In Celebration of President Ronald ReaganDear Friends, In thinking about the most fitting way for American Experiment to celebrate the remarkable life of President Ronald Reagan, it was easy to conclude it would be most interesting to give voice, not to a few insiders and policy wonks, but to as many thankful Minnesotans and others as possible. So our invitation is simply and warmly this: If you’re so moved, please send us a few personal, political, geopolitical, or other thoughts about our 40th president. Brevity is admirable, even patriotic, so please try to stay under 150-200 words. Email your pieces back to us at elist@amexp.org, and we will add them regularly over the next week to this page. The result, I trust, will be passages and moments of joy and renewed gratitude for all of us. Thank you, my friends. And thank you, Mr. President. Mitch Pearlstein
I was five when Reagan was elected and thirteen when he left office. I still remember watching his farewell address alone in the basement of my parent's house. The speech was widely quoted during the week of his funeral, and it is a great speech in its entirety. Reagan had a line in there for kids: that if their parents weren't teaching them what it means to be an American, to let 'em know and nail 'em on it -- that was the American thing to do. Ronald Reagan could make you feel like you were the only person he was talking to, even on broadcast TV and even if you were a 13-year-old kid. The Great Communicator spoke to everyone. Reagan was the only truly great, admirable, and inspiring president that I've been alive for. We are still living out his vision. Reagan remembered for restoring hope—and Christmas lights too When I learned of President Reagan's death I thought of a conversation w/my oldest daughter Virginia back in 1988 when she was in her twenties. "Three or more houses on a block have Christmas lights and it's all because of President Reagan." "President Reagan?" I asked, "what's President Reagan go to do with Christmas lights?" "Mo-om," she said, "President Reagan makes people feel good about America, just being alive and celebrating Christmas." Back then I hadn't really thought about it much; but she was right. During her growing years, lighting up on Christmas usually meant a Marlboro. But by 1988, many folks had put away their crush-proof packs, choosing the finer, healthier things in life. Virginia believed President Reagan did that for all of us by believing in us, by restoring hope to young and old alike. President Reagan created an atmosphere that was OK in fact fashionable to love baseball, apple-pie and motherhood. Unlike my daughter, when I was young "energy" was advertised as "penny cheap." That was a time when kids played with sisters and brothers instead of talking toys; a time when grandparents were home for birthdays and holidays making mouth-watering "Norman Rockwell" - type dinners. Then times changed and people limited their use of electricity and number of offspring. But more than incandescent lights were switched off during those years before Reagan took office. Young people had lost hope. They lost hope in a dream, an American dream to get "the" job and to own a home. For whatever reason, the economy was frightful. College grads who fulfilled mom and pop's dream of a "good education" found themselves without employment in their chosen field. For those who got the job, or worked overtime just to save for a down payment on a house, skyrocketing interest rates shattered their dreams. Then along came President Reagan. "He made us proud again," Virginia said. "He let us know that he cared about us. He believed WE would make things different." Quite honestly, I do know what she's talking about. Like most of our friends, we contribute time and money to help those in need. We always have. But it was President Reagan who promoted volunteering and the faith-based connection. Frankly, those of us who pay taxes are weary of politicians who insist on wasteful bureaucratic assistance projects--projects that do little more than support those who administer them. Such use of money stifles the desire to work, to save and the desire to share. Then President Reagan was elected. He revived the confidence and hope in his fellow Americans. He inspired more people to get involved and volunteer. He gave millions of young people the desire to believe in themselves again, to respect the lives of the youngest and the oldest members of our society, the opportunity to buy a house, to receive an education w/a job to follow. He restored hope; a hope that even pandering politicians could not dim. Now with his passing, I thought about that conversation with Virginia, about the lights and the hope inspired by President Ronald Reagan. Yes, Virginia, and that hope is alive! -Dorothy Fleming
Most articles and commentaries in the week-long, nationwide tribute to President Reagan highlighted his actions and accomplishments. He slashed taxes, tamed inflation, revived the economy, strengthened the military, slew the Soviet bear, and lifted the American spirit. All this he did, and more. But before he could implement this conservative agenda, he had to sell it to a public still clinging to welfare statism and distrustful of military power. He had to use the political process to change the terms of debate. He did so because he combined to an unusual degree political savvy, rhetorical skills, personal magnetism and persuasive powers. Two years after Goldwater lost in the greatest presidential landslide in American history, Reagan carried the Goldwater message to a 1 million vote victory against an incumbent governor. In 1976, he nearly grabbed the nomination from an incumbent president. In the 1980 and 1984 elections, he carried 93 out of 100 states (44 in 1980, 49 in 1984). He made the unthinkable acceptable, and then commonplace. My own experience is, I suspect, typical. A recovering Democrat in 1980, I was leaning Republican in the presidential race, but was convinced early that year that neither I nor the American people could vote for someone as conservative as Reagan. By November, however, I voted enthusiastically for Reagan, and have never looked back. Obviously, I had a lot of company. -Jim Dueholm
