The Columbian’s editorial of Nov. 7 (“All Americans want to make America great,” In Our View) begs the question: What is “great”? You do point out in the last paragraph that “we disagree on what constitutes greatness,” but there seems to be some sort of mass understanding and acceptance of what a “great” America would be like.
Which America will that be? Might depend on who you ask. Adding the adverb “again” makes the meaning of “great” even more murky. The unavoidable implication is that America is not “great” now but used to be.
It appears that the prevailing definitions will now be chosen by the upcoming occupants of the seats of power in Washington, D.C. Do they all agree on what “great” is? Doubtful. Do they need to? Probably, for job security. And then there’s “again.” Is my “great,” my “again,” the same as yours? Probably not. Probably shouldn’t be, either, but “ay, there’s the rub.”
You note in your editorial that “our citizens are too strong, our system too secure for the outcome of one election to serve as a death knell.” I hope you’re right. Wouldn’t that be great? Again?
