“The good old days weren’t always good, tomorrow’s not as bad as it seems.”
— “Keeping the Faith” by Billy Joel
President Donald Trump believes the Smithsonian Institution dwells too much on slavery. It’s as if the president believes slavery wasn’t a big deal, though it’s an undeniable chapter of our history (and by no means a short chapter). But this is the same Donald Trump who once suggested we concentrate on the good things Hitler had done. He is unmoved by appalling and even hideous realities in history.
My concern is how dismissing slavery as a mere side issue of U.S. history relates to Trump’s battle cry: Make America Great Again (MAGA). America is already great. Of course, we could be better. We are an imperfect people which make up an imperfect country with an imperfect history. But part of that greatness which already exists in America is our willingness to confront our sins.
Don’t get me wrong. It was of concern when Michelle Obama stated in 2008 (as her husband’s presidential campaign was on the march) that she was for the first time in her life proud of her country. Most of us were already proud. It’s my hope that Mrs. Obama still harbors the pride in America she stumbled upon in 2008.
But what scares me about Trump is not only that he fails to recognize that America is already great. For which greatness is he nostalgic? The plea indicates the president wants to take us back to another place in time. And considering how the president minimizes the specter of slavery, it would be instructive for him to elaborate on the past for which he and his MAGA supporters yearn.
It would be an exaggeration to fear the president’s dream is to revert to something so drastic as slavery. Yet it’s imperative to not only face the reality slavery played in our past, but to stress such reality…in our institutions (namely the Smithsonian Institution).
And what of the aftermath of slavery? Jim Crow isn’t ancient history. And President Trump is old enough to remember segregation (even if he doesn’t grasp its impact). Nor are the parts of our unflattering aspects of history entirely racial. The labor movement was the natural ally of civil rights. We who believe America is already great cherish the most American right of workers to organize.
When the president implores us to make America great again, is he talking about white only lunch counters? Does he seek to return to the years prior to the eight hour work day and the forty hour work week? These concerns are real considering how Trump has directed the Texas governor and state legislature to disenfranchise voters.
One cannot overstate the urgent concern that the president seeks dark segments of our past. Ordering the National Guard to lay siege to our cities is akin to attack dogs turned on civil rights demonstrators.
Why fear President Trump rolling back years of progress? Because he’s already doing it. Underlying the proclamation Make America Great Again is the president’s not so hidden agenda to Make America Hate Again.
John O’Neill is an Allen Park free-lance writer and a graduate of Wayne State University.
