Make America great again! No, I’m neither confirming (as that statement would suggest) nor denying any political affiliations by repeating what appears to be the slogan of our current president. What this is rather is the perfect example of how we’re made to live out our lives in what was once the great country of the United States of America!

Politics

That’s exactly what politicians do – they attempt to take ownership of the popular narrative, just so that they can get the voting masses behind them to get into office, after which time it becomes apparent that they either don’t really have the power to effect the change they say they want to effect, or that they never had the will to do so in the first place. Just because a certain group of people agree with one idea which is pushed by a certain politician or a certain political party, it most certainly doesn’t mean they agree with everything else they’re all about.

And that’s where I reckon there needs to be a drive to separate politics from the ground-level issues we have to deal with. I mean let’s get a little specific with it, shall we?

If Donald Trump says “make America great again,” what exactly does he mean? In his mind, what does it mean for “America to be great” – what exactly is a “great America?”

Now turn the question to yourself as an individual. You probably agree that you want America to be great again, don’t you, but what exactly does a “great America” look like to you? Is it an economic superpower like it once was on the scale of the global economy? Is it a place where if you really tried hard enough, you could find a job that allows you to live the American Dream?

We’re opening up another can of worms here with the mention of the American Dream!

That in itself probably means different things to different people, especially in this day and age when every individual has a greater selection of resources and information with which they can formulate their own American Dream.

Economics

It’s almost impossible to discuss politics without at the very least acknowledging its synonymity with economics, because at the end of the day everything comes back down to money, doesn’t it? How many of the politicians who are in office right now would be fighting as hard as they do for those positions if there was no financial incentive involved? Or let’s be kind – everybody who works needs to be remunerated for their work, but perhaps it’s pertinent to rephrase that question.

How many politicians would still turn up for work each day if getting their paycheck didn’t depend on showing up for work, let alone actually doing any meaningful work that solves the problems of the voting masses?

American culture

Given the fact that our nation was essentially built on a foundation of rebellion and wanting to govern ourselves and do things our own way, forging our own paths in line with our own needs, many people might justifiably argue that the phrase “American culture” is a fluid and dynamic one at best. How is that in any way a bad thing though? That’s what modern life calls for and there are so many great things about what it means to be American, one of which is deploying American solutions to American problems, while another is that of innovation driven by hard work and a belief in our abilities!

So if I might have appeared to be leaning towards one political party in the quotes I’ve relayed, allow me to balance things out and say “YES WE CAN!”

My take on American life is as simple as this – we have absolutely everything we need in terms of natural resources, land mass and human capital, coupled with American ingenuity, to keep building our nation into what we’d really like it to be.

American life is at a point where you can shape it into what you want it to be as an individual, all the while sticking to the good old American standards of putting in an honest day’s work and contributing your unique God-given talent to the betterment of a society you will be proud to be a part of.