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!”

Lead by Example

My wife is a businesswoman and she works very hard. She sometimes wonders why I put so much time into having fun. As most of you know, I still play baseball at a pretty high level. I am in a Wednesday night bowling league. I play poker. Not only that, but I coach baseball for work. I also like to be involved in many social events with friends and family. I am spontaneous. I was just out to lunch for a friend’s birthday, and another friend asked if I wanted to come over and sing songs while he played the piano. I did, and it was fun. I want to enjoy my life. Even more than that, I want my life to be meaningful and important in a positive way.

This has led to a discussion between my wife and me about what is important in life. She says that having fun all the time is not realistic. I agree. There are certainly things that everybody has to do in life that they do not want to do. Work immediately comes to mind. Here’s the thing. The fact that you have to work does not necessarily mean that it is more meaningful or important than fun. For example, if 98% of the lawyers and politicians were not working, the world would be a better place. Just like fun, if work is not done for the right purpose, it is not a good thing.

I was just re-reading the book of Ecclesiastes, and was reminded that anything we do without it being for God’s purpose is vanity. This does not mean that nothing we do matters. It means that the things we do that affect eternity are the only things that ultimately matter. As Colossians 3:2 puts it, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” What can we do on earth that affects eternity? We can lead people to put their faith in Jesus.

Once we know this, the only question left becomes, “What will lead people to put their faith in Jesus?” There are the obvious answers, like inviting people to church or telling people about Jesus, and those are certainly important, but they are not usually very successful by themselves. I have often seen people at events holding signs telling people to repent and turn to Jesus and wondered, “Has there ever been anybody who repented and turned to Jesus because of somebody doing that?” In fact, shouting about God on a street corner is probably counterproductive and turns people off.

So, what does work? What can help usher in a religious revival in our country that actually causes lasting change? The answer is not to be pushy. The answer is to lead by example. Make people want to have a life like yours. These four things will get people to want to turn to God.

Be fun. If you are regularly doing fun things, laughing, and in the middle of exciting moments, people are going to like you more. People want to spend time with likeable, fun people. If you are not fun, nobody will want to be around you, much less be like you or take any advice from you. Fun also puts you in a position to meet people and build relationships with them.
Be good. There are fun people who are no good. I know people who are a blast to hang out with but are not good people. I would never put them in charge of money, because they are shady and the money would be gone. I would never want to work with them because they are flakey. I would not want them to date anybody I care about because they would treat them badly. Being fun is certainly not good by itself. Think about Pleasure Island in Pinocchio. The kids are having fun, but are being bad. This is why I specified that I want my life to be meaningful and important in a positive way. If you are fun, but also honest, trustworthy, reliable, and helpful, people will respect you.
Be happy. Fun and happy are related, but definitely not the same thing. There are people who do a lot of fun stuff, but are not happy with their lives. Happy people smile a lot and rarely complain. Happy people keep things in perspective and remain relatively happy even when things go wrong. Happy people can feel sad when something terrible happens, but their default position is cheerful. Fun makes people like you and want to be around you, but happy makes people want to be like you and emulate you.
Let people know that God is the key to your happiness and success. Once people like you because you are fun, respect you because you are good, and want to be like you because you are happy, you have to make it known that you are that way because you are a Christian. It is the truth. I certainly would not be good or happy without God in my life. In fact, life would be meaningless. Once they know that God is the key to your happiness, you do not have to be heavy-handed or pushy. Be ready to answer questions about God, but you do not have to constantly preach at people. Instead, lead by example. Continue to be fun, good, and happy.

There is one more thing. If you are not all of these things, do not tell people you are a Christian. I relate it to politics. When I am out wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, I am a billboard for President Trump, and I want him to win. I go out of my way to make sure I am smiling and kind to people. I always try to be that way, but I am even more conscious of it when I am representing President Trump. I tip better at restaurants if I wear the hat. I want people to know that the media is lying when they denigrate President Trump and his supporters. I want them to know that we are good people. If I am grumpy or rude, it will turn people off. In fact, I take off the hat when I am driving, because nobody thinks other people are good drivers, even if they are.

