Millard Grimes: What makes United States great?

Donald Trump looks good in his cap, like a regular guy instead of the billionaire who bankrupted three companies, leaving hundreds of investors with unpaid debts while emerging still wealthy himself. They knew the risks, he says in his defense, but the small businesses they owed money to didn't.

His cap is a brilliant part of his theatrical run for the presidency. It's the caption emblazoned across the cap that is a slap in the face to a lot of good Americans. It says: "Make America Great Again," implying that America isn't great now.

I'd been thinking about writing on that annoying slogan for several weeks; then, a few days ago, a television commentator had the same idea and donned a cap with "America IS Great," across the top.

That's more accurate. America is great, and has been for many years, and in wealth and value to its citizens, America may be at its peak.

Certainly The Donald knows that, since by his own admission he's richer today than he was a few years ago.

I realize that political candidates have to point out opponents' shortcomings, but implying that the greatest nation in history isn't great is going too far. It's akin to two other annoying but fashionable mottos now in use that have little basis in fact: "The system is broken," and "Let's take our country back."

Only descendants of American Indians could make a claim on the latter slogan, and I doubt many of them would want to make the swap.

So what does Mr. Trump mean by making "making America great again"?

Would it make America great again if more body bags were arriving from distant battlefields, which has been the case in many years? Is that a message of greatness? Does it mean allocating more money to bombs and other weapons to destroy buildings and people who have been exposed as our "enemies"? Does it mean always having our way in every negotiation, because the U.S. is the strongest, richest nation on earth, with enough weapons to blow other nations off the face of the earth if they dare to cross us?

That latter course has actually been open for many years, but U.S. leaders have avoided it. Both Democrats and Republicans have stayed their hands when given the choice of using "weapons of mass destruction" or pursuing other means of conciliation. That's real greatness, and the presidents, such as Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Reagan and others in those years, resisted the temptation to blow away enemies such as North Vietnam, or Iraq, even Russia or China.

Trump hints he'd use military force to bring other nations to their knees, but we've seen in the past that can result in a costly means of satisfaction, in lives, treasure and results.

In the Middle East today, there is war enough to satiate the most eager warriors, and the various contending armies can scarcely tell which the friend and which the enemy.

To be truly great, the U.S. must be the referee in these conflicts, not an aggressor. The opportunity to be a referee, and possibly resolve the enduring misery and destruction in the Middle East, is suddenly available in the agreement among the seven nations of the world that raises hopes for peace and stability in the Middle East.

Representatives from Great Britain, Russia, China, Spain, France, Germany, Iran and the European Union all signed on to this agreement after months of meticulous negotiations.

Now, the U.S. Congress needs to support the plan, but Trump and other Republican candidates for president claim they could have made a better deal, and urge rejection of this one.

Will that make the U.S. great again? Actually, it will leave the U.S. standing alone from most other nations in the world, who already are taking advantages from the deal by opening trade with Iran, leaving American firms behind, and encouraging higher gasoline prices.

Trump is a great trader and he surely recognizes the opportunity of trading with Iran - and Cuba, by the way. After 55 years of punishing the Cuban people for allowing a Communist to be their president.

The U.S. is great because it has set the example other nations respect and follow. They know that the U.S. could just blow them away if it chooses, but they also know the nation they prefer to have that power is the United States of America.

That's what makes us great.

Millard Grimes, editor of the Columbus Enquirer from 1961-69 and founder of the Phenix Citizen. is author of "The Last Linotype: The Story of Georgia and Its Newspapers Since World War II." A profile of Grimes can be found in the Georgia Encyclopedia, www.georgiaencyclopedia.org.

This story was originally published September 7, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Millard Grimes: What makes United States great? ."