What makes a country great?

Mr. Trump says he wants to “make America great again.” This raises the question, “What makes a country great?”

Is it simply having a powerful military or enormous economic power? Does it have anything to do with how it treats all its citizens or how it helps them to develop their potential? Or how it treats the stranger/traveler/immigrant/refugee? Or how it treats its — and the world’s — ecological system? Or how it treats those who have made serious mistakes in their lives because of the way they were treated, like juvenile and adult criminals? Or how it helps other countries with natural disasters? Or how it promotes international harmony to accomplish good things? Or how it works to prevent wars?

Maybe we need to think more about this goal of making America great. If we are going to pursue a goal, we need to be clear on what that goal is.

This story was originally published March 25, 2017 at 2:50 PM with the headline "What makes a country great?."