Ronald Reagan Where are You Now that We Need You?




Reagan did not spend his entire first term blaming Jimmy Carter
Photo Credit: politifake.org


If you ask an average conservative, "Who was the greatest American President?" The answer mostly likely will be "Ronald Reagan," who died on this day ten years ago. Young people who do not remember or know what this country faced in 1979 might be puzzled by that answer. What makes a president great? In today's United States, too many Americans think a great President is one who gives them the most freebies.

Based on that absurd criterion, Barack Obama is arguably the greatest American President.

In today's United States, too many Americans think a great President is one who believes that negotiation and appeasement will work better against our enemies.

Based on that absurd criterion, Barack Obama is arguably the greatest American President.

In 1979 our economy was in ruins, our national prestige in tatters, and our enemies laughed at our country and felt confident that our weak-kneed President, Jimmy Carter, would do nothing even if they took our Embassy staff hostage. It wasn't until Ronald Reagan, a man with balls, came into office that Iran finally released our people.

It is how Reagan handled these crises that makes him one of our Greatest Presidents.

Now our economy is in ruins, our national prestige is in tatters, and our enemies laugh at our country and feel confident that our weak-kneed President, Barack Obama, will do nothing even if they invade another country.

We could use a man like Ronald Reagan again.

The following article written on Sunday, June 6, 2004 originally appeared at the now defunct URL http://www.peaktalk.com/archives/000584.php which I reproduce here in tribute to a man who, in contrast to the worst American President, believed government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.

FAREWELL MY FRIEND

Yesterday President Ronald Reagan passed away. In the weeks ahead we will all discuss his legacy and the impact he has had on our lives. The effect he’s had on my life is indelible. Here’s why.

In the Beginning
When Ronald Reagan became President of the United States I was a teenager, had heard about him, but he did not really ring a bell, other than that he was an older guy with a background in Hollywood. Within a few years after Reagan taking office, I embarked on my journey in life, left the elderly home to go to university and discover the world. My journey took place against the backdrop of a western world that was stuck in recession, overtaxed, overregulated, uncompetitive and facing many social ills that at the time seemed beyond resolution as a left-of-center political correct atmosphere had stifled real debate. At the same time many people in Europe rallied the streets on a regular basis to demonstrate against deploying American cruise missiles on European soil as a counterweight to the Soviet missile build-up. Many of my friends joined in these protests, unwilling to see the rationale of the “peace through strength” philosophy that was coming out of Washington. It was in those days that I mentally departed from Europe and saw the deeper values underpinning “Go out there and win one for the Gipper” and “the Shining City on a Hill”, sentences that drew ridicule in Europe. Yet they represented and appealed to profound human emotions, crossed boundaries and inspired many around the world, not least of all myself. So my journey that turned out to be driven by optimism, a strong need for self fulfillment and a deep belief in the ability of the individual to shape his or her own destiny coincided with a period in which the White House was occupied by an inspirational, visionary, wise, and charming man who very effectively communicated the same values to the rest of the world. That man’s term in office spanned my departure from home, college; graduation and my departure from my native grounds. Ronald Reagan helped me shape my destiny.

The Vision
The ideology supporting Reagan’s political ascent was simple, but was lost in years where the makeability of society by government had become accepted wisdom. And for many of the post-war years it seemed that on both sides of the Atlantic an active government that taxed and redistributed worked. By the late 1970s however it had become evident that it could wreck dynamic societies and that a return to a deregulated, low tax environment where the economic freedom of the individual has precedence over collective arrangements would be the best way to revive a broken economy. That a free-market system had serious shortcomings was not lost on Reagan, but as he would eloquently put it, mankind had not come up with anything better so far. The tenet of individual freedom also infused Reagan’s foreign policy and it established the notion that taking a principal ideological stand vis-à-vis the Soviet Union would be the only way to deal with that adversary. Appeasement was not part of the Reagan dictionary. It turned out Reagan was right and with that he not only ended the Cold War, he gave a new generation a handbook of how to deal with international conflict. The current war on terror will to a large extent be defined by Reagan’s view of the world.

