In Other Words

“The line of ‘Make America great again,’ the phrase, that was mine. I came up with it about a year ago, and I kept using it, and everybody’s now using it. They are all loving it. I don’t know, I guess I should copyright it. Maybe I have copyrighted it.” Maybe? According to The Daily Beast’s Michael Daly, Donald Trump filed to copyright Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign slogan six days after Barack Obama’s reelection. Farsighted for someone who has only “been a politician now for eight months.”

“Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right,” said Martin Luther King, Jr. in his last speech. “And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be . . .to make America a better nation.” He was murdered the next day, 48 years ago today. He was 39.

“America will become great again when we can demonstrate that we truly care about our fellow human beings, when the growing disparity between the haves and the have nots is meaningfully diminished, when legislation is created by people who represent us instead of whoever has the most money and when the White House and Congress consists of folks who are truly thoughtful and care more about this country than they do about their own legacy. Clearly that's not going to happen if the likely Republican candidate prevails.” Phil Crossman, a motel owner on Vinalhaven, Maine, columnist for the Penobscot Bay Pilot, and lifelong Republican.