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June 05, 2006
Ronald Wilson Reagan 1911 ~ 2004
Ronald Reagan was the first President I voted for, he made me the Conservative that I am, and that I will always be. Mr. Reagan was a true leader who knew no boundries. There was nothing he could not do, or would not do for America. I miss him evey day.
From the NYT:
To a nation hungry for a hero, a nation battered by Vietnam, damaged by Watergate and humiliated by the taking of hostages in Iran, Ronald Reagan held out the promise of a return to greatness, the promise that America would “stand tall” again.
Mr. Reagan lived longer than any United States president, spending his final years in seclusion as he coped with the mental debilitation of Alzheimer’s disease.
Mr. Reagan lived longer than any United States president, spending his final years in seclusion as he coped with the mental debilitation of Alzheimer’s disease.
By Peggy Noonan
In his presidency he did this: He out-argued communism and refused to accept its claim of moral superiority; he rallied the West, rallied America and continued to make big gambles, including a defense-spending increase in a recession. He promised he'd place Pershings in Europe if the Soviets would not agree to arms reductions, and told Soviet leaders that they'd never be able to beat us in defense, that we'd spend them into the ground. They were suddenly reasonable. Ronald Reagan told the truth to a world made weary by lies. He believed truth was the only platform on which a better future could be built. He shocked the world when he called the Soviet Union "evil," because it was, and an "empire," because it was that, too. He never stopped bringing his message to the people of the world, to Europe and China and in the end the Soviet Union. And when it was over, the Berlin Wall had been turned into a million concrete souvenirs, and Soviet communism had fallen. But of course it didn't fall. It was pushed. By Mr. Know Nothing Cowboy Gunslinger Dimwit. All presidents should be so stupid.
He pushed down income taxes too, from a high of 70% when he entered the White House to a new low of 28% when he left, igniting the long boom that, for all its ups and downs, is with us still. He believed, as JFK did, that a rising tide lifts all boats. He did much more, returning respect to our armed forces, changing 50-year-old assumptions about the place of government and the place of the citizen in the new America.
What an era his was. What a life he lived. He changed history for the better and was modest about it. He didn't bray about his accomplishments but saw them as the work of the American people. He did not see himself as entitled, never demanded respect, preferred talking to hotel doormen rather than State Department functionaries because he thought the doormen brighter and more interesting. When I pressed him once, a few years out of the presidency, to say what he thought the meaning of his presidency was, he answered, reluctantly, that it might be fairly said that he "advanced the boundaries of freedom in a world more at peace with itself." And so he did. And what could be bigger than that?
"Whatever else history may say about me when I’m gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears; to your confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty’s lamp guiding your steps and opportunity’s arm steadying your way." ~ Ronald W. Reagan
LIFE
I wonder what it's all about, and why
We suffer so, when little things go wrong?
We make our life a struggle,
When life should be a song.
Our troubles break and drench us,
Like spray on the cleaving prow
Of some trim Gloucester schooner
As it dips in a graceful bow.
Our troubles break and drench us
But like that cleaving prow,
The wind will fan and dry us.
And we'll watch some other bow.
But why does sorrow drench us
When our fellow passes on?
He's just exchanged life's dreary dirge
For an eternal life of song.
What is the inborn human trait
That frowns on a life of song?
That makes us weep at the journey's end,
When the journey was oft-times wrong?
Weep when we reach the door
That opens to let us in,
And brings to us eternal peace
As it closes again on sin.
Millions have gone before us,
And millions will come behind.
So why do we curse and fight
At a fate both wise and kind.
We hang onto a jaded life
A life full of sorrow and pain.
A life that warps and breaks us,
And we try to run through it again.
Ronald Reagan
February 6, 1911 ~ June 5, 2004
"Let me thank you, the American people, for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your president. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future." ~ Ronald Reagan, 1994
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Wild Thing at Theodore's World has a tribute up, saying "Today June 5, 2006 is the anniversary of the death of President Ronald Reagan. He walked the high ground and stayed the course." She also has a compilation of some of Ronald Reagan's best quotes, you won't want to miss it.
Tammy at A Mom and her Blog is also saluting Ronald Reagan, she tells us: "Today marks 2 years since the death of Ronald Reagan, in my opinion one of the greatest presidents ever." Tammy shares her favorite Ronald Reagan quote.
The official Tributes are here and Remembering Ronald Reagan is another wonderful site. The Reagan Cartoon Collection is here.
Posted by LindaSoG at June 5, 2006 07:27 AM
Comments
Thank you, and rest in peace.
Posted by: The Gentle Cricket at June 5, 2006 10:45 AM