Greatness means embracing the future with no fear

I see some irony in the Trump campaign's use of the slogan, "Make America Great Again." Let's put aside aside for the moment the fact that America is great and doesn't require its greatness to be restored. The people who are using that slogan are actually calling for a return to an earlier way of life and they live in fear of the change that is reshaping our future.  The irony lies in the fact that our nation's greatness was never founded on fear or a desire to turn back the clock. America's greatness comes from a willingness to embrace change with courage and boldly lead the way into the future. It never came from our wealth but from our intelligence and innovation that allowed us to build wealth. It came from our compassion and our optimism. It came from our willingness to elect leaders who had the foresight to create social safety nets, who had the strength to push for civil rights in the face of strident, entrenched bigotry and who had the guts to tell despots to "tear down this wall." Greatness will never come from electing people who foster fear and want to build walls. Our country's greatness will endure as long as we stay true to ourselves, act with courage, never succumb to fear and embrace the opportunity to shape our future.