Keeping America great
Whether it be awards ceremonies, theater in the park, or now memorial services (John McCain and Aretha Franklin), it is popular to take swipes at President Trump in an attempt to shame him, as if the daily hammering by the news media were not enough.
To be sure, Meghan McCain gave a heartfelt and moving eulogy about her father, but let's objectively look at her comment, "The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again, because America was always great."
Trump's slogan, "Make America Great Again," implies that America was great; otherwise there would be no need to make America great again. What the people who applaud Megan McCain's remarks fail to understand is that Trump is referring not to American history in general, but to its recent past, where America's greatness lost its footing in terms of our economy, education, immigration, and military, as well as its standing in the world, especially regarding foreign enemies, foreign agreements (the Iran deal and the Paris Accord), and unfair trade deals (NAFTA).
By way of a simple sports analogy, even the greatest baseball pitchers in history have fallen into slumps – where their current performance is less than great. When they do, they seek the help of their coaches to climb out of their slump and become great again. Does this mean they were "never great," as Governor Andrew Cuomo stated about America, or that by attempting to correct their flaws, they lost their historical greatness? Of course not. They sought correction because of their love for and commitment to their sport, their profession, and their standing in the Major League community. They refused to rest on the laurels of their past greatness, striving always to keep their greatness current.
President Trump has that love for America, and he was elected to be that "coach" – to bring us out of our recent slump, maximize our potential, and make us great again. This slogan is not a slur against America's greatness – just the opposite. It is a recognition of it – a realization that we must remain vigilant, constantly fine-tuning our actions and our performance at home and on the world stage.
One by one, President Trump is tackling each of our recent shortcomings and rectifying it. He is doing so at what is referred to as "the speed of Trump" – so much so that he has announced a modification of his original and much maligned slogan to "Keep American Great." We are back on the "mound," back in the "game," winning again. And there is no shame in that!