Mayor Pete Buttigieg has risen very quickly in the past few weeks in the Democratic standings of Presidential candidates. In a quick comparison of polling results at Real Clear Politics, he has risen from 1% to 7% in the past month. Scroll through any recent news cycle and you will see his name numerous times as he has become very popular with the media, nearly matching the attention that O’Rourke garnered soon after announcing his candidacy. A review of his website gives you some background information on Pete, such as his military service, political experience and his success in being the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. On the main page, in a highlighted section, there is the words “we can’t look for greatness in the past.” You can also find the words, “there is no again in the real world” and the same verbiage about greatness on the about Pete page. These words should concern every American from even considering Pete Buttigieg as President. Obviously, the terms on his page attempt to paint a stark contrast to President Trump’s campaign slogan of “Make America Great Again” that is recognizable and seen across the country on countless trucker hats. I would argue with Pete that we certainly can see American greatness in the past along with the fact that American greatness has been seen again and again throughout history.
I’ll be the first to admit that there is no such thing as perfection in American history. In fact, if you review any country’s history, you will find things that are not appropriate or ideal. Many times, America’s greatness can be found in some of our darkest hours. A recent tweet by Donald Trump, Jr. called this out:
The New York Times tried to identify a specific time that America was great, to which they found a wide variety of answers. I don’t believe there is one simple answer for when America was great. There are many times that America was great but America continues to be great. There is no country in this world where I would rather live, because America is great!
We can receive inspiration from the greatness we experienced in our past for us to continue to be great into the future. Pete, we can certainly find greatness in the past all throughout the history of our nation. Sure, there are some times that are not so great. America has proven your statement wrong over and over. From our founding and through present day, America has been great again and again. However, if you disregard our history and you would probably not be able to see it.
