On 'Make America Great Again'

by Kayce Stevens Hughlett

“America is an old house. We can never declare the work over. Wind, flood, drought, and human upheavals batter a structure that is already fighting whatever flaws were left unattended in the original foundation. When you live in an old house, you may not want to go into the basement after a storm to see what the rains have wrought. Choose not to look, however, at your own peril. The owner of an old house knows that whatever you are ignoring will never go away. Whatever is lurking will fester whether you choose to look or not. Ignorance is no protection from the consequences of inaction. Whatever you are wishing away will gnaw at you until you gather the courage to face what you would rather not see.” Isabel Wilkerson, Caste, the origins of our discontents

The United States of America is anything but united these days and the rampant discourse on social media and in households across the country is spiraling like a train wreck that we can’t turn away from. People are dying from covid-19, poverty, and riots. Police brutality, car accidents, and old age. People are dying and DT is saying “Make America Great Again.” MAGA.

I gotta say that anything before now sounds pretty good considering the chaos we currently find ourselves in.  I long for the days when we could sit in coffee shops and Google the news or scroll through our feeds while trying to discern what is real or true. 

Repeating an untruth enough times does not make it true. Truth doesn’t work that way. Repeating things loudly and often and reposting them on social media to make something “normal” does not make it true. That is the essence of gaslighting.(1) Moving things around, saying them over and over, assuring what is being said is perceived as true even when it makes absolutely no sense. It’s crazy making at best, and deceitful at worst. If you pause and dial into your gut and get curious and your gut keeps saying something is off, pay attention. Do the research to back up the great things that are listed on that Facebook post, before you copy and paste.  Know who/what the author/source is and where it originated.  Discern for yourself whether it seems true. Anyone can take one line or phrase or soundbite of what they want the message to be and craft it to fit their needs and hope it will be seen as truth. But that does not make it true. No matter which “side” you’re on. Go to the source, if at all possible. And let me repeat, saying something repeatedly does not make it true. Printing something on social media or a website, does not make it true.  

I spent a few hours recently following rabbit trails of news articles looking for a definition of what MAGA actually means. When I googled “make america great again,” the top five responses were basically ads for Trump merchandise and donations (all with the slogan) and a Wikipedia reference. Nowhere on those pages could I find any semblance of what the slogan means. I tried to search on donaldjtrump.com but got caught in an endless loop of 'donate now' and 'join our team' messages. At this point, I had to pause and take a few deep breaths, because I'd begun to understand the motive behind all the copy and paste, rinse and repeat protocols. It’s exhausting to search for actual information. The labyrinth of distractions is like finding a fingertip from the train wreck then combing through a thousand bodies to match its owner. It is not for the faint of heart. The most objective/best I came up with were two articles. Neither was completely satisfying in seeking an answer, but they are worth reading (and I hope you will).  One appeared in the Huffington Post and asked the questions: When was America great? What made America great? The other came from The Washington Post titled “How Trump Came up with Make America Great Again.” The second gave me the most insight into DT’s strategy and his businessman’s instinct to trademark the slogan and market the heck out of it. Brilliant business, really. Here is the closest statement I could find in all my morning research. It is an actual quote from DT, on what MAGA means: 

“It actually inspired me,” Trump said, “because to me, it meant jobs. It meant industry, and meant military strength. It meant taking care of our veterans. It meant so much.” Washington Post

People who know me, know that I’m not a Trump supporter. I have, however, done my best in this piece to present objectively and try to understand what supporters see in him, because frankly it baffles me. I was raised to believe what my elders (and those in 'elevated' positions) said and not to worry my pretty little head over details. It worked for a long time, but no more. I’m choosing to discern matters for myself by digging deeper. I’m doing my own research and trying not to simply quote one side of the conversation, if you can call it a conversation. People are shouting, shaming, belittling and unfriending each other. I’m trying to hang in here with curiosity and see people as individuals, not political parties or sides. I'm seeking a truth of unity rather than division. Easier said than done, I get it!  

At this moment in time I find myself at odds with long-standing friends, relatives, and a few neighbors, because I’ve chosen to step into the conversation instead of shying away. I’m doing research and asking questions, and it’s HARD! Part of me longs for the “good old days” when religion and politics were off the table in “polite discussion.” I am stunned and speechless, because logic, common sense, and kindness have flown out the window. It is indeed a proverbial train wreck where the caboose has been flung in one direction and the engine has exploded. Body parts and blood are scattered across the earth and smoke fills the lungs of onlookers, some masked, others not. 

Instead of trying to help the bodies that are still breathing, the onlookers have decided to argue about what caused the wreck and how best to salvage the train. They’ve lost all sense of humanity for the living, breathing, and dying beings in front of them. One side is chanting “Make the Train Great Again!” while the other is shouting, “Defund the Trains.” People, the TRAIN is WRECKED and no amount of arguing is going to put it back together again. We, as a country, are dying and no great slogan, fancy ball cap, memory test results or charts/signs waved in the media’s faces is going to make this country great again. Without healthy, secure, and Alive people, there is no need for a train. What good is “great” if we can’t even define it, let alone see it, feel it, touch it, live it? Imagining a new existence for everyone is our best hope.  It’s time for Revolutionary Love.

Let’s pause and breathe together. Here. Right now. Inhale. Exhale. Feel your feet on the earth. Hear our children’s laughter. Feel your heart expand. Inhale. Exhale. Repeat. 

“Revolutionary love” is the choice to enter into wonder and labor for others, for our opponents, and for ourselves in order to transform the world around us. It is not a formal code or prescription but an orientation to life that is personal and political and rooted in joy. Loving only ourselves is escapism; loving only our opponents is self-loathing; loving only others is ineffective. All three practices together make love revolutionary, and revolutionary love can only be practiced in community.” Valarie Kaur,  See No Stranger: a memoir and manifesto of revolutionary love  READ THIS BOOK!!!

REMEMBER:

“Whatever is lurking will fester whether you choose to look or not. Ignorance is no protection from the consequences of inaction. Whatever you are wishing away will gnaw at you until you gather the courage to face what you would rather not see.” Isabel Wilkerson 

Referenced in this post: 

Isabel Wilkerson, Caste, the origins of our discontents

Huffington Post: What Does Trump Mean by 'Make America Great Again?'

Washington Post How Trump Came up with Make America Great Again.

Valarie Kaur,  See No Stranger: a memoir and manifesto of revolutionary love 

My Grandmother’s Hands by Mesmaa Menakem

(1) The term gaslighting comes from a 1938 play, and films released in 1940 and 1944, called Gas Light. In them, a man attempts to convince his wife (and other people) that she is insane by manipulating small elements of her environment and insisting that she imagines things and remembers events incorrectly. (Pp. 68 - My Grandmother’s Hands by Mesmaa Menakem)