No more “Again”

Can we let go of “Again”? Can we move from “Make America Great Again” to “Make American Great”?

I listened to a podcast episode called “The Ongoing and Intimate Relationship between Grief and Imagination.” The premise is that there is a lot of ungrieved (or unresolved) grief in the world, and when we have ungrieved grief and bring that into the political discussion, the grief will latch onto certain things and manifest in unhealthy ways: specifically in the lack of imagination and discernment: two things we desperately need in all areas of life, but especially this.

Grief, the podcast postulated, is a longing, wistful look back on a time, event, place, relationship (and so on) where things felt GOOD (or simple, or easy, or comfortable—however we might define “good”). But instead of taking the time to sit in those feelings, name them, and move on in healthy ways (the process of grieving and lamenting), it is taking that unresolved emotion into public life and emoting it on those around you. And how dangerous when instead of lamenting: you find like-minded people who also have unresolved grief (compounding it), and you make it your identity.

The podcast goes on to say that what is needed, for all people (left leaning or right leaning) is to, in a sense, “de-maga-ify” themselves. To stop holding onto the grief of how this life isn’t THAT life. The unresolved grief of how America isn’t great like it used to be: and it is the fault of “them” (insert immigrant, trans, queer, Marxist, leftist for one side, or conservative, Trump Republican, racist for the other side). Walking around with unresolved grief is not healthy for anyone involved. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous characters that will take that grief and use it get their own agenda accomplished.

I can get behind “Make America Great.” I think most of us can. Not harking back to a specific time (do we know which time?), not out of unresolved grief of bitterness of having to change, but with an idea that we can come together, compromise, find common ground—and imagine a better world for our children. Maybe even for us.