https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6 write a commentary about The State of the Union 2017. What does Trump mean when he says make "American Great Again"? Based on reading the Glass Menagerie and Death of a Salesman, when was America ever "Great"? en-us 2018-12-20 14:39:07 UTC 2021-02-22 21:44:51 UTC hello@padlet.com 19hsupranowicz https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316315206 When Trump says "make America great again," I believe he means to stimulate a hope that America will "return" to its opportunity rich times, when it was the land of the free and brimming with the hopes and dreams of its citizens; to what it was supposed to be. But was America ever "great"? In the play The Glass Menagerie, Laura and Amanda are still living by traditional roles, Tom is doing anything but following his dreams, and ultimately, the family is poor, unhappy, and falling apart: the complete opposite of the American Dream. In Death of a Salesman, Willy is just barely clinging onto the dream he has, deep down knowing he'll never make it. He has no money, which is a huge asset Trump refers to in his speech, because how are you supposed to live out the American dream if you don't thrive in the job you have, if you can't buy the house for your family, if you can't afford the luxuries the middle-class has to offer, how can you? America was never what it was made to be, though, as shown in the plays: people have continuously been oppressed in regards to their sex, their race, their class, etc. and the majority of families in America (if they stay together), don't have the opportunity to thrive and reach their dreams. ]]> 2018-12-20 23:32:09 UTC https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316315206 19ksultaire https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316317141 Anyone that has even heard of President Trump, is well aware of his motto, "Make America Great Again." Through reading his speech, it is quite obvious that he believes that the only thing that will "make America great" is the increase of money in the pockets of Americans. He frequently mentions reforms that he implemented in regards to this; new jobs, unemployment rates, pensions, college saving accounts, tax bills as well as family income. He barely touches on happiness or prosperity (not regarding money, of course). Personally, I believe that what makes America great isn't the money, but the opportunities that can be provided. There are certain obstacles for some, of course, but it is very hard to argue that there still aren't opportunities available. But, if we use Mr. Trump's model of greatness, America was never truly 'great.' There has yet to be a time where the entire population has thrived financially. We've had the Great Depression. We've had half the population not working because of their gender or race. We have constantly been divided by three classes, all of us being placed in one of the three tiers based solely on financial status. In The Glass Menagerie, Tom has a job that just barely pays the bills. Likewise, in Death of a Salesman, Willy has a job working on commission that requires him to ask for advances on all of his paychecks. They might have jobs, but it's clear that the wages do not cover living expenses, and that is a struggle that Americans have had since the dawn of time. Unfortunately, it is unknown whether or not America will ever be 'great' in President Trump's standards. But, what's important to remember is the fact that money doesn't always mean happiness, something that I think lives on in the heart of many 'great' Americans. ]]> 2018-12-20 23:58:26 UTC https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316317141 19snapravnick https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316381067 Trump is saying that he wants to create a strong economy by increasing wealth. He will decrease unemployment by creating more jobs and investing in businesses, which will create a strong working class that fuels the American economy. Overall, he wants America to become the powerhouse it once was in his eyes, economically. At the same time, he is suggesting that the old America was not successful because there was no progress towards reconstructing "the broken system", which in turn made things worse for the American people financially.]]> 2018-12-21 12:30:26 UTC https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316381067 19mdaverin https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316382071 Trump has designed a system that will benefit the rich and make it even harder for the struggling. The purpose of making America great again is to make it better economically. America has never really been great unless Americans have that extra money to spend or the connections needed to have a truly good life. America being great is referring to the American dream being fulfilled. That is not the case for many people in America. In both the Death of a Salesman and The Glass Menagerie, the characters struggle with this idea of happiness. These characters are struggling to make enough money to support themselves and moreover they are living anything but the american dream. In each of the stories these characters are under constant pressure and stress, in much of the time they are being forced to do things they don’t love. ]]> 2018-12-21 12:40:36 UTC https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316382071 19snapravnick https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316382322 America was great when there were stable jobs. Families didn't have to struggle to pay their bills. Their jobs gave them a good income. In addition, unemployment was low and families could afford to live in houses instead of flats or apartments. Business was good and investing in stocks or investing in a business (or following your dreams with some degree of uncertainty) was okay because you wouldn't be risking the family income. Overall, the American people were happier because they were making more money and they seemed optimistic for their future. Living the American Dream seemed possible because people were well off. ]]> 2018-12-21 12:42:34 UTC https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316382322 19zpowell https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316382979 In Trumps state of the union address he often says he wishes to "make america