The MAGA movement used the message of its motto to promise a return to an American ideal of greatness. We were always told of America's greatness. Any discussion that contradicts that notion is considered unpatriotic. Some would go so far as to call such negative musings treasonous.
What does MAGA even mean? The key word is “Great.” Tony the Tiger claimed his sugary Frosted Flakes were G-R-E-A-T! Frosted Flakes are a low-nutrient, low-fiber, high-sugar, highly processed breakfast cereal with little nutritional value. Except for a cartoon character saying they were great, their only value seemed to be to keep children quiet while eating. This would be just before a sugar-high ended the solitude. But what makes a country great? Anyone using such a term should define it and explain how they plan to go about achieving greatness.
While I will state that I am thankful for having been born in this country, and certainly wouldn’t consider living elsewhere, I will be the first to also say that there is much room for improvement. I was born in 1945 and grew up during the 50s and 60s. We had high consumerism, low inflation, low unemployment, and the middle class expanded, enjoyed economic prosperity, and moved to the suburbs. It was a time of Ozzie and Harriet and Father Knows Best. America became an economic superpower.
To be great again implies that America was great once. I would have to say that America was indeed great during the period described above. We had just successfully played a key role in winning a world war. With the massive industrial production and mobilization for World War II, we had escaped a great depression. The nation rallied and was unified in our common cause. By the end of that war in 1945, with pent-up consumer demand, unprecedented manufacturing dominance, and aggressive government investment, America enjoyed a “Golden Age” of prosperity that lasted until the early 1970s.
Our economic decline began in the 70s with stagflation. It manifested as a toxic combination of stagnant economic growth, high unemployment, high inflation, high government spending, and a series of energy crises. The US supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War (1973) and Arab members of OPEC cut oil production and embargoed the U.S. Then the 1979 Iranian Revolution further cut oil production. Stagflation was exacerbated by spending on the Vietnam War, the end of the Gold Standard, the devaluation of the dollar, cheap foreign manufacturing, a shift to a service economy with lower paying jobs, and a Federal Reserve who maintained low interest rates too long.
Reagan used the MAGA slogan in 1980 and Clinton used it again in 1992. Political promises to improve life in America are worthless without effort and commitment. Donald Trump dusted off the old MAGA slogan and got elected with it two times. He claims he invented the slogan, of course, and now holds trademark ownership for its exclusive political use.
Whatever is meant by the slogan, it certainly doesn’t mean shifting trillions of dollars away from making life better for Americans, in order to make life miserable for people living in some foreign land. Did bombing a country 6,300 miles away to eliminate a problem we “already fixed” eight months before, justify making healthcare unaffordable for Americans? Did it justify eliminating food programs for the poor? Should it necessitate eliminating energy assistance for low-income Americans? Does it have to cut funding for public housing? What of cuts to education and child care? Should it necessitate higher food and energy bills for all Americans? How is any of this "Great" for Americans?
To me, being “Great” does not mean that our education system should be ranked 11th overall in the world (16th in science, 34th in math). Among high income nations, our healthcare system consistently ranks last or near-last overall. In the developed high income countries group, we have the lowest life expectancy and highest infant mortality rates. I’m sure there are other studies with varying numbers, but most will indicate that we are certainly not at the top of any such rankings. We are not “Great” by those measurements.
Much of this was driven home with two lead stories on 60 Minutes on April 5, 2026. The first story covered a volunteer medical services group providing free dental and medical services to rural residents. This was the RAM or Remote Area Medical program. 60 Minutes interviewed people sitting in a freezing parking lot for several days just to get to see a doctor or dentist. One woman had driven from Alabama to this pop-up clinic in Tennessee and slept in her car for two nights to be in line for dental care. It was not uncommon for young people with a few dental issues to request that all their teeth be pulled because they knew that their natural teeth would eventually have problems they couldn’t afford to fix. Dentures were a financial decision, not a medical one.
The second story featured in our Great America, centered on our inability to build high-speed rail facilities. Certainly, Asia and Europe have risen to the task, but not America. High speed rail is generally defined as rail systems operating at 155mph or more. America has a few systems in the planning but none in operation that can maintain such high speeds over distance.
America is a GREAT country in which to live, but only if you are financially secure. It can be a GREAT struggle if you are not affluent. We can and should do better. We need a shift in priorities, not more rhetoric.
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