Farewell...

Ronald Wilson Reagan
1911 - 2004



The Great Communicator, they called him.

Everyone has their own memories of the man who embodied the decade of excess. I was a child through the 1980's, so he was very much like a Grandpa who just happened to live in the White House. I know a lot of people like myself who look back at Reagan very fondly, longing for the "good old days" and whatnot. I also know a lot of people who think "Trickle down economics" was one of the biggest mistakes of the 20th century. Everyone takes from those memories what they will.

I remember a leader who made me want to become something greater than I was. From my perspective, he was strong and assertive. He made his mind up on something, and didn't make you feel like an idiot if you disagreed. I honestly think that one of the reasons he carried 49 states in his second run for office is because he never alienated his opposition. For my generation, he was the first real president. To people old enough to remember the late 60's and 70's, he restored a kind of confidence in the presidency, as well as a better mood in the United States about politics and politicians in general.



I think because I watched a family member pass from Alzheimer's, that I pretty much said goodbye to him when he first announced that he would slip out of the public eye due to the illness. His passing now is just part of that process. I'm so happy to have been able to be a child when he was the head of state. I hope my children experience a President with the kind of charisma he had.

My generation will look on Reagan with a very unique perspective. I honestly think we were the last one to engage in those damn H-bomb drills run through elementary schools all over the country. You may remember these? It was where you were told to hide under your desk with your head between your knees because the Russians had ICBM's pointed directly* at us.

*Living in Houston, Texas (home to NASA) assured a direct atomic strike, so the already chipper mood that accompanied these drills was given a tangible amount of morbidity.

Yeah, those were the days. The Cold War had escalated to the point of stupidity, and people were so high strung over those "Damn Ruskies" that you could cut the tension with a knife. Just rent a movie from the 80's and see for yourself. Everything was about getting the damn Russians before they got us.

But in the midst of all that tension, his administration decided to play a little patriotic propaganda, and in turn, spawned a new era of American gusto. I mean, it's hard to fathom it at times, but his tireless work led to the eventual implosion of the United Soviet Socialist Republic. That wobbly old guy from California laid down the foundation for the liberation of millions of people living under the rule of tyrrany. People, this is no small feat.



He beat the damn Russians. Do you remember the days when the idea of a democratic Russian state seemed like the ending to one of those action movies I was talking about?

Sure, some historians will look back on his presidency and point out his Iran Contra affair, free market and social focus. I honestly think however, that he represented a dying era in the conservative agenda. He was cut from the GOP cloth of Tax Cuts, Family Values, and big damn guns pointed at our enemies.

Regardless of our feelings about those issues now, he made his decisions about these issues and stuck to them. To a degree, his legacy on the GOP is that his focus on these points is like a time capsule. It represents the old regime, and what they considered important. The Repubilcan party now, more than ever, is populated with people who don't exclusively subscribe to the Conservative Christian agenda, or the "old rich white guy" fraternity.

This has enriched the party and finally introduced focus on issues that matter to a significant portion of the voting public; the swing voter.

Reagan was the ultimate swing voter candidate. He pulled people from the left and the right with his overpowering enthusiasm and sense of leadership. People who considered the consecration of civil rights and the expansion of the opportunities for minorities and women...well they all wanted to live in a nice happy America too...so they voted for the Gipper, hoping that these issues would be dealt with eventually.

After the 60's and 70's people were just disenchanted with the American dream. I guess they needed something.

What they got was a Republican candidate who made America better in ways that increased the quality of all our lives by osmosis, and in effect, proved that the goodness of people, smaller government, and integrity can lead to a better nation -- with time. We're in a place where our voices are being heard louder, and more freely than ever. We're also living in an age where these freedoms are threatened more and more by our own desires for security. It's an age where people want to bring to battle to us.



It's times like these that I'm going to miss Ronald Reagan. I'm sure in the years to come, we'll all look back on those eight years and remember the good times. Even if you hated his politics, you had to love this man because you couldn't help but believe that he genuinely loved us all.

Godspeed, Mr. President.