What does "Let's Make America Great Again" mean, anyway?

WHAT DOES "LET'S MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN" MEAN, ANYWAY?

Since President Obama became president, a lot of people have been saying that they "want their America back," "Let's make America great again,"...little phrases like that. That makes me ask a lot of questions. Who's America are we trying to get back? Who took it in the first place? When did America get so bad that we have to go back to being great? What's your definition of "great"? More importantly, who are we making America great again for?

I'll tell you one thing. This is not me speaking for all women or all blacks, nor is it me speaking against any other race. But, when I hear the above-mentioned phrases, I think those people want to go back to the early to mid 1900s. When I think of that time period, I think about Jim Crow and lynchings. I think about segregated schools and freedom riders and Bloody Sunday. I think about the denial of citizens to vote, a super-patriarchal society, and a continuation of Manifest Destiny from earlier settlers. Definitely not happy times, even if you try to make it one in regards to "a better economic environment" or "a more moral-driven society." No, there could never be a great moral period if a group or groups of people are denigrated and denied their humanity simply because of their race, gender, nationality, whatever. 

America wants to boast about being the land of freedom and opportunity. It wants to boast about its diversity, of being a melting pot. But, at its root, America is still that newborn nation that wants to dictate how women live in regards to choices, whether it's in the workforce, healthcare, or government and politics. It's still the society where, nearly 62 years after Brown v. Board of Education decision, many schools across the country are still separate and unequal, whether it's in funding or demographic makeup (rural versus urban, magnet versus magnet, top-line versus everyone else).. It's still a society where the law is not equally and justly applied to all, particularly across socioeconomic and racial lines. Yes, America, indeed, has two justice systems.  

No, that's not an America that I can go back to. Nor is it a "way to make America great again." Not for the people as a whole, anyway. 

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.