Ronald Reagan

Remembering the 80's President

by a child of the 80's



I'm not even sure I should be writing this. I don't know anyone personally who loved Ronald Reagan, other than my parents who voted for him twice -- the only people who seem to have anything nice to say about the man are the voices I hear on the radio, in some far-off studio, or MEDIA anchors who are biting their tongues.

I've always felt embarrassed about admitting that I liked him as a President. Whenever his name would come up, friends or other family members would say stuff like, "Oh, he's such an actor! That's why he's so good at fooling people!" or "He didn't do anything in his second term -- Nancy ran the show!"

And it's almost like his announcement of his having Alzheimer's in 1994 was a seal of approval for those who thought he was old and incompetent. "See? He's probably had it for years."

This week, I have heard and seen another side to the Reagan story. I have heard of a man who was likable, and humorous. A man who had the courage to take on the Communists. A man who prayed.

I heard about a President who loved to write! He would answer 30 letters a month personally ... and sometimes he would go out of his way to help a person, even making phone calls to various government departments to get things done, for John Q. Citizen.

I think one reason I like President Reagan is because he came from the same generation as my father. They both came from humble roots. My father, as an immigrant, gave up a successful business in [censored DailySkew] to come here. Reagan could easily have played it safe and continued being an actor; instead, he got into politics, ran for office, and changed the world.

My father didn't change the world, but he impacted my world. And, in President Reagan, I saw someone who had similar ideals as my dad. He was a Christian. He had conviction. He was honest. And he was wise.

Hearing his speeches this week gave me goose bumps. Finding out he was an economics major in college, after hearing from THE MEDIA in the 1980's that Reaganomics was a stupid creation of a senile Hollywood actor ... well, that was absolutely shocking. I had no idea that our 40th President was a learned expert in economics -- I felt betrayed by the pundits and talking heads of my childhood, who conveniently left that fact out when belittling the President.

Reagan's optimism reminded me of my own optimism, which has proven annoying at times, quite frankly. I have a tendency to see the best in people, and to give them a free pass, and believe that they can overcome their problems. I have tendency to have too much faith in people. Over the years, I have learned to temper this with realism. Still, I think optimism, properly focused on something achievable, is a powerful tool. Reagan's accomplishments are proof of this.

I wasn't sure if I should write this when I started out, and now I'm not sure how to finish. I'm sure when I proofread and edit, I will delete things that you will never see, move things around so they make more sense, and generally clear up my ideas. I guess to sum up, there was a quote from Reagan that had to do with choosing sides. He said, paraphrasing, that by blaming both sides of a conflict you separate yourself from the moral battle taking place. He was referring to those who pointed the finger at both America and the USSR for the arms race (thank you, Dan Rather, for those nightly charts showing how many missiles each side had pointed at each other. You made stories like Dark Knight Returns realistic).

He basically said that you have to choose a side, and fight. That is something I have a hard time with, these days. I try to see everyone's point of view -- I think the 90's political correctness invaded my brain at some point and has grown into a forest of vacillation. I think this website, at times, is an exercise in destroying that part of me. Somehow, I know it's wrong not to choose a side and stick with it. I hate bandwagon jumpers in sports ... but somehow, I get embarrassed and take it personal when it comes to politics, so I just avoid the whole thing.

I think I'm going to change that. Let me look up that quote, and memorize it. I think that'll do me some good.