What is it -- right now (or 2016,if you prefer) -- about America that isn't great? (Be specific.)
We are in the midst of an ideological civil war, that hopefully doesn't materialize into a real civil war. This I believe is not being pushed by the majority of Americans but smaller, louder factions. Trump and his rhetoric push the divide, the keepers of the culture (MSM, celebrities, universities) push further and further the other way. if you have to ask me which came first the chicken (trump) or the egg (lefist culture) as far as the flash point, i would have to say the fault lies in the left. Trump was a gift from the left, not the right.
When was this time that the word 'again' implies? When was it exactly that those who endorse this slogan believe that America "was great"?
I firmly believe America can never be perfect, and "good" has not been a destination but a pursuit. America is an ideology, and to say "great again", I think is to say put it back on its track that got us many great things that have come from the American experiment. Not just for America but for the world.
What does a "great" America look like? Is it a reference to the fifties? Eighties? Pre 911? Pre political correctness?
Again, similar answer to above. We have a disaster of people thinking everything bad America has done is the result of America being bad. But the reality is, for most of human history on earth, life for people has not been very good at all. Until the European enlightenment, that gave rise to the principles that make America. A lot of the bad things have been done away with, including things America was at first involved in, IE slavery. America didn't invent slavery, most of the world since the rise of agriculture employed slavery, AMERICA ENDED IT. People forget. That's where the genius ideas of the founding fathers are what matters. It gives us the tools to make things better.
A great America looks like one of ultimate freedom and sovereignty of the individual. A culture that nurtures self-reliance and love of liberty. Again a progressive pursuit, not a specific time.
Why exactly do they think that America "was great" then, but not now?
The things I mentioned above: ultimate freedom and sovereignty of the individual. A culture that nurtures self-reliance and love of liberty. Again a progressive pursuit, not a specific time. All seem to be in danger, and new Marxist mentality is rising up and it threatens the trajectory to continue this progress and return to pre-enlightenment tribalism!
What values and beliefs are implicit in accepting this slogan and everything that goes with it?
Not a fan of political slogans, but i think this one is a return to the principles that started America. The idea of liberty over government elitism and political compulsion of speech and thought.
Correspondingly, what values and beliefs does accepting this slogan require a person to thereby reject?
That America is evil. America is bad. The reality of America is the story of western ideas and enlightenment out of darkness. American is not the tyranny and oppression leftists would have you think it is, but the system that OVERCAME those things. The world is in a pretty good place despite what leftists and JWS would have you believe, people have more than ever, live longer, things are actually really good, but people have also lost their gratitude. So really maybe America is the greatest its ever been, but if we undermine what got it here, we risk losing it all. America didn't always do great things, but it gave us what we need to pursue great things. Freedom