Make America Beautiful Again

This title slogan is a riff on Trump’s MAGA campaign and both mottos assume America was either beautiful or great at some time in the past. On both points, it may be argued that we have been better off.  Make America Whole Again would have worked as well.  This young nation was never completely united in a common mindset with the possible exceptions of World War II and after 911. In both those instances, we were under attack and, as a na+tion, we responded with a common purpose. In most other periods, our country has been more or less divided.  We fought our Civil War amongst ourselves and we were deeply divided during our involvement in Southeast Asia (Vietnam).  Just like any large family, we have had our differences, but we all still love our country-family.

A collection of photos from my travels across America the Beautiful

There was a 1958 political novel titled, The Ugly American.  While it criticized American diplomacy for its lack of understanding of other cultures, it also highlighted American arrogance.  “Our way or the highway” was a common attitude of American foreign policy and now we see it metastasizing within our own domestic political scene.  Politically, we have many disagreements, much like members of any large family.  Most families, however, place the family above all disagreements and will still work things out through compromise. Working through our political disagreements was historically our strength, but the current death-match, the winner-take-all attitude has worked to our detriment. The solution to our problem lies in understanding the needs and motivations of others.

Classic 1958 political novel

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In response to a recent Facebook posting, which asked how many states each person had visited, I proudly boasted that I had made it to all 50. I finished my every-state quest in 2016 with a trip to Hawaii. The FB post mentioned that the average for most Americans is around eight states. I didn’t verify this but it sounded about right. I mention this as it relates to the topic of making our nation whole. I remember in one transcontinental sojourn stopping in a small southern town for lunch.  We ate at the local restaurant.  You know the one.  It’s on Main Street just past the stoplight, the only stoplight.  With true southern hospitality, we had a discussion with our waitress.  She was a young girl, perhaps in her early twenties. She asked where we were from. I’m sure she knew everyone in town and spotting strangers was easy. We mentioned Miami and that drew instant recognition. I guess it helps when your town is larger than 15 states.

Typical small-town diner

During our casual conversation, we found out that this young woman had basically never been more than 100 miles from where we were eating. She had spent her entire life in an all-white southern town with all that that entails. She was educated in local schools. She had only traveled to a few nearby towns to shop and to visit relatives and friends.  Her experience was culturally limited and she knew none but people who were just like herself.  I mention this in the context of this discussion to provide a reference for some of what ails this country. We instinctively fear the unfamiliar and some may be easily coerced to strike out against those who may be different.  Unscrupulous politicians will use this fear to their political advantage.

I don’t necessarily blame the people who may not possess a set of life experiences that would afford them a more meaningful perspective. I do however blame the politicians who would exploit the pliable. The rhetoric that instills fear of the [insert any ethnic identity here] and which accuses them of (1) coming for your jobs, (2) coming to rape your women, (3) coming to spread disease, (4) coming to sell drugs, are all the tools of the deceitful, looking to divide our nation for their own personal gain.

The face of anger and hatred

When you look at the broadcasts from some recent political rallies, you will often see the hatred in the faces of the attendees. Certainly, more hatred and anger than I would deem healthy for a country looking to be whole or great.  Tapping into that fear, anger, and hatred is the line of least resistance for the unscrupulous political scoundrel.  They use these rallies to fan the flames of racial tension and xenophobia and to set up the scapegoats for that anger and hatred within the assembled masses.  The event is then televised and captured on cellphones to be spread far and wide.  Instead of examining the problems of the day and extolling reasonable solutions to those problems, they point to “the others” who are to blame for all our nation’s ills.  I give you a lazy politician. I give you a divisive politician.

Welcome to the Hate Zone

These same politicians also use religion and/or patriotism as a crutch.  I would venture to say that the overwhelming majority of Americans are a patriotic bunch who may or may not follow a specific religion but who minimally have a moral compass to guide them.  In my travels, I find that I can have a pleasant conversation with almost anyone as long as I stay away from politics and religion.  I learned early in my brief stint as a bartender to avoid those two topics like the plague, which is a topic for another discussion altogether.