The Man
But there was more to Reagan than just his vision. There was the person, the man Ronald, and it has often been said that he was aloof and remote, to the point that he had strained relationships with his children. The gregarious Bushies never connected with what seemed like a distant man, a claim that his critics often used to point out that it was impossible to write a credible biography about Reagan. There was in their view no way of getting close to him and understand what he was about. The reality was that most of Reagan’s emotional and inter-human needs were fulfilled by only one person, Nancy. Ronald and Nancy were the embodiment of an almost perfect relationship that includes love, friendship and a very strong professional partnership. As odd as it may sound, they did not need anyone. But that doesn’t mean Reagan was distant or aloof, he was just harder to read for the outside world as he didn’t embody the standard social traits that many expect of others. Reagan: A life in Letters reveals what an extremely nice and amicable man he was. Concerned, engaged, almost humble. If you combine that with his engaging humor, the twinkle in his eyes and the trademark Reagan gait you can not come to any other conclusion than that he was an incredibly cordial and loving man. A nice man, a good man but not everyone was always willing to see that.

The Secret
But a great vision and a good man do not make automatically make one of the greatest presidents. There’s more and let me tell you that Ronald Reagan prompted me to do something else: to buy a TV. When I had just arrived in Hong Kong in the summer of 1992 the newspapers where covering the Republican convention and Ronald Reagan had apparently taken the stage by storm with a vintage speech. I was disappointed that I had missed it, but I wasted no time in ensuring that that would not happen again and I bought myself a new TV, however I was too late to see a rerun of the Gipper’s speech. I clipped the editorial of the Asian Wall Street Journal, Reagan’s Secret, and I have kept it to this day in my files as it captures the essence of the man. Reagan’s secret was his ability to not define the political debate in terms of the problems of today, it said, but in terms of tomorrow’s potential. That is also why men like Carter and Mondale were essentially walkovers for Reagan. Reagan was about freedom, the human spirit, achievement and entrepreneurial drive. He was a master in unleashing these sentiments and by offering everyone in to share in his optimism. The editorial concludes:

“Optimism, at any time, resides somewhere inside nearly every voter. We doubt there’s a politician who more masterfully explored the potential of this powerful human need than Ronald Reagan”

And that was the essence, the secret if you will, of his presidency. He was a great man with a compelling vision and he was also able to convince us that we too were great and that we could all fulfill our dreams. Very few politicians have that ability and therein we find Reagan’s greatness.

The End
There can be no doubt that the booming 1990s were therefore a direct product of the Reagan years, and so is the current age where it seems that we are far better than ever equipped to deal with economic adversity and armed struggle. Much of what Bush today is laying out as his vision comes straight from the Reagan textbook, although there are certain nuances. Reagan saw government in general as the problem whereas Bush is not afraid to use government as a tool for social change, something that would conflict with Reagan’s quest for personal freedom and liberty.

It is impossible to fathom what must have gone through Reagan’s mind when he slowly succumbed to Alzheimer’s. It was a harsh and painful way to conclude a phenomenal life. We can not judge whether he was able to access the optimism that he so effectively appealed to in others. Many have quoted from his letter to the American people, and there are numerous quotes that will pass the limelight in the weeks ahead. My favorite farewell lines from Ronald Reagan however come from his last speech before he left the oval office in 1989. In it he summarizes the achievements during his years in office but he rightly gives credit to those that were responsible for the hard work that made it all possible: the American people, and in doing that calling them what they were to Ronald Reagan: “My Friends” :

We've done our part. And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan revolution, the men and women across America who for 8 years did the work that brought America back. My friends: We did it. We weren't just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger, we made the city freer, and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all.

It’s now up to all of us who loved Ronald Reagan, in America and beyond, to live up to that legacy. We probably know how to achieve prosperity, but we should also realize that the tools to fight the war against terror have been given to us by the man whose compelling request to go out there and win one for him in the end contains the message that we are really winning one for ourselves.

We must not and can not fail a man who put freedom and the human spirit at the center of his political platform. To me he will always be a great inspiration as my journey continues. Farewell my friend.

Posted by Pieter Dorsman at 12:50 PM




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