Successful slogans share one thing in common, they let the consumer interpret the personal benefits. Donald Trump’s trademarked 2016 election campaign slogan “Make America Great Again!” is no different. It evoked an array of emotion and memories throughout many Americans. Originally used in Ronald Reagan’s campaign to address America’s economic issues, Trump’s use is intended to bring Americans to think back to a simpler and better time, a time with less terrorism, less debt, more job opportunities, and illness free citizens; a place where the American dream was possible (Trump, 2016). Throughout his campaign he promised to achieve these feats by bolstering every division of the military, investing 550 billion into infrastructure, and by increasing health care in multiple sectors (Johnson, 2016). This longing for a renovated America is what propelled Trump into presidency.
The major issue with this slogan is that this type of “Great America” was only available to a concentrated privileged group at the time, namely heterosexual Christian white men. This type of America was not available to any bi-sexuals, transsexuals or homosexuals. Homosexuals were not allowed to marry while bi-sexuals and transsexuals generally kept their sexual orientation a secret for fear of being publicly shunned (Avery et al., 2007). It was not attainable by any woman. There were extremely narrow standards of how a woman should look and act as well as rigid women-appropriate tasks (Bianchi & Spain, 1999). They were not allowed to vote and if employed, they earned drastically less than men that occupied the same position (Brown et al., 1971). It was not accessible to any religious minority. America continues to be a country dominated by Christianity (Smith, 2002). In the 1970’s, the percentage of Christian Americans was even higher with religious minorities holding next to no political clout (Smith, 2002). And it was not achievable by any person of colour. Racism was evidently rampant with a plethora of problems ranging from discrimination to segregation to lynching (Dray, 2007). As former president Bill Clinton and Christian Picciolini, a former neo-nazi, suggested “Make America Great Again!” is a racist dogwhistle meaning Make America White Again (Mokalla, 2017).
Citations
Avery, A., Chase, J., Johansson, L., Litvak, S., Montero, D., & Wydra, M. (2007). America’s changing attitudes toward homosexuality, civil unions, and same-gender marriage: 1977–2004. Social Work, 52(1), 71-79.
Bianchi, S. M., & Spain, D. (1999). Women, work, and family in America. Sociology of families: Readings, 170.
Brown, B. A., Emerson, T. I., Falk, G., & Freedman, A. E. (1971). The equal rights amendment: A constitutional basis for equal rights for women. The Yale Law Journal, 80(5), 871-985.
Dray, P. (2007). At the hands of persons unknown: The lynching of black America. Modern Library.
Johnson, J. (2016, January 22). Here are 76 of Donald Trump’s many campaign promises. Retrieved October 8, 2017, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/22/here-are-76-of-donald-trumps-many-campaign-promises/?utm_term=.9e30034deb50
Mokalla, M. (2017, February 27). I’m a former neo-Nazi. Don’t ignore the threat of white extremism. Retrieved October 7, 2017, from https://www.vox.com/videos/2017/2/27/14738170/former-neo-nazi-dont-ignore-threat-of-white-extremism-picciolini
Trump, D. (2016). Immigration reform that will make America great again. Donald J. Trump Presidential Positions.
Smith, C. (2002). Christian America?: What evangelicals really want. Univ of California Press.