Hello, Winchester, Clark County, surrounding areas and to all those reading near and far. My name is Will Collins. I’m originally from Whitesburg in the eastern part of our great state, but have been a Winchester resident since 1998.

I graduated from Morehead State University in 1993 with a BA in political science and secondary education, and I completed minors in history and geography.

I adore the city in which I now live. I cherish the area in which I was raised. And I most certainly love the United States of America.

Through my studies, as well as a blessed career that has allowed me to travel extensively throughout our great nation, I have learned a lot about people, how they live and how they think.

While I can’t say everyone’s thought process completely aligns with mine, I do feel everyone, or at least the overwhelming majority, want what is in the best interest of our great country.

This is where the problems we face begin — making the proper decisions that will put us back on the correct path to better things. Yes, I’ll say it, we really do need and have the capability to make America great again.

Is President Donald Trump the answer we are all looking for? Personally, I think we have to wait and see, but I do feel the future holds more promise than it has in quite some time.

The first thing we have to do is admit there are problems with our country and several things that need to be improved. The American people realize this and said so when they voted for the candidate who built his campaign on the premise that we were not heading in the right direction. We chose the candidate who we felt would put the interests of the people that make up this country first — a candidate who will put America first.

I truly stand behind Trump because I stand behind America. We have been a country divided for too long and as an American, I see no reason why we shouldn’t try to rebuild that unity, the unity that made us so strong.

One area we have become a nation divided on is immigration. It is true our nation was built by immigrants. In fact, we would not be here today, and I sure wouldn’t be able to write this column, had it not been for immigrants. What we fail to remember, though, is our ancestors came to this country to build new and promising lives without fear of tyranny.

They not only built a great country, but also invited growth by delivering those same ideas and promises to many others. Through our history, immigrants came here in droves searching for the same freedoms and way of life our forefathers created. They wanted to be here and help us grow while they did as well. They wanted to follow our laws and help us develop new ones to support the growth. They wanted to do things the right way. What they wanted was to be citizens.

Fast forward to 2017. We still have families, good families that want to come to the United States for the same reasons. They keep the heritage of their nationality, as they should, but they also pledge allegiance to our flag because they want to be citizens. They work hard, form businesses, create jobs, pay taxes, attend church, play sports, raise families and so much more. They are citizens; the same citizens that made us who we are.

The trouble is, not all individuals coming to this country have the same straight-thinking approach. There are those who smuggle in drugs, which are destroying families faster than they can be created. There are those who want to cause harm through terrorist activities caring nothing about our free values. There are those who want our societies to change in order for us to meet their needs rather than becoming U.S. citizens. There are those who do not pay taxes nor desire applying for citizenship, yet want government assistance as if they did.

Contrary to popular belief, our current administration is not attempting to place a ban on immigration, but is instead trying to figure out the means to prevent these issues from reoccurring. Is that really such a bad thing?

Several times per month, I would like to discuss certain topics and see if I can shed some light on the straight-thinking approach that can and will make America great again.

It was John F, Kennedy who so famously said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” It’s far too long past using that mentality.

Political enthusiast Will Collins is a Kentucky native who has called Winchester home for nearly 20 years. He can be reached at wrcollins70@gmail.com.