Is it possible to make America great again?

This archived article was written by: Nathaniel Woodward

I refuse to accept that I am entitled to more than any other human on this planet. I don’t care if they are American, Syrian, Mexican, Laotian, Chinese, Hmong or German, every single life on this planet has worth and I outrightly deny that I am more deserving of any shred of happiness or decency than they.
I’ve made my choices, expressed my opinions and have the gall to sign my name every week to what I believe and that specifically is why I am going to write this article. Some of you will get upset, undoubtably some will send me enraged emails, comment vulgar retaliations online or stop me in the store to express your anger, you can’t do what writers do without a thick skin, so I welcome it.
I’ve written of my disappointment with the American culture where we set ourselves apart as a God’s chosen few with blithe indifference to the customs, folklore and beliefs other’s hold dear. We share countless links and videos online demanding the world accept our way of life, an asinine artifice imposed without a second thought. Yet how dare anyone disagree with us? In this age where a push-back against political correctness is advocated passionately, many of those trumpeting the cause become enraged at the slightest hint of dissent.
Disagreement is fuel to the fire of democracy. Embrace differences with respect and understanding and progress will inevitably be the outcome. However, our elected leaders have entrenched themselves deep behind party lines, unwilling to understand why their idealogical adversaries views are important to them. This behavior radicalizes the citizenry who in turn elect radicalized leaders who become increasingly staunch in their extreme views deepening the rifts that divide us.
Where will this end? The unwillingness to compromise on political decisions has and will lead to more government shutdowns, debt, and overall inaction on issues that matter. You can be pro-life but keep caring what happens to that life once it enters the populous. You can dislike political correctness but understand the word “retard” can hurt someone who cares for someone with special needs. You can be afraid of a culture you don’t understand but pick up a book and learn from their perspective instead of being told by biased sources. You can disagree with a politician without calling their character into question, for all you know you could be in the wrong.
I don’t expect everyone to believe the way I do, nor do I wish for that. America should not be a homogenous solution of similar views, race or culture but a terrific mixture consisting of widely different lifestyles. I’ve written articles on Islam, war, politics, faith, relationships, history, movies and science each time trying to explain why these things should matter and its my sincere desire that they hit home or give insight you may have not previously considered.
We scream, kick and whine about immigration but don’t take the time to understand why these people are fleeing their native homes. We complain about how difficult our lives have become from our homes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars while a family of 4 are being gunned down in the lime fields of Michoacan. A grandmother lays a single flower on the casket of her beloved 3-year-old granddaughter who died of malnutrition as we complain that “Steve,” the over-the-phone IT help, has a funny accent.
We buy god-awful trucker hats with slogans like “Make America great again” for $30 while the 12 year old who made it in a sweatshop in Indonesia just saved up enough money to pay his disabled mother’s rent for another week. Our outrage is pathetic. Two children die every minute from hunger in the world and we care about a presidential candidate’s emails.
I expect more of us, if we want to be great again, let’s start doing what America does best, innovate. We are inherently engineers, that’s our birthright. When tragedy hit the world, we figured out a solution and helped. When fascism rose and threatened peace, we figured out a solution and helped. When disease ravaged a continent, we figured out a solution and helped. It’s time again, the world needs us to be America again, we need us to be America again.