Perspective: The magic of making America great again

It wasn’t true but it was effective. As a former advertising agency guy, I can appreciate the genius of the Trump campaign when they came out with “Make America Great Again.”

There was no time in history when the United States was greater than it is today. Just about everybody has some source of income - including all of those people in the service industry who disappeared while we were wearing COVID masks.

Our economy was never stronger; our world power was never greater. We can now build a super bomber for only $800,000,000 after discounts. If North Korea shot it down, we would have to raise taxes to replace it. It’s too pricey for one country. We need to share the cost with some other country, like Santa Domingo.

More people are driving Cadillacs, Lincolns or 4-door pickups than ever before. The farmers are in their glory with a government safety net that guarantees annual income. The oil industry has surpassed agriculture as North Dakota’s top generator of wealth.

Thanks to the oil fracker, the state coffers are so full that we can’t find enough rugs to hide it under. In previous sessions, the legislature always had the alibi of a tight budget. It helped them avoid programs that we now can afford. That makes it difficult to deny education full funding. Even though the treasury has changed, the legislators have not.

And don’t expect miracles with the term limits placed on legislators. Frugal North Dakotans will always be frugal North Dakotans no matter how short the terms or how green the legislators.

After all, we have always defended the second largest legislature in America with the claim that we have a citizen legislature - not one of those professional bodies like California. At the same time, we objected to term limits because it would erase memories of previous sessions.

I digress but I haven’t forgotten about making America great again. We were told this without being informed about the days in history we were greater. Truth is that we are now at the zenith of our glory. That is why people worry about things falling apart - a traditional North Dakota frame of mind.

Knowing that North Dakota is on the top rung, we fret about going downhill. Even though the storm cellar is full of last summer’s gardening, there may not be any carrots next year. So with $8 billion in reserves and a $3 billion carryover to the next biennium, we are all sitting in the storm cellar waiting for a tornado.

Even though these are unprecedented prosperous years, Trump’s effort to make America great again grabbed the hearts and votes of a substantial number of citizens. The North Dakota rural areas - which includes most of the state - gave his campaign everything they had. Why could this be in our most prosperous years?

By not telling us which days in the past were greater, voters could pick any day in their past that was greater. But it didn’t have anything to do with living high on the hog or life in Babylon. It was nostalgia.

Many of us can remember the good old days when every town had a schoolhouse full of kids, business was strong on main street, school plays were enjoyed by everyone in the community and every township had at least 20 farms.

That’s all gone. Towns have disappeared; main street closed and schools consolidated. So we would like to restore the past and make America the way it was when we were young. That would make America great again. It was all nostalgia.