I was born shortly after Ronald Reagan's inauguration, however, this did not stop me, as well as many of my college classmates, from learning the principles that Ronald Reagan instilled in this country. Although most of our knowledge did not come from first-hand encounters with our great 40th President, but through reflection and study, and because of Reagan today's college students are more conservative than the generations that preceded his presidency. Many of us have fond memories of sitting in front of the television listening to Ronald Reagan deliver one of his many passionate speeches. My most vivid memory was in early 1987 as a kindergartener, when President Reagan ordered that the Berlin wall be torn down. "Mr. Gorbachev open this gate, Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall," will forever be etched in my mind as one of the greatest speeches of all time. As the Chairman of the Minnesota College Republicans I have had the opportunity to work with college students from across the state as we go campus to campus to spread the conservative principles that we learned from the greatest President of the 20th Century. Today's college students are conservative because of President Reagan and we look forward to spreading his common-sense conservative principles for generations to come. God truly blessed American when he gave us Ronald Reagan! -Jake Grassel, Chairman Minnesota College Republicans
It is highly doubtful I will have anything new to add to the the accolades and fitting tributes you have received. Moreover, my admiration and love for President Reagan has always been virtually beyond what I could express. Nevertheless, here, as best I can, is my attempt to encapsulate his eternal legacy. When Ronald Reagan became President, the economic result of "The Great Society" - not only in terms of debilitating taxation and economic stagnation, but also in terms of the loss of the work, savings and investment ethics that built our country - had nearly destroyed us. As Jimmy Carter, himself, described it, "malaise" gripped our nation. Today, we are still enjoying the unarguable, positive result of the Reagan tax cuts. He new what was needed: Give the American people the incentive to produce, get government out of the way, and watch great things happen! Nikita Kruschev once boasted he would "bury the United States without firing a shot". Ronald Reagan proved Kruschev's theory correct.... the cold war was won without firing a shot! President Reagan deeply understood an oppressed people could never triumph over a free people. Oppression is evil. Ronald Reagan understood that. Notwithstanding the monumental achievements of his economic and foreign policy, to me President Reagan's greatest and simultaneously most endearing legacy will be his indomitable spirit and optimism. Those hallmarks of his character once again became the hallmarks of the American people under his leadership. For these and so many other thoughts I cannot adequately express, I can only say, "Thank you Mr. President". May God bless you and may he continue to bless the American people with leaders like you. -Tom C. Schock, MBA, CFP, CCIM I didn't vote for Ronald Reagan in 1980. I was only 17. But I would have voted for him if I could have. I was a student of history, and I was proud of what this nation had accomplished, from creating the modern democratic state and championing liberty, to winning WWII. I believed that America was the greatest nation ever, not just economically or militarily, but morally. But in the 1970s, it had been getting harder and harder to feel proud to be an American. Worst of all, we had leaders who weren't proud to be Americans. Ronald Reagan changed all that. He reminded us that we were the greatest nation on earth, and he expected us to act the part. Now I've seen a similar turnaround in St. Paul, where I've lived for the past 18 years. St. Paul was once the butt of jokes.Our leaders seemed ready and willing to accept second-rate status. Our time had passed, they seemed to think. Our mayor seemed to think that our only hope was the benevolence of Washington. But now that has changed. Why? I credit St. Paul's 1990s turnaround to an eery similarity to the nation's 1980s turnaround: a two-term Republican chief executive who was a convert from the Democratic party. Mayor Coleman said we shouldn't be feeling sorry for ourselves. He reminded us that St. Paul is Minnesota's capital city. It has a glorious history. It's populated by great people. And together we can do great things. Many scoffed, but he was right. The transformation of St. Paul has been amazing. -David W. Downing, St. Paul
Ronald Reagan was a gallant man; a man without guile or pettiness. He knew that evil existed in the world but believed also that God had endowed his created ones with goodness, decency and great valor too. He witnessed these qualities in those who fought in World War II and all the other crises this country faced around the world. He never forgot their sacrifices on behalf of freedom. He came from humble beginnings and in gaining the presidency he lived the American dream. He knew that, and never lost faith in the idea that it was there for all who worked to attain it. Sure and steadfast in his beliefs, buoyed by his Irish humor, a straight shooter if there ever was one, he rose above the cynics, naysayers in both politics & the media, and he took the American people with him. What a great ride he gave us!
