America the Great Made Again

The word “America” in “Make America Great Again” is ripe for interpretation. Below are 100 such readings, arranged by category.

Historical & Mythological

1. The 1776 Revolutionary spirit of rebellion.
2. The 1789 Constitutional founding.
3. The Jeffersonian ideal of the yeoman farmer.
4. The 1950s post-WWII industrial superpower.
5. The pre-1960s “Leave It to Beaver” suburban utopia.
6. The 1980s Reagan-era “Morning in America” optimism.
7. The Wild West frontier of manifest destiny.
8. The Ellis Island era of open immigration.
9. The moon-landing era of scientific triumph.
10. The pre-9/11 era of perceived homeland invulnerability.
11. The Civil War Union victory and national preservation.
12. The Gilded Age of robber baron capitalism.
13. The New Deal era of government-as-savior.
14. The Prohibition-era of moral absolutism.
15. The Cold War era of clear good-vs-evil binaries.

Economic & Class

16. A nation of small business owners, not corporate employees.
17. A manufacturing powerhouse with factory jobs.
18. A place where a single income can buy a house and car.
19. A consumer paradise with affordable goods.
20. A land of “trickle-down” economic opportunity.
21. A unionized workforce with bargaining power.
22. A debtor nation owing China.
23. An energy-independent oil and gas titan.
24. A place where the American Dream is merit-based, not inherited.
25. A free-market capitalist utopia with zero regulations.
26. A protectionist fortress with tariffs.
27. A place where farmers are not exploited by agribusiness.
28. A nation with a balanced federal budget.
29. A country where the middle class is the majority.
30. A land of Wall Street dominance.

Geographic & Demographic

31. The Rust Belt industrial heartland.
32. The Bible Belt of the evangelical South.
33. The sprawling, car-dependent suburbs.
34. The small-town Main Street, not NYC or LA.
35. The sun-drenched California of oranges and movies (nostalgically).
36. The Rocky Mountain libertarian West.
37. The Deep South’s agrarian plantations (romanticized).
38. The New England fishing villages.
39. The Texan oil fields.
40. The Midwestern corn belt.
41. The Appalachian coal country.
42. The Pacific Northwest’s timber forests.
43. The Alaskan last frontier.
44. The Florida retirement haven.
45. The entire landmass from “sea to shining sea.”

Political & Ideological

46. A constitutional republic, not a direct democracy.
47. A two-party system dominated by common sense.
48. A nation of local governance, not federal overreach.
49. A Judeo-Christian nation with God in public life.
50. A secular nation with strict church-state separation.
51. A melting pot where assimilation is mandatory.
52. A multicultural mosaic where diversity is strength.
53. A nation of law and order, not protests.
54. A land of absolute free speech.
55. A nation with a strong, respected military.
56. A nation with an unarmed, trusted police force.
57. A country with a non-partisan, honest media.
58. A land where elections are unquestionably secure.
59. A nation that leads NATO and the Free World.
60. An isolationist fortress avoiding foreign entanglements.

Social & Cultural

61. A nation where English is the sole official language.
62. A country where family values are paramount.
63. A land of rugged individualism, not collectivism.
64. A nation of “self-made men” (and women).
65. A polite, courteous society with manners.
66. A country where children play outside unsupervised.
67. A land of high school football games and county fairs.
68. A nation of church-goers and community volunteers.
69. A country where teachers are respected.
70. A land where artists are patronized, not starving.
71. A nation of gun-owners who hunt and protect.
72. A country where urban crime is non-existent.
73. A nation of DIY handymen and homemakers.
74. A land of road trips and diner pie.
75. A country of civic pride and neighborhood watch.

Psychological & Emotional

76. A feeling of personal safety from external threats.
77. A sense of being understood by one’s government.
78. A feeling of racial or ethnic majority comfort.
79. A nostalgic longing for one’s childhood.
80. A sense of dignity in blue-collar work.
81. A feeling of not being looked down upon by elites.
82. A sense of predictability and slow change.
83. A feeling of pride in one’s flag and anthem.
84. A sense of belonging to an “in-group.”
85. A feeling that one’s children will have it better.
86. A relief from constant anxiety about the future.
87. A sense of masculine strength and assertiveness.
88. A feeling of moral superiority on the world stage.
89. A sense of frontier self-reliance.
90. A feeling of racial or cultural innocence (colorblindness).

Abstract & Metaphorical

91. A “city upon a hill” beacon to the world.
92. An ongoing experiment in self-governance.
93. A shared story or national narrative.
94. A promise, not a place.
95. An exception to the rules of history.
96. A verb—the act of striving, not a static location.
97. A brand name for global imperialism.
98. A constitutional document, not a people.
99. A blank slate to project personal grievances onto.
100. A mirage—a past that never actually existed, used as a tool for future political mobilization.