Month: August 2024

Make America Great Again:  What Does it Mean?

I was recently asked a question that I had never really given much thought to.  I had mentioned to a friend that the reactions to my “Make America Great Again” hat have been extremely positive this year.  Whenever I go out with the hat on, there are five to ten “I like your hat” comments from people.  My friend then asked me, “What do you mean by Make America Great Again?  When do you want to go back to that was so great?”  I immediately knew where he was going.  You see, my friend is black.  America does not have the best record when it comes to how black people have been treated in the past.  Until the 1860’s, Democrats thought black people were inferior, so they enslaved them.  Until the 1960’s, Democrats thought black people were inferior, so they segregated them.  Now, Democrats think black people are inferior, so they push lower standards for them through affirmative action and DEI.

As you can see, you have to look at what people actually mean by the slogan to really understand it.  Obviously, it does not mean that we want to go back to slavery or segregation.  When my friend asked me, I answered that it is not about that at all, but when I tried to explain what it is about, I had trouble putting it into words.  Since then, I have been thinking about what we mean by “Make America Great Again.”  When you look at it from the right perspective, it really is simpler than it seems.

First, you have to realize that the slogan “Make America Great Again” implies that things have gone wrong in our country.  If you can agree to that fact, the rest of the explanation falls easily into place.  My friend who asked the question would be the first to say that our country has gone off the rails.  When we say, “Make America Great Again,” we do not mean that we want to bring back failures from the past.  We fixed slavery.  We fixed segregation.  Those bad things should be left in the past.  The things we want to bring back are the good things that have gone awry.

Most of us can acknowledge that our country has some major issues.  By looking at those problems, we can fill in the blanks of what needs to be made great again.  Here are some of the obvious ones:

  • We used to be able to afford to buy a meal for the family at a local drive-thru restaurant.  Now, inflation has made food (and almost everything else) exorbitantly expensive.  Making America Great Again means making our money worth more and our lives affordable again.
  • People used to strive for the American Dream.  They wanted to start a successful business and make enough money to buy a house and provide for their family.  Now, government regulations and excessive taxes have made it nearly impossible to run a successful business.  Making America Great Again means bringing back the opportunity to reach the American Dream.
  • We used to fight crime, support our police, and prosecute criminals so that we could live in relative safety.  Now, we make major crimes into misdemeanors, we unfairly slander and try to defund our police, and we let criminals get away with murder, sometimes literally.  We even make it easy for criminals and terrorists from other countries to enter our country illegally.  Making America Great Again means taking criminals off our streets and securing our borders so we can be safe again.
  • We used to have both major parties agree when it came to supporting our greatest ally, Israel.  In fact, Harry Truman, a Democrat, was the president who pushed for the creation of modern Israel.  Now, we have people in our streets shouting “Death to Israel and death to America!”  We have Democrats walking out of speeches by the Israeli Prime Minister and trying to block military aid to Israel.  Making America Great Again means standing with Israel.
  • We used to have something called comedy.  Movies and television shows were made with jokes that were funny.  You could make jokes about being gay, race, disabled people, and more.  Now, people are overly sensitive and are told to feel offended about everything.  We hear things like, “That movie hasn’t aged well.”  (If you hear that, it is probably a funny movie that you should watch.)  Comedians are criticized and sometimes blackballed for making jokes.  Making America Great Again means being less sensitive, defending comedians, and making America funny again.
  • In the past, most people on both sides loved God and wanted to please Him.  Now, Christians are slandered as bigots for holding mainstream Christian beliefs.  Making America Great Again means praying and advocating for a religious revival and a turning back to God by our nation. 
  • We used to have sports for both men and women to compete.  Now, men can say they identify as a woman and compete in women’s sports.  Making America Great Again means recognizing that men are different than women and should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports.

This is in no way a complete list, but it is a taste of what we mean by “Make America Great Again.”  It does not mean that America was ever a perfect place, but it does mean that many things have declined and should be repaired.  To make an analogy, say that ten years ago your house had a leaky roof, and you got it repaired.  Now, your plumbing has a broken pipe and the house has flooded.  If you said, “I want to make my house great again,” would that mean you want to go back to when you had a leaky roof?  Of course not.  It means you want to fix the broken pipe that is causing problems now.   Just like that, “Make America Great Again” does not mean that we want to bring back problems from the past.  It means we want to repair the problems that we have now.  Now, let’s get to work and “Make America Great Again!”

