Big thanks to DJH for this post!
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It’s easy to say “Make America Great Again.” You can even it put it on a baseball cap. But the question is, do you understand what it was that made America great in the first place?”
This question was asked by Texas Senator Ted Cruz during an interview with Sean Hannity prior to the February 20 primary in South Carolina. The question became a staple in multiple Cruz stump speeches, and as someone who listened to many of them- I can tell you, it was fairly popular amongst his base.
But the question is a very good one. What is it that makes this country great in the first place?
It was probably a very cold February night in the early 1800s. The location was a single room log cabin. A man and a woman welcome into the world a baby boy. The father was not a successful man by any means. He could not write and was little more than a carpenter and farmer. He was well-respected, however, due to his honest nature. Within 10 years of the boy’s birth, his mother would sadly pass away due to milk sickness. After a while, the father’s health began to deteriorate- and the growing young man was forced to do many things his father was unable to do. These tasks were sometimes more than he could handle by himself. The boy would never go to college, instead being self-educated.
By the 1830s, after his mother passed, he moved out of the house. He was hired to ship goods on a flat boat after a while. In the mid-1830s, he also joined the military. He joined for a short amount of time during the Black Hawk War. He was still educating himself throughout this time, too. However, he worked his way up in the community- becoming a very well-respected member of it.
Within a few years, the man got his first taste of politics. He was a member of the state’s House of Representatives for about 8 years. After retiring from the state House, he went for a bigger target- the US House. He won a single term, after making the pledge to serve only one. Years later, he’d run for the US Senate seat. He’d ultimately be defeated, but the race drew national attention.
Finally, in 1860, the man who went from being born in a single room log cabin with little wealth wound up being elected the President of the United States.
The story above is obviously the story of Abraham Lincoln. And while we may not all agree on whether he was a great President or not- the story behind the man is one that I believe defines America’s greatness.
A man born into nothing, with very few connections and little access, became one of the most important people in the history of our country. A man with no education other than the books he picked up himself. He claimed a title only 43 people in all of human history can claim.
America’s greatness is defined by how well the worst off can do. And dang, the worst off can do pretty well when you think about it.
But America is currently on the decline. With that, there is no doubt.
Racial relations are nearing dangerous levels.
Crime is at a level much higher than it should be in our great nation. It should be very low- but murder occurs far too often in cities like Chicago, New York, Buffalo, and St. Louis.
People have just given up on jobs. Young people figure they’re never going to get hired so they never get the experience they need to get to where they need to be.
People are fighting to keep an organization that has been caught confessing to selling the parts of aborted fetuses funded by the government.
There are many more things that point to our nation being on the decline. But each of us sees it in a different way. For one of us, the attack on our second amendment is a show that it’s on the decline. For some, the fact that college campuses are Liberal havens where Conservatism isn’t allowed is another major one. There are far too many things that point to our decline.
But when I look at the story of Abraham Lincoln, I’m reminded of the story many of us share. Born into a non-wealthy family, not getting the greatest education we could get. Having countless troubles for countless reasons. Now for a bit of a personal story:
I was born to a truck driver and a daycare worker in Illinois. We were never wealthy by any means. Growing up, I rarely saw my father because he was on the road a lot. And I was treated terribly at school by my classmates for most of elementary school. I was smart, but that seemed more of a curse than an actual blessing with the way I was treated. I had few friends, and I eventually grew into a state of depression. A while after I left that school and my high school closed, my family was kicked out of our house and we were forced to move down to Florida with my uncle, aunt, and cousin. And even now, we still look at potentially losing everything due to financial problems.
Yet, when I stop and think of all of that, and how bleak my future could look… I have hope. For some strange reason- I want to follow in the steps of Lincoln, Reagan, Coolidge, and Hayes. I want to become the most powerful man in the world. I want to go down in history not only as a President- but one that is considered one of the best. I want to be the man that people want their politicians to be like- someone who’s honest, stands on their principles, and doesn’t stop fighting until the battle is won. I have no clue why I want to be that- but I do.
In many other countries, a task such as that is nearly impossible. In most countries I’d be lucky to have my name as a foot note in someone’s memoirs. In most countries, I’d be lucky to even come close to being in a position of any power at all.
In this great nation- I can. In this great nation I have the ability to go from being a person on the verge of homelessness to one of the most powerful men in the world. It is a story that drives me.
In June, a massacre occurred way too close to me in Orlando. A gunman opened fire on a nightclub and killed 50 people in the name of his sick and twisted ideology. Over the next few weeks, we had politicians and activists trying to politicize it.
But when you looked past them- you saw the great America. Countless people of all races, religions, and political beliefs, standing up to help those affected. Whether it be by donating blood, money, praying for them, or going to Orlando. We, as the American people, saw ourselves hurt. And we still stood with our brothers and sisters.
Young men and women join a group that so many have joined before. These young men and women will be tormented. They will be harassed. They will be called monsters for joining this group.
These young men and women join this group to make sure that those attacking them have the right to continue attacking them. These young men and women fight and risk their lives to make sure that they have the freedom to say these things. They fight to make sure America is safe.
This is the American Spirit. This is what makes America great. This is what has made it great for years. The ability to live up to your potential, doing the things you want to do. The emotion we feel when our fellow Americans perish in a tragedy. The commitment to stand for people who will attack you for standing. The freedoms we are guaranteed.
This is what makes us great. We will be fighting the dark spots for many years. And they probably will never disappear completely. But as long as that spirit lives- we will be a great country. And we will forever have the potential to become even greater.
