What Makes a Country ‘Great’ in the First Place?
<p>Make America Great Again.</p>
<p>If you’re like me, this phrase hits you with the same visceral force as a badly swung golf club to the face. We recognize it at a glance as the slogan of Donald J. Trump, the <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4178537-trump-tells-glenn-beck-hed-lock-up-political-opponents-if-reelected/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>ex-president currently facing a mountain of legal troubles.</strong></a></p>
<p>I’ll bet that you didn’t know it’s been used before.</p>
<p>The phrase has a long history, going all the way back to the 1940s. It was used by <a href="https://www.uwalumni.com/news/the-big-cheese-chippewa-county/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>Alexander Wiley</strong></a>, a Republican Senator from Wisconsin. He spoke of the need for a leader who could unite the people, and ‘<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/make-america-great-again-who-said-it-first-n645716" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>make America great again</strong></a><strong>’</strong>.</p>
<p>It was used by<strong> </strong><a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/barry_goldwater_of_arizona.htm" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>Barry Goldwater</strong></a>, the man credited with pushing the Republican party towards racist policies with the <a href="https://politicaldictionary.com/words/southern-strategy/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>Southern Strategy</strong></a>. The slogan appeared in campaign posters and advertising.</p>
<p>It’s been used by <a href="https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/reagans/reagan-administration/reagan-presidency" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>Ronald Reagan</strong></a> during his 1980 presidential campaign, citing the economic issues facing the country and his intention to ‘fix’ them.</p>
<p>Even <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/william-j-clinton/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>Bill Clinton</strong></a> jumped in on the phrase, both in his own run and raising its specter again during<strong> </strong><a href="https://www.hillaryclinton.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>Hillary Clinton’s</strong></a><strong> </strong>2008 campaign.</p>
<p>The slogan has been around for a long time. There’s a lot of history behind it. And every time someone has brought it up, they’ve had different ideas of what exactly it means for a country to be ‘great’.</p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/bouncin-and-behavin-blogs/what-makes-a-country-great-in-the-first-place-7271b64dd333"><strong>Read More</strong></a></p>