“Make America Great Again” has become synonymous with political party warfare. Look around the U.S. today and you’ll see people spewing hatred about “others.” Americans hate other Americans with different political affiliations or professions, and many Americans broadly despise immigrants (legal or otherwise). Too many of us have bought into a binary view of the world: good vs evil, black vs white. Too many of us believe the lies we hear, lies that serve to put money and power into the pockets of the liars. Social media has become a lucrative marketplace for those peddling hyperbole.
I want to see us move beyond a hype-filled notion of making America great again, to simply being great Americans again. Let’s put our God-given capacities to think, to reason and to question to use and work together to address the many real problems we collectively face, including immigration, health care and the economy. To this end, we must recognize there is no “winning” if half the country is losing. We must recognize that all Americans, including documented immigrants, have something to contribute to making this country great be they a plumber or professor, a farmer or a pharmacist. American greatness has always come from our willingness to work together. “E pluribus unum” indeed!
Peter R. Girguis
Cambridge, Massachusetts