It came off as almost a throw-away line in a recent speech(s). It’s a question that I’m sure has weighed on President Trump’s mind for a while. To be candid it’s a question that the press corps should be pressing the administration for an answer on daily. But there it was in the open finally asked out loud.
“Why does Biden hate ‘making America great’ so much?”
Don’t misunderstand, he clearly does hate the phrase.
In the parts of his public speeches that are not jibberish he has routinely focused heated, dishonest rhetoric at anyone who subscribes to the idea. He’s been hateful towards those people in so much that openly ridicules their existence. And he’s willing to do such even if it slanders half or more of the nation he is supposed to be serving.
The idea of turning “America 1st” or “Make America Great” into pejoratives is intended to create a rhetorical weapon that so devalues and discredits the person it is leveled at that hopefully they will be shamed from further association.
You can see it at work to some degree in the “sophisticated” establishment. The snob-like urban centers where people sneer at a red hat with white lettering if they spot one on the street, at the pub or in the office.
There is an inflated sense of superiority in “identifying” with someone other than “America 1st” at the snobbish wine and cheese parties in the beltway.
But I can’t for the life of me figure out why.
If I take my car with a busted hose under the hood, to the mechanic, I want him to replace what is broken so that the car operates to its greatest potential. I don’t want him to cover over the hole in the hose and tell me to nurse the engine and speed levels so that I can “just get” from here to there safely for a time.
I’ve no wish for a school teacher to “just do” what is minimally required to cause a student to get the answers correct on his exam so that he scrapes by with a C-minus. I want that teacher (public, private, religious, or home) to engage that child’s capacity to imagine and learn. That the pursuit of knowledge is an incredible pursuit and that will help the student imagine a great life for themselves one day.
My bride chooses eateries to dine at for our date night not based on the ability for someone in a kitchen to put something on a plate that is edible and that I can transact an exchange of money for. NO. She researches the chefs in the area, what they are making that season, and what reviews are saying about it. She does so because she knows that I am not hesitant to treat her to a more expensive experience that one time a month—especially if—the experience will surpass all other options that night.
I want lawyer to win my case. I want my police officer to protect my neighborhood. I want my doctor to spot what others don’t. I want my employees to operate as close to mistake free as possible. I want my sales team to out perform. I want my band to play the right notes with the most stunning flourishes. I want my military to win our wars (and hence prevent future entanglements.) And I want all of our athletes to go to Paris this year and bring home as many of the gold medals as they are capable of.
And if I want all that from life all around me, I am unashamed to say that I want my president to be driven to make my country AWESOME!
It’s in the American DNA to desire excellence in our aspiration and accomplishments. It should be second nature to real Americans.
The fact that a candidate for any office but especially the man in the White House running for the position of our nation’s number one public servant should be dedicated to at minimum the idea of American excellence.
The far more painful reality here however is the sheer fact that the President doesn’t desire greatness of anyone or anything—unless it enriches himself and his family or team.
Looking at the border crisis you could argue that he doesn’t just snidely use “American greatness” as a rhetorical punching bag but that he literally doesn’t even care about the nation. And the list is long on topics you could add: energy policy, economy, protecting our nation’s citizens, the lives of the innocent, the respect of hard working people.
Do not be deceived. It is a moral GOOD to desire for excellence. It is a moral imperative to desire a good economy. It is a moral foundation to generationally pass on these values to those who come after us.
Most importantly it is a morally wise prayer to pray.
“Dear God, help us to make the world around us that we touch, interact with, and pull for great this day.”
And any President who cannot understand this should never see the light of day in elected office.
Asking how we can make our nation great was an idea in the governance of John F. Kennedy. It was a reality in the Trump administration.
It is a place we are desperate to return!