Make America Great Again!
We hear this all the time now. Intrinsic in this phrase is the presumption that the USA was great and is no longer. Is this what you believe?
So, to my fellow citizens ... Do you believe that the USA was great and is no longer? Because I do. But I suspect that many of us differ on what was great in the past and what is no longer great.
There was a time not too distant in the past when if you were not white, Anglo-Saxon, and Protestant, then you were "lesser". God forbid you were none of the three (not white, not Anglo-Saxon, and not Protestant). Am I talking about a hundred years ago? Nope, I'm talking about the 1950's and 1960's and 1970's.
And what if you were gay or lesbian or some "other" on the orientation or gender spectrum? Well that was even worse because even the non-white, non-Anglo-Saxon, non-Protestants rejected you.
Now add in a little eccentricity and suddenly you were crazy and committed to an asylum. Right?
But that America was great, wasn't it?
I know, I know, that is not what most of you are referring to when you say America was great. My point here is that America wasn't so great for huge swaths of Americans. But you're going to tell me that what you most miss is American manufacturing and good jobs for the middle class, right? Is that the issue? Okay, let's look at that.
Our economy has, indeed, shifted its focus away from manufacturing with services and high-tech employing millions in jobs that did not exist a few decades ago. But with that shift comes an enormous reduction in workplace injury rates:
Okay, so we manufacture less, right? Or do we?
Right, but we employ fewer people in manufacturing, right?
Nope. The truth here is that manufacturing output in dollars is way up, employment in the manufacturing sector is still number one across our economy, and Americans are safer in the workplace than ever before.
So what is the issue? I'm serious. I really want to know what decade you look to as the time when America was great and what about that decade do you want to bring back?
I said at the beginning that I do believe that the USA was great and is no longer. Do you want to know what I think needs to comeback? Well, a few things.
I'll start first with our politics... Democrats and Republicans have never agreed on everything, but there was a time when they agreed on many things. Compromise being first among them. For example, do you remember the last time we reformed our immigration laws? Yes, it was the result of a compromise between Republican President Ronald Reagan (of California) and Democrat Speaker of the House of Representatives Thomas "Tip" O'Neill (of Massachusetts). East coast, west coast. Liberal, conservative. Polar opposites who saw the importance of compromise. Too bad their law was never once backed with any significant enforcement.
But six years later the new Speaker of the House declared publicly and proudly that his role and the role of Republicans in Congress was to ensure that the new administration succeeded in nothing. What happened to the "loyal opposition"??
Second is our reputation in the world. As the new post-war world order was settling in, America's reputation was on the rise. When America spoke at the UN, evidence to back up our position was not needed because America wouldn't lie. Countries around the world WANTED to loan us land for bases because we didn't want to colonize their countries, we just want to trade fairly with them and wanted to protect the high seas and promote freedom and capitalism. We were, for a while, a shining city on a hill, a phrase used frequently by American presidents including John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.
Today we are anything but. Today, we are moving to close ourselves off from the world, to pull back our presence, to abandon those we used to wrap our arms around. Where once we helped you because freedom and democracy were at risk, today we first assess your mineral wealth and your willingness to pay for our help. Personally I'm ashamed.
So, yes, let's Make America Great Again.
1) Let's elect politicians who represent our big picture views of liberalism or conservatism but who above all else seek unity and equal justice for all.
2) Let's reopen America and American business to the world and not hide behind protectionist policies that harm everyone.
3) Let's recommit to supporting and strengthening our alliances around the world to defend freedom, democracy, and (yes) capitalism.
The far right and the far left of American politics need to both be rejected. To my Republican friends, I will stand with you and proudly fly my flag when you reject those who would tear down others and treat them as lesser just because they are different. To my Democrat friends, I will stand with you when you stand up for law and order and reject those who seek the destruction of our society.
/rant
To my many friends here who are not citizens or residents of the United States of America, I do (as always) welcome your input in the comments, but this post is primarily directed to my countrymen (and women). And yes, I am proud to be of what we like to call the land of the free and the home of the brave. However, please know that I have traveled extensively through many of your homelands and there is much to be proud of throughout this world. Your culture, just like mine, is part of a beautiful mosaic that makes up humanity.
