The Real Problem With Make America Great Again
I’ve been hanging out with Arnold Schwarzenegger a lot this year. I recently subscribed to his daily newsletter and it’s been great learning from The Terminator – everything from health hacks to the proper form on a T-Bar Row.
One piece of wisdom I particularly appreciated was his essay, Don’t Look Back. It reminded me of the slogan being used – yet again – by Donald Trump in his pursuit of the presidency: “Make America Great Again.”
Arnold has a theory about why people want to bring back the past; why some think life was better 50 years ago.
“When you don’t have a vision of the future, it’s easier to look back.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger
The present is scary and the future is even worse if you don’t have vision. The past, by comparison, can seem comfortable. Safe. Secure.
What do you stand for? What motivates you? What will you do to help make the world a better place?
Promoters of “Make America Great Again” do not ask these questions. They do not dream for the future. They long for the America of the past. And there can only be dark reasons why.
Make America Great Again is backward-looking
First, it presumes that America is not currently great. And while there may be social and economic indicators that support that premise, there are many economic indicators that don’t.
Inflation has gone down significantly in the past few months. The stock market has soared (despite Trump’s predictions that a Biden presidency would witness a cataclysmic crash). Unemployment is at record lows.
Sure, income inequality is a growing problem. The middle and lower classes have experienced some real wage growth, but nothing comparable to the relative increases in housing and higher education costs.
Despite all of these issues though, I would still argue that growing up and living in America is great. The entrepreneurial spirit in America is still second to none. There are more opportunities than ever to express yourself and showcase your talents, without the need for a corporate middleman to act as a gatekeeper.
Look at someone like MrBeast, for example. Jimmy Donaldson did not grow up rich. He built an empire from his childhood bedroom.
Yes, it’s an extreme example, but it’s also a quintessentially American example.
If you’re willing to put in the work and be a little patient, success is likely to come eventually. Even if you have to wait until you’re over 40.
But the fact remains – America is strong. Dare I say “great” in terms of opportunity relative to the rest of the world.
Even if you disagree and argue that America is NOT great now, the slogan “Make America Great Again” suggests we need to dig into America’s past to find that greatness. To reincarnate the America that once was great, as suggested by the word “again.”
It is backward-looking.
Why would we want to look back in time for greatness?
America did some great things in its past, so don’t get me wrong. The principles this country was founded on starting in 1776 were revolutionary, bold, and great.
But they weren’t very equitable.
Note that in the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson replaced “life, liberty, and property” from the philosopher who influenced him, John Locke, with “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
He didn’t want to guarantee everyone’s property rights.
Not to mention the fact women were not afforded the right to vote for some 150 years after the country’s founding.
Or that black people were initially considered ⅗ a person under the U.S. Constitution.
And that’s before we get into slavery, Jim Crow, the Ku Klux Klan, and every other giant blemish on American history.
Make America Great Again? Which era are we aiming for exactly? The time when a bunch of white dudes sat in a room and decided what rights to afford everyone, with the primary recipients being themselves?
This is precisely the problem I’ve always had with an originalist judicial philosophy when it comes to constitutional interpretation.
For background, there are multiple ways you can interpret the U.S. Constitution. Some believe in a “Living Constitution”, with the idea being that the U.S. Constitution was a starting point and that it must adapt to the times.
Others believe we should only interpret the Constitution with the framer’s intent. This is the “Originalist” school of thought that constantly asks what the drafters of each section had in mind when they wrote the words.
The main problem with originalism is that it is backward-looking. It seeks to keep American jurisprudence locked in a time when not everyone had equal rights. Slavery was alive and well. In fact, many of the framers owned slaves themselves.
Why would we want to return to and always be confined by what they intended when society has since evolved?
I pose the same question to anyone who wants to “Make America Great Again.”
It’s a great marketing tagline. Not denying that. It’s catchy. But what exactly are you trying to bring back? Unequal rights?
Don’t look back
As Arnold Schwarzenegger reminded us, “When you don’t have a vision of the future, it’s easier to look back.”
We should be seeking to inspire and motivate, not regress and retreat. “Make America Great Again” may sound nice and comforting, but it does not promise or articulate a bold vision. It communicates that America’s best days are behind her.
When what we should be doing is drawing wisdom and lessons from our past, not trying to return to it.
It will take a Republican with a fresh and inspiring vision to free the party from its “Make America Great Again” shackles. I thought that person could have been Vivek Ramaswamy until it became clear he was Trump 2.0, if not worse.
Perhaps the Republican Party is beyond saving though. Perhaps it is best left for the past it so desperately seeks.
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