What’s Wrong with “Make America Great Again”
Philip Kotler
Donald Trump has been running on the MAGA theme “Make America Great Again.” He has attracted millions of Americans to this theme. Members of the MAGA party can be spotted at his rallies wearing their MAGA hats, applauding wildly to his random remarks, and sharing his hates to “Lock Them Up” with his audience.
Members of MAGA look like ordinary Americans. Most of them are white men and women and many are middle age. They all have grievances about their incomes, jobs and lifestyle in current America. MAGA people think that there are too many black people, too many gay people, too many immigrants in current America. The irony is that we always had black people but they were forced to live in separate facilities from white people and you didn’t have to sit in the same restaurant with them. We always had gay people but they were forced to conceal their gayness or lose their jobs or friendships. We always valued immigrants as long as they came to us as White Europeans.
MAGA people are racists. They only like other white people. They imagine a time when American families led a happier life. If they were from the Deep South, they might want the return of segregation. If they were from the North, they might imagine the 1950s, where America had won World War 2 and was the acknowledged leader of the world. Jobs were plentiful and the ideal was the well-dressed, well-behaved Organization Man. Wasn’t this the period when America was at its greatest. The middle class was able to own a home, have regular meals, buy a car and travel together on yearly vacations. There was no connection or concern with black people, gay people, or non-European immigrants.
We lost the 1950s to the 1960s when there were student rebellions, dangerous drugs, and new alternative lifestyles. There were now civil rights activists, Black Panthers, women libbers, hippies and anarchists. Added to these were new technologies designed to enhance life such as television, computers, software, smart phones, high-speed wireless, TV streaming, the Internet, drones and robots. Most people not only appreciated these new technologies but realized that life in the 1950s was relatively nostalgic absent these technologies. Wanting America to return to the 1950s without these new tools was unimaginable.
MAGA is a movement lacking a vision of what would Make America Great Again. Every MAGA member is left to imagine a past when he or she was happier. Maybe it was a period of lower taxes, or cheaper goods, or more smiling neighbors. It is clear that Donald Trump prefers not to define the ingredients that would Make America Great Again. The only ingredient is that Trump is President of the U.S. Trump claims that he will adopt policies that will increase the happiness and well-being of ordinary Americans.
But according to Trump, he has publicly stated that he would remove 13 million illegals and move them back to their country of origin. There are Trump haters who will have to be jailed. Trump will have to fire many members of the civil service and from academia who are liberals and who aim to pollute Trump’s vision of a good society.
So, with the Presidential election about to take place, we ask how many of you expect that a Trump victory will lead to happier times? If you are a MAGA person, do you believe that the years following 2024 with a Trump victory will bring more peace and prosperity to your life and to fellow Americans? Or would it be better to let Kamala Harris and Tim Walz continue their promise to Make America Great. Let’s drop the world “Again.” Kamala and Harris favor building a society of Opportunities that will increase the Common Good and lead to Common Prosperity. Wouldn’t those be the goals of a Great Society?
