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David Casavant of Hampden is a lawyer and a certified public accountant.
In light of recent events, the slogan “Make America Great Again” confuses me. Given the suggestion of adding Canada and Greenland, does “America” mean the United States or is it the continent? Has cutting international humanitarian aid made us “great”? Does blaming immigrants for our own drug, violence, and incarceration problems make us “great”?
Maybe it’s time to look beyond “America” and look at ourselves as “Americans.” It may also be time to consider what might make us “great” moving forward, rather than somehow trying to recapture the past given that certain episodes were far less than “great.” We certainly would not want to revisit slavery “again.”
To me, it would be great if we would:
Acknowledge our wealth, and commit a decent share of our gross domestic product toward international humanitarian aid.
Acknowledge that capitalism is most stable, efficient, and prosperous when workers have fair access to housing, health care, education, transportation, and technology. Otherwise, workers cannot fairly compete in the 21st century marketplace.
Foster good government that preserves our fiscal and natural resources for a sustainable future. Good government would also promote justice given the self-evident truth that we are all born as equals. That inclination made the United States great in theory, not so much in practice.
Dedicate ourselves to the pursuit of truth regardless of the challenges of communicating the truth or our limited ability to understand it.
Speak and act in public forums with common sense, common decency, and common goodness.
Recognize that students in grade school can play on the same teams. Encourage participation over competition and use sports as a means of developing athletic, social, and leadership skills. Locker room challenges could be solved by having grade schoolers shower at home.
Agree that guns are for the purpose of harvesting wild animals and that the Second Amendment served to preserve a voluntary army. A militia is no longer feasible or desirable in light of modern weaponry. It’s best for professionals to have command of non-harvesting firearms. They are charged with our personal safety and the security of our property. They are also more likely to provide consistent protection than armed citizens.
Acknowledge that all life is sacred and commit resources to lowering the infant mortality rate. We could also acknowledge that it is not compassionate or just to use the power of the government to force a woman to experience the physical, psychological, emotional, social, and economic difficulties of an unwanted pregnancy.
Our form of government and our economic system has generated tremendous prosperity. Shouldn’t we be able to get along and show the next generations how to do the same? While I’m not sure whether the practices listed above would make America greater in the eyes of our global family, I am convinced that we and future generations of Americans would be better for them.
