and defend the notion that it is in it’s current state. But what about the country’s past?

While this scene from The Newsroom attacks some of the faults the country is dealing with, it later backpedals a bit and says that it used to be great. But when was this period of greatness? It wasn’t during that past four centuries, that’s for sure. This country was founded on the blood, sweat and tears of hundreds of thousands of slaves, yet we claim that this was a country that was once great.

African Americans weren’t the only people that America used with racism and discrimination against. Native Americans were displaced from their homeland, and Irish, Jewish and other races were treated unfairly during the 1800s.

This discrimination against non-whites still continues to happen today. Some people like to say that racism ended with the abolishment of slavery, but those people are just as fragmented as the slave owners who disagreed with that decision many years ago. America became divided amongst itself that day, and currently still is, if recent (and previous) events are any indication.

You were able to get the most out of what this country has to offer, as long as you're white.

There’s no doubt that America has achieved great moments in its history. And thanks to my parents who decided to move here to live a better life, I’m currently in a position where I’m more than grateful for what I have. But when trying to embody what America stands for, it's a hard deal to sell.

So maybe this country really is great, as long as you’re white.

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