President-Elect Trump’ s excellent campaign slogan of “Make America Great Again” begs the question of when was America great before?  A friend sent me an article by Karl Malentes in The New York Times entitled “Vietnam: The War That Killed Trust.”  It was sobering a read, for example, that 65% of Americans are too young to remember the war.

While the article doesn’t say this, I think the last time that America was great, at least in the Trumpian sense, must have been that time between World War II and the Vietnam War.  Our economy was growing nicely.  The American dream was born.  A comfortable middle-class life was possible with only one salary.  College campuses were peaceful.  The quality of life was good.  Most importantly, Americans trusted America to do the right thing!

Then, Vietnam came along and demonstrated clearly that our leaders and institutions would lie to Americans – repeatedly.  The deficit spending to finance the war brought inflation to Americans.  Two salaries become necessary.  College kids “dropped-out and tuned-out.”  America was no longer great!

The only good thing that came from losing 58 thousand America boys in Vietnam was that the  war proved that racial integration can work.  Soldiers who depended on soldiers of other races learned to help each other.  Call it a silver lining.

How will President Trump return us to the sanguine 1950s, when Dwight Eisenhower was President?  I don’t know!  I’m still wondering if I want to go back there at all.