I would like to first thank my readers for both concurring and dissenting opinions regarding my recent columns.

I welcome your opinions, as my goal is to provoke thinking that leads to healthy discussion.

I will definitely try to answer or at least cover any questions or concerns.

One such question asked me to explain exactly when our country ceased being great and had a need to “become great again.” Let’s first discuss the term, “making America great again.”

We all know the U.S. is the greatest country in the world — a powerful ally and strong with freedom — but we all should admit times have changed and not necessarily for the better in all aspects.

When I was a child, my biggest worry was whether or not the patch I put on my bicycle tire was going to hold up the next day. I didn’t have to be concerned if my area was going to be subjected to a terrorist attack, but I do today.

I didn’t have to think about what might happen in a public restroom, but it would cross my mind today.

If I spent the day picking up pop cans to earn some money, I didn’t worry about having to give some of my money to the kids in my neighborhood who didn’t feel like picking up said pop cans that day, but you know what, it wouldn’t surprise me if I was expected to today.

I’ll be the first to admit times have indeed changed. We live in a new world filled with technology, social media and, of course, the World Wide Web.

I believe our nation and the world have witnessed three major changes that altered the way we live: the invention of the automobile, the invention of flight and now our advanced technology.

Unfortunately, the recent changes have led to a change in values. That should never have happened, but admit it or not, it certainly has.

I know we will never live the lives we did in our youth, but we can still bring back the values that kept us united.

As a nation we have become divided. We can’t blame that on our current president or even our former president, for we took the bait and let the division take over to unseen levels.

However, our president has vowed to bring us back together, to keep us safe, to create needed jobs and to make people want to work again.

If we come together because we want to, it will happen. If we don’t choose to do so ourselves, it’s just a pipe dream.

A major problem we have faced recently is our government telling us how to live our lives, which is definitely not a reflection of states and people united.

In reality, we should all agree to come together and become a stronger nation; a nation united and a nation of God.

Another topic brought up was in regards to President Trump winning the electoral college yet not the popular vote. This isn’t the first time this has happened in our nation’s history and probably won’t be the last.

Our founding fathers put the Electoral College into law for several reasons, most notably to prevent certain factions or the most populous states from determining the outcome. The EC is a representation of each state which is based on population (which determines the number of representatives).

Imagine this scenario that is mathematically possible: On election night, the media shows us a map of the U.S. color-coded to indicate which candidate is winning each state. Now imagine every state and territory is blue, with the exception of Rhode Island, which is red. The Democratic candidate won every state except for Rhode Island, but it’s still possible that the Republican candidate carried the popular vote.

For explanation, let’s imagine that the blue states were won by a few hundred votes in each, while Rhode Island went to the red by several thousand. I know, it will never happen, but the possibility is still there.

In such a scenario, the blue states will have spoken, the democrats would take the electoral votes and the White House, deservedly so, for that’s the law.

There are several laws that should be considered long before we think about revising the EC. For example, everyone who casts a vote should be required to show identification. I implore someone to explain to me why this is a bad idea. We have to show an ID for countless things, but when we suggest that all states make it a requirement for voting, many get up in arms over the idea.

As Abraham Lincoln once said, “Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

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