Similarly, if I am not fun, good, or happy, and then I tell people that I am a Christian, I am poorly representing God. Nobody is going to see a Christian who is unhappy or constantly complaining and say, “How can I be like that?” I had a friend who would often post on social media about God, but would mostly post complaints about his life or about some girl he was dating. It drove me crazy because anybody who saw that would think, “That God thing sure isn’t working very well for him. I’ll figure something else out.” If you are not fun, good, and happy, work on that before you tell anybody that you are a Christian.

Now, go out and enjoy life. Having fun may seem frivolous, but it leads to the most meaningful parts of your life.

Five Quick Thoughts About the Assassination Attempt on President Trump

When I first heard that President Trump had been shot, a person I know reacted by saying, “Good.” I would like to say that this surprises me, but unfortunately, the left has spent such so much time vilifying the man, it was half expected. Democrats and the media have spent the last 8 years comparing him to Hitler, baselessly calling him a dictator. By the way, a dictator is somebody who has absolute power and exercises control over the lives of his people. This is a ridiculous claim to make about a President who had deregulation and lessening the government interference in our lives as a cornerstone of his 4 years in office.
Another person told me that they were surprised it wasn’t a Trump supporter who made an attempt to kill President Biden, because Trump supporters are “a little wacko.” While I am sure that out of the many Trump supporters there are plenty of bad apples, most of his fans that I have met are very kind and loving people. The scary thing about this comment was that it came from a conservative. Unfortunately, this person is older, and still watches the mainstream media and late night talk shows. President Trump, and his supporters, are painted as wackos by the network news and the late night talk shows. You cannot trust the sources that informed the public 50 years ago. Those sources can only be seen as opposition research. Also, if you have any negative thoughts about Trump supporters, I encourage you to go to a Trump rally and talk to the people there. They are the people who you would hope to live next door to.
The failures of the secret service need to be investigated. How was somebody able to get on a rooftop so close to the stage? How was he allowed to get off a shot after spectators pointed him out?
Things like this are likely to happen when one side of our political spectrum is actively protesting and ridiculing the Ten Commandments. Our country needs to turn back to God. There is no other way to turn the tide.
President Trump is a real man. This is a guy who got shot, stood up with blood on his face, and raised his fist in defiance telling Americans to “fight!” Who would be a better guy to face down our enemies abroad than him?

Intolerant Democrats Get Jewish Man’s Yarmulke Shop on Etsy Shut Down

This story starts a couple of years back when my mother started getting into family genealogy. She mapped out what we already knew, but then had a few family members spit into a tube to send to 23andMe and Ancestry.com to find out more information. We expected most of the interesting stuff to come from my mom’s side. How involved was the Italian part of our family in the mob way back when? Were we even Italian, or were we more Albanian as one of the tests showed? Was my aunt really the mailman’s daughter as they joked with my grandparents?

Interestingly enough, the most surprising thing we found out was on my dad’s side. The test came back and said that he is half Jewish. We had no idea that we had any Jewish in our DNA at all, much less 50%. If you know my dad, his reaction was exactly as you would expect. He took me to the Katella Deli and ate corned beef, latkes, matzah ball soup, babka, gefilte fish, knishes, challah bread, and blintzes. I love my dad.

Fast forward to Christmas, 2019. I wanted to get my dad something imaginative that he wouldn’t expect and would also give him a laugh. Then an idea hit me. I looked online for a “Make America Great Again” yarmulke. It was perfect! I found one on Etsy, a website where people can make crafty products and set up their own “shop” to sell their wares on. The gift was a hit.