Yes, Americans of all parties and political persuasions can be descent well-meaning folks.  My friends include Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and the non-committal confused. Everyone is entitled to an opinion.  Reasonable discussions to weigh the pros and cons of any point had previously been accepted and/or a tolerated form of expression guaranteed by our constitution.  Recently, however, reasonable discussions and thoughtful compromise have gone the way of the California condor. Tolerance of other opinions is as threatened as the eastern red wolf, of which there are fewer than 35 who have survived in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge of eastern North Carolina.

Eastern Red Wolf

I am not here to offer any solutions to the problem of national division but I will suggest a starting point.  That would be to never again elect to any political office someone who extols the “virtues” or uses the tactics described above.  Any politician who regularly assigns blame or uses ethnic generalities to dodge meaningful solutions should be assigned to the trash heap.  Anyone who uses unsubstantiated rumors and innuendo to attack political opponents should be castigated at the ballot box.  All who prey on racist tendencies or xenophobic fears to further their own chances in an election should have those hopes dashed.  Without using any names, I’m sure someone comes to mind that fits this bill; perhaps several.

Enter the plague.

Reopening America was a mistake; where we've gone in one month

Rolling 7-day average per 1 million population for new Corona cases (6/30/2020)

Bob Dylan's recent comments on the coronavirus pandemic, "It's an invasion for sure, but biblical?  Like some sort of warning sign for people to repent?"  "That would imply that the world is in line for some sort of divine punishment.  Extreme arrogance can have some disastrous penalties.  Maybe we are on the eve of destruction.

Eve of destruction.

America needs unity, not division.  The current global pandemic and the splintered US response, has highlighted our need for cohesive leadership.  The Covid-19 epidemic in America has crippled our economy, killed over 126 thousand of our neighbors, and has permanently damaged the health of many.  It has been totally mishandled since the outset.  We made mistakes but, unlike other countries, we have not learned from these mistakes.  We seem to be making political decisions during a health crisis when we should be following the science and listening to health professionals.  Many of the recent decisions have been self-serving to whichever politician or political group makes them. 

Our rudderless national ship is headed for a similar fate

We are now in desperate need of a national leader to actually lead. We need someone to take over this rudderless ship, make the necessary repairs, and steer a course that will keep our nation off the rocks.  The current captain is clueless and has provided this nation with an upward spiraling infection rate that will lengthen our crisis and further decimate our economy.  Our captain is not asleep at the helm, he’s snoring in his bunk below decks.  He refuses to listen to the experts and thinks only in terms of how decisions will affect his poll numbers. It’s not that the solution hasn’t been made clear by almost every other nation in the world. This is a time for unity and a cohesive strategy. This is not a time for finger-pointing and name-calling.

I would hate to think our great nation, barely 244 years old, will be brought down by a reality TV star on a power trip and an unseen virus.  Rome eventually fell, but after surviving 507 years.  Greece lasted 350 years.  I was hoping for something like the Ottoman Empire that held power for 600 years or the Egyptians who hung around for 30 centuries.  The reigning champions are the Chinese with 3,500 years and counting.  Certainly, we can do better than two and a half centuries.

To be sung "with dignity"

It was mentioned in the opening paragraph that this nation came together during World War II and after 911 as we were under attack.  Well, we are again under attack but this time the enemy is all but invisible.  An unseen virus has killed more Americans than were lost in many years of fighting in Vietnam.  Let us hope that we can come together right now (someone should write a song) and put our differences aside to heal our wounded nation.  It’s fine to be a proud American but wrong to be an arrogant one.  The arrogant American is an Ugly American. We need to again sing, America the Beautiful, proudly.  We can start making America beautiful again by getting rid of "Ugly American" leaders.  This does not refer to physical ugliness but the ugliness of spirit.  The ugliness of arrogance.  The ugliness of division.  The ugliness of hate.  The ugliness of racism.  It’s time to lead, follow, or get out of the way.  Make America beautiful once again.