Ronald Reagan's clear headed resolve and understanding that strength is often necessary to meet international threats will be an important part of his legacy. Stimulating the economy through meaningful tax relief set the stage for almost two decades of prosperity and validated supply side economics as creating more tax revenues for everyone to share. We have never had a President who understood these simple principles so well and could put them into effect in ways which history will appreciate. -Bob Macdonald Over twenty years ago Ronald Reagan walked into the White House. At the time I was in High School and had no idea how he would change the world that I would later come to live in. For future generations and mine he lifted the burden of Cold War, increased our incomes, improved our standard of living and gave us a chance to become investors in our future. What made Ronald Reagan a remarkable man and President was his character of courage, kindness, persistence, and honesty but most important was his heroic patience in the face of adversity. During the course of his life he has given us an enduring vision of hope and the blueprint for prosperity and freedom. But most of all he made us believe in ourselves. Since his presidency I have come to value him, as our country has, in ways that I could not have imagined. Not only was President Reagan good for America, he was good for the world. For that, I believe, he will be regarded as one of the greatest Presidents of the twenty-century. May God give him rest. - Brien A. Martin
I spent a week in Poland in 1994, with a family whose mom had been several times imprisoned in the '80s for her work with Solidarity. Eva was a guitar-playing, Joan-Baez loving woman, reminiscent to this American of our own activists in the '60s. With this difference. I asked Eva what she and her colleagues had thought of Ronald Reagan. She replied that, whatever the concerns of many may have been stateside, "he was our hero and our hope. Without Reagan we did not see how our own efforts for freedom could possibly bear fruit. From the White House in Washington Reagan spoke the truth about Soviet evil, flexed the needed military muscle, and gave us confidence that our small works to defeat communist tyranny were valuable." -Todd R. Flanders, Headmaster
The Republican Party of Minnesota joins the rest of the nation in mourning the loss of Ronald Reagan. During a time when America languished in malaise and suffered from uncertainty, Ronald Reagan emerged to remind us of our "rendezvous with destiny" – a destiny that was set in to motion by our founding fathers. For like them, Reagan understood that America is a "shining city on the hill." He described that shining city best in his farewell address when he said, "in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here." Like our founders, Ronald Reagan understood that America’s greatness does not emanate from government; it instead blooms from the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of the American people. Ronald Reagan also believed that as a part of our destiny as "the shining city on the hill," America has a moral responsibility to "not only preserve the flame of freedom, but cast its warmth and light further than those who came before us." That is why, while others urged appeasement and capitulation to the Communist menace, Ronald Reagan refused to back down. The world will never forget the day he stood before the symbol of Communist oppression, the Berlin Wall, and declared, "Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" From this day of mourning onward, let us carry forward the spirit of Ronald Reagan by expanding and protecting the brilliant luster of our shining city on the hill and by casting freedom’s warmth and light even further than those who came before us. -Ronald Eibensteiner, Chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota
When impartial future historians write the history of the twentieth century, they will pay tribute to the greatness of Ronald Reagan and what he did for his beloved America. Coming into office when this country’s morale was at a depressing low point, his sunny optimism, his belief in freedom and opportunity, his courageous leadership, and his simple but strong faith in his God and his country revived America’s flagging spirits, and gave new purpose to its role in the world. His policies set off an eight year boom that took America’s economic strength to new heights, and brought increased prosperity to rich and poor alike.. Thanks to his steadfast moral and political opposition to communism, by the time he departed office our nation’s most menacing foe had fallen into a state of terminal collapse. More so than any president of the 20th Century, the constellation that guided Ronald was his deeply held belief in freedom. As he said in a memorable address to the students of Moscow University in 1988, "Freedom is the recognition that no single person, no single authority or government has a monopoly on the truth, but that every individual life is infinitely precious, that every one of us put on this earth has been put here for a reason and has something to offer… Because [Americans] know that liberty, just as life itself, is not earned, but a gift from God, they seek to share that gift with the world." Ronald Reagan believed in freedom for every person everywhere - the freedom to work at a calling of one’s choice, the freedom to enjoy the fruits of one’s labors, the freedom to own and control one’s property, and the freedom to participate in a free market. He believed in restraining the heavy hand of government in the lives of our people, because as he often said, as government grows, liberty shrinks. "The issue is not one of left and right", he once observed. "The real issue is how to reverse the flow of power to ever more remote institutions, and to restore that power to the individual, the family, and the local community." There is not a man or woman who treads the earth with the spirit of the free who does not thank God that Ronald Reagan lived, and that his life goes marching on. He has at last passed from the dark shadow of his final years into the sunlight, to that little corner of heaven reserved for those who spoke and acted to preserve liberty and advance