As a lifelong Republican but an ardent “Never Trumper,” I often wondered what the slogan “Make America Great Again” actually meant, but didn’t really pay much attention to it. But now that Donald Trump has been elected president with a majority not just of the electoral vote but also of the popular vote, I feel obligated as a citizen to understand what the MAGA movement is trying to tell us.To begin with, talking about making America great “again” means that there was a prior time when America was in fact “great.” When was that? Was it 1945 when the power and sacrifice of American men and women had escaped economic depression and brought victory in World War II? I don’t think anyone would seriously claim that it was 1939, when the isolationists in America held their maximum influence. Was it 1992 after the fall of the Soviet Union but before the rise of China and when the United States was the world’s only superpower? Was it during Donald Trump’s first term before COVID hit? Or another period?I’m guessing that MAGA supporters would agree that a country cannot be “great” by looking only at foreign affairs. A “great” country has to be “great” at home as well. So when was America “great” at home and what specifically made it “great”? Was it the post- Civil War period when the Union had been preserved, slavery had been abolished, America was becoming an industrial power and immigrants were welcome? Remember what happened to native Americans.   Was it during the 1950s when the middle class was expanding? Remember Jim Crow ruled the South and women had few options outside the home. Was it the 1960s when the civil rights movement and Brown v. the Board of Education brought new political and educational opportunities for many Americans who had long been discriminated against?  Was it during Donald Trump’s first term before COVID hit? Or some other period?  And what specific things made America “great” then?It’s important for us to know the answers to these questions so we can understand how Donald Trump and the MAGA movement want to change America to make it “great” again.So I challenge a MAGA supporter to do the public an important service by writing a guest commentary explaining two things. First, when was the period that America was “great”  that you aspire to?  Second, exactly what was it that made America great back then that you aspire to again? You can add whatever else you want. I look forward to your explanation.Ed RutanPinebrookThe post What’s MAGA mean? appeared first on Park Record.