Donald Trump’s campaign slogan is “make America great again”. Inspiring as those words may seem, they are actually a call for returning our country to a time of bigotry, discrimination and privilege. Mr. Trump likes to refer to those struggling as “losers”. He has made disparaging remarks about undocumented immigrants from Mexico. He seems to view women as objects or trophies, but not equals. His words are not new.
In 2010, Glenn Beck gave a speech at the Lincoln Memorial. He spoke of America “wandering lost”, a reference to the Old testament account of the Jewish nation wandering in the desert. He called for a return to American values. But, hate, bigotry, racism and discrimination are NOT and should never be American values. Those were, however, the values of many Southern Democrats in the decades before, during and after the Civil War.
The day after the 2012 election, Bill O’Reilly mourned the loss of what he calls “a traditional America”. But what is “traditional America”? When the Constitution was written and ratified and the first elections were held for the President, Vice president and Congress only white males who owned property could vote. Protestants did not want Catholics to be allowed to vote. Africans, whether brought here against their will or born here, were enslaved in many States. Women could not vote, could not run for office and could not own property. Native Americans could not vote and were not considered citizens. Is this the “traditional America” people really want back?
Thankfully, that “traditional America” ended. When the property requirement was removed so that all white men could vote, there were white men who mourned the loss of “traditional America”. When slavery ended and former male slaves were given the right to vote, there were white men who mourned the loss of “traditional America” because they did everything they could to prevent the freedmen from voting. When women finally won the right to vote, there were white men who mourned the loss of “traditional America”. When Native Americans were given citizenship and the right to vote, there were white men who mourned the loss of “traditional America”.
When the first African American was elected to Congress, undoubtedly there were white men who mourned the loss of “traditional America”. When the first woman was elected to Congress, certainly there were white men who mourned the loss of “traditional America”. When John F. Kennedy, the first and only Roman Catholic was elected President, surely there were white men who mourned the loss of “traditional America”. When Barrack Obama was elected the first African American President, there were white men who mourned the loss of “traditional America”.
Mr. Trump, Mr. Beck, Mr. O’Reilly and their followers want an America, a United States, that never was. Our country has always been in transition and always moving forward, always striving to reach the ideals Thomas Jefferson described in the Declaration of Independence. That is what Abraham Lincoln and so many others died to preserve. That is America’s, that is the United States’, tradition
Moderately liberal, liberally moderate, American flag waving Democrat! Bachelor of Arts in History with concentration in Early American History and Abraham Lincoln
Graduate student pursuing a Master of Arts Degree online in American History at Southern New Hampshire University