The Olympics: We Are the Outsiders

I like the Olympics.  I always have.  As a five-year-old child in 1984, I was able to attend the diving event and track and field in Los Angeles.  The competition and the patriotism were inspiring.  I remember crying while watching the closing ceremony on T.V. because the Olympics were over. 

I still look forward to watching the Olympics and rooting on the United States athletes, so on July 26th, I sat down to watch the opening ceremony in Paris, France.  It was quite the spectacle.  The acrobats were mesmerizing.  The musical acts were all over the place, from pop to rap, heavy metal, and opera.  The athlete boat parade down the Seine was different than the normal walk around the track of the stadium.  There were, however, some controversial skits interspersed throughout the event.  There was a skit about a ménage à trois.  There were lots of men dressed as women throughout the show. The part that has made the most waves, though, was what many perceived as a drag queen reenactment of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper.”

This has led to a huge outcry by Christians in America.  Many have demanded an apology.  Some have vowed not to watch and called for a boycott of the games.  My reaction was quite different, though.  You may remember my article where I explained a saying I have about being offended.  “Don’t be offended unless offense is intended.”  This opening ceremony actually fits that criterion.  I think they fully intended to offend Christians by mocking one of the big events in the Bible.  They wanted that attention and the controversy.  Here’s the thing that might surprise you.  Even though it checks the boxes for being offensive, I was not offended.

Was it a good thing?  Of course not.  Did I freak out?  Not at all.  I do not expect people who reject God to respect God.  I do not expect non-Christians to abide by biblical values.  Quite the opposite.  I expect debauchery.  I expect violence.  I expect hedonism.  This is what the world would be like without God.  Instead of complaining, we should use it as a contrast to turn people back to God.  We should show it as two different paths we can take.

We are leaving a time when Christianity was the common, widely agreed upon religion, and most people in the Western world shared the same ideology and values.  We got used to the expectation that others shared our values.  Unfortunately, that is not the case now.  We are in a time when Christianity is no longer the dominant value system.  Secular leftism is the dominant value system.  We are now outsiders in a pagan world. 

This has actually been the norm during much of history.  Christians were outsiders, not the people in control.  How did Christianity grow in the first place?  My guess is that a bunch of pagans were living meaningless, unhappy lives and they saw these strange Christians living joyful lives with a purpose.  This is the contrast that we need to highlight today.  Complaining that non-Christians are not acting like Christians is a waste of time and illogical.  We should instead highlight the fact that following Jesus leads to a happier, more fulfilling life and a better society, while the alternative leads to a shallow, meaningless life and a hedonistic, indulgent society.

While this perspective is true on a large-scale, societal level, it also applies on a micro, more personal level.  When somebody who is not a Christian does bad things, I am not shocked.  Why would I be?  They do not have the same standards as we do.  It should not be surprising if somebody who rejects the Bible does something unethical in business.  Their goal is not to do what is right.  It is to do what will be of the most benefit to them.  Christians should hold themselves to a higher standard.

Another point that I have heard Christians make is that the French would not have mocked Islam the way that they did Christianity.  This is, of course, true.  This is a good point to make, but not if we frame it as a complaint.  Complaining doesn’t win people over.  What does make Christians look good is to point out how great it is that we will not chop off your head if you try to offend us.  Christianity makes better people.

Unless the world turns back to God, things are going to get worse.  We are seeing things that nobody would have imagined when I watched the Olympics back in 1984.  Who would have guessed back then that people would be pushing for men to be able to compete in women’s sports?  Vulgarity, crime, and sexual debauchery are just the tip of the iceberg.  The marginalization and persecution of Christians (and Jews) will get even worse.  There will be more wars and worse atrocities.  There will be more suffering. 

Instead of feeling shocked and angry at the non-believers who performed this skit, I feel bad for them.  If you have rejected God to the point where you will mock Him, your eternity looks pretty bleak.  Instead of attacking them for showing sexualized content and debauchery during an event that many parents watched with their children, we should be talking to those parents and pointing out the alternative.  This alternative would lead to the more wholesome, yet still exciting and enjoyable path that God provides.  In fact, only our path will lead to true happiness.

I am still watching the Olympics, and enjoying the competition.  The athletes worked hard for this chance and many of them do want to please God.  The next time you see a heathen performance or display and your first instinct is to be offended, instead think to yourself, “I am sure glad I have God and am not like that.”