Fast forward again, this time to August 27 of this year. In my email I find a message from the guy who I bought the yarmulke from. It began like this:

Dear Valued Customer,
Please forgive us for sending you this unexpected email, you are receiving this because you purchased a “Trump Make America Great” Kippah or Yarmulke from our Etsy store during the past two years. First, I want to thank you for the purchase, you should know that this store was a labor of love to help my kids pay for their Bar and Bat Mitzvah’s, my family is ever grateful to you for being part of that.
We really need you to know the recent sad events that have transpired at our Etsy shop, Etsy who sides in many leftist causes came under pressure from the social media mob and have succumbed and permanently suspended our shop where we sold these MAGA kippahs. It appears a customer showed off their wares on TicTok and got a tsunami of leftist outrage. We were used to getting nasty messages on Etsy but this time Etsy sided with this outrage mob and has shut us down.

My jaw dropped. It isn’t surprising that leftist bullies would go on the attack. Democrats do not tolerate disagreement. The astonishing part was that Etsy had let them get their way and actually closed down this man’s shop. I responded to the email and asked if I could speak to him about what happened and he agreed.

We spoke on the phone last week and he asked that I don’t use his name out of concern for his kids. He told me that his son is a supporter of the president and has been harassed at school and has even been called out on what was described as a “mean girls” kind of webpage meant to “cancel” people. For that reason I will call him Daniel in this article.

Daniel is an interesting man with some insightful perspective on how the left is using Marxist tactics to silence anybody who disagrees with them. You see, Daniel is a Russian Jew who fled here in 1979 at the age of 9. He has seen the left in action in the Soviet Union and is alarmed at the similarities he sees with the Democrats in the United States today. He fears that Democrat policies and tactics will lead to the communism that his family fled from in the Soviet Union. He sees how the left is promoting division and pitting everybody against each other by pushing a victim mentality on people; rich vs. poor, black vs. white, gay vs. straight, male vs. female. He sees the left trying to silence people for having different opinions.

Daniel mentioned another tactic that is being used here in the United States and compared it to something I had never heard of before and had to look into, Josef Stalin’s “Doctor’s Plot.” In it, Stalin falsely accused Jewish doctors of plotting to kill Soviet leaders. Jews were denounced as poisoners and Daniel’s grandmother, who was a doctor with many patients, was reduced to seeing just a handful of patients in secret. Daniel sees Democrats doing the same thing by spreading horrible propaganda against people and vilifying them for political purposes. Just look at the slander the left has perpetrated against the police in our country and you can see the obvious comparison.

I told Daniel that it mystifies me that some Jews in America could ever vote for Democrats after seeing the rising antisemitism in that party. Between Representative Ilhan Omar’s openly anti-Semitic comments, Democrat’s support of the Iran Nuclear Deal that freed up $150 billion for a country that shouts “Death to Israel,” Democrats walking out on a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Obama turning his back on Israel in the United Nations, some Democrats supporting the “BDS” movement, and the Democratic Convention booing an amendment to their platform that mentioned God and supported recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, it seems unfathomable that any Jew could support Democrats. Daniel told me that many secular Jews have forgotten their roots. He said that “Democrats have been letting Jews down for 80 years.”

I asked Daniel what he thinks us as Americans can do. He said that we need to focus on bringing the culture back. He said, “The left has won the culture war.” When we have major commercial websites shutting down shops for selling items that show support for our president, I fear he is right. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what kind of censorship and persecution we can expect if Democrats win next week.

Daniel had sold over 7,000 Trump yarmulkes before his shop was shut down. Whenever he tried to contact Etsy they told him that his complaint would be sent up the ladder but he never got anywhere with them. I reached out to Etsy and have not received a response. I also looked on Etsy at what other yarmulkes are allowed to be sold and found many, including “Biden/Harris” and “Black Lives Matter” versions.

Daniel has moved his business over to Ebay, and although he does not want me to confirm his identity, if you would like to support him just search on Ebay for “Trump kippahs” and many of the results will be from his shop. Just pick your favorite design and it is likely coming from him.

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