So, to my fellow citizens ... Do you believe that the USA was great and is no longer? Because I do. But I suspect that many of us differ on what was great in the past and what is no longer great.
There was a time not too distant in the past when if you were not white, Anglo-Saxon, and Protestant, then you were "lesser". God forbid you were none of the three (not white, not Anglo-Saxon, and not Protestant). Am I talking about a hundred years ago? Nope, I'm talking about the 1950's and 1960's and 1970's.
And what if you were gay or lesbian or some "other" on the orientation or gender spectrum? Well that was even worse because even the non-white, non-Anglo-Saxon, non-Protestants rejected you.
Now add in a little eccentricity and suddenly you were crazy and committed to an asylum. Right?
But that America was great, wasn't it?
I know, I know, that is not what most of you are referring to when you say America was great. My point here is that America wasn't so great for huge swaths of Americans. But you're going to tell me that what you most miss is American manufacturing and good jobs for the middle class, right? Is that the issue? Okay, let's look at that.
Our economy has, indeed, shifted its focus away from manufacturing with services and high-tech employing millions in jobs that did not exist a few decades ago. But with that shift comes an enormous reduction in workplace injury rates:
[media=https://fitsmallbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Infographic_Workplace_Injury_Rates_Per_100_Employees_2003-2019.svg]
Okay, so we manufacture less, right? Or do we?
Right, but we employ fewer people in manufacturing, right?
Nope. The truth here is that manufacturing output in dollars is way up, employment in the manufacturing sector is still number one across our economy, and Americans are safer in the workplace than ever before.
So what is the issue? I'm serious. I really want to know what decade you look to as the time when America was great and what about that decade do you want to bring back?
I said at the beginning that I do believe that the USA was great and is no longer. Do you want to know what I think needs to comeback? Well, a few things.
I'll start first with our politics... Democrats and Republicans have never agreed on everything, but there was a time when they agreed on many things. Compromise being first among them. For example, do you remember the last time we reformed our immigration laws? Yes, it was the result of a compromise between Republican President Ronald Reagan (of California) and Democrat Speaker of the House of Representatives Thomas "Tip" O'Neill (of Massachusetts). East coast, west coast. Liberal, conservative. Polar opposites who saw the importance of compromise. Too bad their law was never once backed with any significant enforcement.
But six years later the new Speaker of the House declared publicly and proudly that his role and the role of Republicans in Congress was to ensure that the new administration succeeded in nothing. What happened to the "loyal opposition"??
Second is our reputation in the world. As the new post-war world order was settling in, America's reputation was on the rise. When America spoke at the UN, evidence to back up our position was not needed because America wouldn't lie. Countries around the world WANTED to loan us land for bases because we didn't want to colonize their countries, we just want to trade fairly with them and wanted to protect the high seas and promote freedom and capitalism. We were, for a while, a shining city on a hill, a phrase used frequently by American presidents including John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.
Today we are anything but. Today, we are moving to close ourselves off from the world, to pull back our presence, to abandon those we used to wrap our arms around. Where once we helped you because freedom and democracy were at risk, today we first assess your mineral wealth and your willingness to pay for our help. Personally I'm ashamed.
So, yes, let's Make America Great Again.
1) Let's elect politicians who represent our big picture views of liberalism or conservatism but who above all else seek unity and equal justice for all.
2) Let's reopen America and American business to the world and not hide behind protectionist policies that harm everyone.
3) Let's recommit to supporting and strengthening our alliances around the world to defend freedom, democracy, and (yes) capitalism.
The far right and the far left of American politics need to both be rejected. To my Republican friends, I will stand with you and proudly fly my flag when you reject those who would tear down others and treat them as lesser just because they are different. To my Democrat friends, I will stand with you when you stand up for law and order and reject those who seek the destruction of our society.
/rant
26-30, FVIP
