"Make America Great Again" is a great slogan. The problem is that Trump's MAGA is a deceit. Each and every principle of MAGA—either in concept or in execution— does not make America great again. Instead, it makes America smaller. Let me explain.
The overarching theme of MAGA is "America First." It is to that end that illegal immigrants are being deported; that wokeness is being eliminated from all Federal and Federally-funded programs; that tariffs are being placed on foreign-produced goods; that regulation of business is being rolled back; that the America working man and farmers are being supported; and that we are returning to our founding principles.
That sounds great. But let's look deeper at each aspect.
Before I do that, though, what made America great to begin with? I think that everyone would agree that our system of government—a government elected by and responsible to the people, where all people have basic rights, and where no one has absolute power—were core principles that made America great.
The second thing that made America great was our workforce. America opened its arms for more than a century to massive waves of immigrants to inhabit its vast space and work it. Most of the immigrants—our ancestors—arrived here penniless with no education. But America offered them the opportunity to gain an education, to work, and to own land. They and America prospered together.
The third thing that made America great was the brilliance of America's titans of industry. Whether it was Vanderbilt or Rockefeller or Carnegie or Morgan or Ford—these men not only built financial empires, they built American industry and transportation into a world-leading force that made America great and powerful.
However, they were also ruthless and had no consideration for the well-being of workers. They were known as the Robber Barons because they achieved their power by exploiting and abusing both their workers and the environment. By the turn of the 20th century, America had had enough of their power and abuse of workers; President Teddy Roosevelt (Republican) started the Progressive movement that reigned in the power of big corporations and focused on public welfare.
The fourth thing that made America great was the land itself. Without the bounty that nature provided there would be no greatness in America because there would be no basis for economic might.
So with that understanding, how do the elements of MAGA work out?
1. Illegal Immigration: Both parties agree that illegal immigration must be stopped at the border. They differ on what to do with the 11 million who have been living here for years, mostly working and paying taxes (yes, illegal immigrants pay taxes).
Trump says they are criminals and should all be deported. As I have noted in another article, "Defining the Democrat v Republican Battle," those are not the facts.
And so Democrats should argue that if an illegal is a convicted criminal, yes, deport that person. But otherwise they should be given a path to citizenship. These people are very much in the tradition of earlier immigrants—they are hard-working, they are raising families, and they are contributing to American enterprise, usually in jobs that American workers have no interest in.
2. Eliminate DEI programs (wokeness) from all Federal and Federally-funded programs: The Declaration of Independence states explicitly that "all men are created equal." That means exactly what it seems on its face to mean—see my article, "What Exactly Does 'Equal' Mean in the Declaration of Independence."
Being aware of the discrimination that women, Blacks, people of color generally, LGBTQ people, and others have suffered in their attempt to live their lives and pursue their dreams is "wokeness." Given the centrality to the Declaration of Independence of the right of all people to pursue life, liberty, and happiness and government's role being to "secure that right"—DEI (Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion) programs are as American as apple pie and so should not be deleted from government programs.
Giving more people the ability to make the most of their lives through true equal opportunity is consistent with what made America great. However, two outgrowths of wokeness—preferential treatment and politically incorrect speech—are not consistent with the American way and should be rejected. See my "Defining the Battle" article noted above.
3. Tariffs and Regulatory Rollback: The basic idea is hard to argue with: protect American business from foreign competition and don't restrict their profit-making ability. But there are two problems.
The first is that tariffs applied broadly, as Trump has done, don't work. Historically, they end up harming a country's economy and industry. Open markets help American industry, but they must be implemented in a way so that the American worker is not harmed.
Second, most regulation of business has as its purpose the protection of workers, consumers, or the public good. As such, these are essential to the health of our country and its citizens. Corporations receive the benefits of incorporation because they provide a benefit to society. This social aspect of corporations is critical to making America great. See my post, "Towards a Reformed Capitalism."
4. Support for the American worker and farmer: This is of critical importance to making America great again. The problem is that Trump talks the talk, but he doesn't walk the walk.
Trump passed enumerable Executive Orders in this first 100 days, but the purpose of most was to aid big business; none were focused on improving the financial situation of the American worker. The dream of tariffs creating more American jobs is just that. What tariffs are doing is raising the cost of living for workers.
And as for farmers, his tariffs are creating huge losses by killing the Chinese market for soybeans, and increasing the price of tractors and fertilizers. Also, many of Trump's cutbacks to Federal programs as well as his immigration policies are having a significant negative impact on rural communities.
5. Returning to our founding principles: There is indeed nothing more important than returning to the principles articulated in our founding documents.
However, liberals and conservatives—let alone MAGA adherents—have major differences in the interpretation of those principles. As I related in my article, "The Far-RIght's Biggest Lie," the far-right has deceitfully spun the meaning of those principles by omitting from their interpretation the impact of the Declaration's central principle of the equality of all men. They thus have no consideration of the impact of their actions on the rights of others. Their interpretation would bring us back to the days of the Robber Barrons.
Trump has also eviscerated the core principle of the balance of power that the Founders created to ensure that no one person would have absolute power.
Make America Great Again is a wonderful slogan. But Trump does not understand what made America great or what is needed to make it great again.
Democrats do. It's when everyone—business owners and workers, the public and politicians— act in synergy towards a common goal, not in conflict. And what is that common goal? It is a country seeking to implement the principles, the promise, of the Declaration of Independence.
Ronald L. Hirsch is a teacher, legal aid lawyer, survey researcher, nonprofit executive, consultant, composer, author, and volunteer. He is a graduate of Brown University and the University of Chicago Law School and the author of We Still Hold These Truths. Read more of his writing at www.PreservingAmericanValues.com
