I was born in 1950, and I never thought America was less than great.

It was great when World War II formally ended in 1952.

It was great when the Marshall Plan helped Europe rebuild and prevented the USSR from taking over the world.

It was great even when our brave soldiers fought in Korea and Viet Nam despite the failure of the civilians who promoted both wars (and lied to the American people in doing so)

It was great when President Eisenhower, upon the end of his presidency, warned us of the dangers associated with the military-industrial complex.

America was still great during the turbulent 1960’s scared by assassinations and social turmoil.

America was still great on that July 20th, 1969, when Neil Armstrong took that giant leap for mankind.

America was still great when Republicans urged Nixon to resign, notwithstanding Ford’s pardon of the would-be impeached president.

America was still great when Reagan, with bipartisan support, taxed Social Security.

America was still great when the first Bush president attacked Iraq while he was urging us to read his lips.

America was still great when Clinton…well, you know what he did on our dime,

America was still great when the 2000 election was stolen and confirmed by the Supreme Court.

Perhaps there was no greater day in my lifetime than September 11th, 2001, as all Americans shared the grief of the thousands of victims and the thousands of families who still suffer the loss that started nearly 25 years ago.

It might be good to remember how we felt that day as we approach the 25th Anniversary of that heinous crime. We were all Americans, not MAGAs, not Socialist Democrats. We didn’t complain about the economy or the cost of gasoline or even the Second Amendment. We all joined in spirit, feeling the pain of those lost and those who they left behind.

I wonder if there isn’t something we can learn from that day and help us survive our nation’s greatest challenge to its history and reputation.

Maybe we should aim at making America nice again?