When we refer to making America great again, what do we mean? What erstwhile greatness are we talking about?

Was America great when ordinary families gave up 57,000 kids to a bloodbath 7,000 miles from home in Southeast Asia? Was America great when schoolchildren were segregated by skin color and all required to recite a Christian prayer every morning before school? Was America great when its leaders went on a rampage against Arabs because three skyscrapers collapsed in New York after two got hit by airplanes? Was America great just a few years ago when millions of people were persuaded or forced to receive injections to fight what some public health experts consider a man-made disease?

What sort of greatness are we talking about?

Putting aside the question of whether there ever was a time when America was great, the idea that casting a vote has any chance of making America great seems a bit delusional. If it were that easy, Americans would have done it long ago, and we’d have an honest and responsible citizen in every elective office in the land.

Judging from the gap between public policy and public opinion, elections haven’t produced much greatness. That’s not to say that there’s nothing a citizen can do to make America great. (Let’s not say “again” again, but “at last” instead: MAGAL) Is there a way you and I can make America great at last?

Here’s an idea. Make it a practice to ask people what they’re reading and say a few words about what you’re reading. We’re told that we don’t read much. If that’s true, we put our country at risk. With the exception of the current president, most people would be embarrassed to admit that they’re not reading anything. Repeated episodes of what-are-you-reading challenges could shame some of them into reading. What might be the result if people issued the challenge routinely for five or ten years? Would there be an epidemic of reading? If so, could this make America great at last? Couldn’t hurt.

Of course, there are impediments. According to our media, only about one in three of us can read above a sixth grade level, and one in five of us can’t read at all. Luckily, we have the means to administer remedial instruction, and it can happen anonymously on line or even in Dyslexics Anonymous groups. The library of books recorded aloud for people with poor eyesight is huge and growing.

I tried the MAGAL challenge on two of my grownup grandchildren. They’re college students, but they don’t read for pleasure. So far, the what-are-you-reading inquiry hasn’t worked, but I’m not finished with them yet. It’s possible that they’re immune to shaming, or maybe they just don’t take grandpa seriously, but I’m determined to get them to read something for fun, even if it’s not War and Peace. I might force them to read my poems. Aloud.

 Stephen Fournier lives in Hartford.