Dear Editor: Will Trump Be Able to Make America Great Again?

Dear Editor,

I don't know Donald Trump personally, so I can't say whether I love or hate him. I am definitely NOT a Trumper, for what it's worth. Did I approve of his first stint as President? Does it really matter? Do I believe, as some have implied, that he is America's Messiah? It depends on what one means by Messiah or how they think he will save America. What would that salvation look like? What makes America great?

Will we ever see peace in the Middle East? For that matter, what WOULD peace in the Middle East look like? If it simply means a ceasefire or temporary truce while both sides are on the eternal lookout for the whistling of bombs or carrying secret weapons under their robes all day, every day, then YES, we may see peace in the Middle East. We're smarter than that because Peace will never truly come to the Middle East as long as there is hatred in people's hearts!

For hundreds, nay thousands of years, there has been war in the Middle East for several reasons, only one of which I will mention here. When it comes right down to it, Religion is the culprit! The two main factions, Jewish and Islamic, lay claim to the land. The Palestinians, in my limited understanding, were the original inhabitants of the land, while the Jews, or Hebrews of Old, took the land by force; first, as recorded in the Old Testament of the Hebrew Scriptures, then in 1948, aided by the British Empire (of which America is still ostensibly and arguably still a part.) American soldiers, with the best intentions, have been inserted into that volatile situation, thus becoming, in the greatest sense, unintentional terrorists to much of the native population. Not to be too harsh, but how would WE feel if a foreign nation invaded our home and threatened OUR existence? OUR way of life?

So, back to Trump. Will he be ABLE to make America great again? What made this nation, which some call "the greatest nation on Earth," great in the first place? Some might argue about the necessary evil war is and how it shaped the Manifest Destiny of this great nation. But is it, really? Has it, really? I would argue, though my point warrants no argument, that it is the PEOPLE who made America great. We, the people, STILL make this the greatest nation on earth (that being a relative term.) If MAGA simply means to continue our history of violence, as we have exhibited in the past, then I personally want NOTHING to do with it! I will not support it or America's leaders - whoever they may be - who promote it. However, I will support my brothers and sisters, the American soldiers who are simply trying to stay alive.

CHARLES HADDON SHANK

Whitehall, Montana