I realize that "MAGA" is the abbreviated and shortened form of a Donald Trump campaign slogan - "Make America Great Again." Thus, I also realize that anyone who suggests that it doesn't make much sense to attack this political slogan is in danger of being considered a supporter of our former president, and/or someone who is perfectly "OK" with everything our former president stands for, or does - or has done, for that matter.
I am no supporter of Donald J. Trump. Just the opposite. I am no "MAGA" supporter, either, in the sense that I have anything good to say about our former president.
But... as for the sentiments expressed by the slogan itself - that we should be trying to "Make America Great Again" - I am of a different mind. Who wouldn't want America to be "great"? Great again if you have fond feelings for the past history of the United States, or great in the future, if you are somewhat in doubt of how "great" America has actually been in the past.
Those who know anything about the history of slavery in the United States, and about continuing racial and other forms of discrimination, and about economic inequality, and about government corruption and incompetence, and anyone who has examined how the United States has conducted itself in the world, are very much armed and able properly to argue about how "great" America has been. Our nation has not always done "great" things. On the other hand, my sense is that most Americans, and most people in the world, for that matter, would actually concede that the United States has done some truly great things. And if we have done it before, then let's do some more of those things, right? Whatever great things we have done in the past, let's do some more things like that!
That is definitely my personal feeling, and I would argue that if attempts are made to classify those who like that "MAGA" slogan as persons who should be put into a "basket of deplorables," those who advance such an assertion, directly or inferentially, are making a significant mistake.
Our job (those who don't like the Trump program, past, present, or future) ought to be seeking to claim that "MAGA" slogan as our own, and then say just what it will take to "Make America Great Again." Trying to achieve that "Make America Great Again" result is exactly what our politics should be all about. Politicians, and political commentators, and pundits, and others who deplore the "Make America Great Again" formula are charging like a bull at the red cape being waved by Donald J. Trump. Watch out!
I thought about putting this blog posting online after reading a letter to the Wall Street Journal that ran in the February 8, 2024, edition of the paper (see below). I don't think Madeline Bizette, who comes from Port Orange, Florida, is "deplorable." Like Madeline, I, too, want to "Make America Great Again," and while Madeline and I might not agree about this, I think that voting down our former president's attempt to return to the presidency is certainly Step #1. That's the way I see it!
Let's not make it harder to achieve Step #1 by saying that we are against the whole idea of "Making America Great Again."
I am not against that. In fact, I think that is exactly what we have to do!
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