great again." This has multiple meanings, but by the speech Trump is saying that he wants to create a strong united america, with opportunity and wealth. But by his sayng "make america great again" it implies that America was once great, which in some aspects it was, but in many it has never truly been. In the plays the glass menagerie and death of a salesmen we see points of view of the Wingfields, and the Lomens, who both struggled economically. After the great depresion it the majority of America was no longer as poor as they were, but there have always been certain people targeted and treated unfairly, even today. So in all reality America has never been truly great, in all aspects, its made jumps economically, and achieved great things, but there has always, and always will be, some sort of discrimination, that will keep America fro truly becoming great in every aspect. ]]> 2018-12-21 12:48:13 UTC https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316382979 19jloftus https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316385515 Trump says that he wants to make America great again by making an  economic system that's beneficial for the high class rich people of society. Those are the only people he really cares about, he wants to make it so there's more jobs for the American people compared to those who are not American. He wants to make the economy stronger than what it. But America was never really ever great. We have always had a really poor economy, for example, the 50's, nobody really had any money, the dust bowl, the depression, etc. Just like in Death of a salesman, Willy never had any money, he struggled with a successful job (common in America back then and now) and had to have aid from others (also common today and back then).There has always been a high unemployment rate, which Trump is trying to decrease by creating jobs. In my opinion, there has been an increase in racism because of Trump's presidency, just like there was back then in the 40's and 50's and on, which poisons society and does the opposite of unite us when as a country we should all be united. America was never great and I doubt it ever will be ]]> 2018-12-21 13:05:23 UTC https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316385515 19mdaverin https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316385987 america was never great there were many times that america benefited the rich rather than the poor. Trump talks about cutting taxes but in the end this decision still gives the middle class advantages. In the death of a salesman book and the glass menagerie again we see that the poor people are struggling daily life and have trouble maintaining a comfortable living because majority of the population are not financially stable. For example, Tom was forced to let down his dream and work in a warehouse to support his family and even his mother had to work hard to sell magazines to help the family out as well. In the death of a salesman, the characters are struggling to become popular and well liked because it is believed that this is the only way to become successful.]]> 2018-12-21 13:08:32 UTC https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316385987 19larhinful https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316395110 In Trump's state of union address, what does he really mean by make america great again. Saying this implies that America is not great right now and was great. It implies that the past was better than the present. This campaign slogan may be to give false idea that fascism and racism will make America much better. We really don't know what version of this, he really wants but what we know is that he wants to bring America to former glory. Based on the Death of Salesman and the Glass menagrie, their time was when America was great. Willy always wanted to be rich and he thought he could while Linda wanted to have her ex-husband to provide for her so she thought that was when America was great.]]> 2018-12-21 13:55:48 UTC https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316395110 https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316996644 Perhaps one of the phrases most associated with President Trump is his campaign slogan: "Make America Great Again." ]]> 2019-01-02 03:54:47 UTC https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316996644 19tvictor https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316996904 Perhaps one of the phrases most associated with President Trump is his campaign slogan: "Make America Great Again." His State of the Union Address makes it abundantly clear that his definition of greatness is equivalent to wealth. He boasts about how America has flourished under his leadership, how tax cuts, along with other measures, have made unemployment drop and caused the wealth of Americans to rise. Business owners are having their most profitable seasons. The stock markets are soaring. But, the key part of Trump's party line is the word again. America was never as great as Trump may lead the public to believe. At multiple stages in our history, disparaged groups have had no share in the "American Dream." What wealth was there for women, who only began to join the work force en masse during World War II? What wealth did anyone have during the Great Depression, the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world? In The Glass Menagerie, Tom Wingfield is proof that the end of the Depression didn't mean the quality of life improved for everyone. His warehouse job makes just barely enough to support the family. Death of a Salesman's Willy Loman is forced to work only on commission, which is clearly not enough to support his family or even pay their bills. He is instead forced to borrow money from his neighbor every week just to make ends meet. Neither the Wingfields nor the Lomans meet any traditional definition of wealthy. And their stories are not so uncommon. They transcend the postwar period and instead speak to something that's all too familiar to contemporary Americans: barely being able to make ends meet with what they have. Not only was America never great to begin with, I believe that we are not on the path to greatness now. Wealth and success are not equals; opportunity is where the true heart of America's greatness lies.]]> 2019-01-02 04:00:31 UTC https://padlet.com/plattrell/j9wfsna06md6/wish/316996904