the rights of mankind. All Americans, and all men and women anywhere in the world who yearn for freedom and human rights, would do well to pluck a flower from Ronald Reagan’s life, and wear it in their soul forever. May he rest in peace and honor. -John McClaughry was a speechwriter for Ronald Reagan from 1977 through the successful Presidential campaign of 1980, and vice chair of the Vermont Reagan for President Committee of 1980. He served as Senior Policy Advisor in the Reagan White House from January 1981 to April 1982, and by President Reagan’s appointment on two presidential advisory commissions. McClaughry later served two terms in the Vermont Senate, and since 1993 has been President of the nonpartisan Ethan Allen Institute. A 17-year-old college student at the time, I worked as a clerk for the local Sears store in the Los Cerritos Mall, and decided to come in to work on my day off to work as a floater. Normally I worked in the men's clothing department, but instead the office assigned me to the toy department, a choice assignment for a weekday, since the kids would all be in school and I could spend most of my time watching the televisions in the adjacent department. When I first walked upstairs, I noticed an unusual crowd of people watching television, including a number of employees. I immediately sensed something wrong, and asked someone I knew what happened. She told me, "Reagan got shot." I looked up at the television to see a replay of the now-famous clip of Reagan, his hand frozen in the air as his easy and cheerful smile disappeared in slow motion. Over and over we watched as James Brady took a bullet in his brain and Tim McCarthy, Reagan's Secret Service agent, took one in the stomach while other agents threw the President into the limousine. Then we waited for some word on whether he would live or die. It seemed like an ongoing circus in the days before 24-hour news; we'd switch from one network to another, hoping to get some new information and instead watched the same clip, over and over again. No one bought anything in the TV department that day. Instead, we hoped, prayed, and comforted each other while we all wondered if the shooter was a nutcase or part of an attack on the US by another nation, or terrorists like the PLO. No one knew. Most of us called our families and friends, having the same conversation over and over again: "Did you hear? Have you seen the video? Has anyone said if he's alive or dead?" You'd ask these questions or get asked them, the same answers would be spoken, and then you'd turn around and have the exact same conversation with someone else. It was all you could do, and in the days before widespread access to CNN and more than a decade before the Internet, those calls were the only action we could take. Despite his age and his serious wounds, God or Providence or dumb luck (you choose) gave Ronald Reagan another twelve good years of life in order to change the world. I know I will always remember March 30, 1981 in a similar way to 9/11 and the Challenger explosion, but more than those events, I will always remember when Reagan changed the world, helped to free half a continent from the Iron Curtain, and consign the murderous tyranny of communism to the dustbin of history. I am forever thankful that we were granted that extra time with Reagan. -Edward Morrissey, Captain's Quarters
Everybody has a story to tell about meeting famous people. The latest is the writer Nora Ephron, who in a New York Times op-ed piece reprinted in the May 20 Star Tribune relates two occasions when she was face to face with President John F. Kennedy while serving as a White House intern. Contrasted with scandalous intern episodes, one very recently exposed, Ephron's tale is almost significant in its insignificance. I have had a similar brush with presidential celebrity. After Ronald Reagan's reelection in 1984, I was asked to accept an award that General Mills was receiving for good corporate citizenship. How I got picked is still something of a puzzle. The senior managers who'd shaped the company's community involvement stance and created programs to foster employee volunteerism certainly had more reason to make the trip to Washington, D.C., than I, a young staffer in the corporate communications department. Yet soon I was flying off to meet Ronald Reagan to accept the thanks of a grateful nation for the example of General Mills. My brief remarks were memorized. I was thrilled about the chance to meet Reagan. Even though I hadn't voted for him, his fame and the aura of the office were captivating. At the Old Senate Office building next door to the White House, I was thoroughly patted down and directed to walk twice through oversize metal detectors. A group had formed by now, which included the CEO of a fast-food chain and the head of a big pharmaceuticals company, each deemed a model of social responsibility. Walking toward the meeting room, I found myself in stride with baseball's home-run king, Hank Aaron, and told him that my father and I saw him hit four homers at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field one summer night. Aaron allowed that it must have been a most unusual night indeed -- an indication I had exaggerated his feat. All the same, my familiarity with greatness was evolving by increments, almost to script. I won't mention what the two other honorees said or did, but they were bland. When it was my turn to move forward and get Reagan's well-wishes, I was introduced as a senior vice president of General Mills, a case of egregious title inflation used to make me seem more worthy of the president's attention. The coordinator added that my company was the maker of a line of popular breakfast cereals. That was all the president needed. He had been a radio announcer in the 1930s, first covering Chicago Cubs games for station WHO in Des Moines. The sponsor of these games was Wheaties, a General Mills product, and Reagan was later named the most popular Wheaties announcer in the country, which earned him a free trip to the Cubs' training camp in California. There he took a Warner Brothers screen test with consequential results. Disengaged and almost bored until now, Reagan jumped up at the sound of General Mills and moved boldly in my direction, and in a loud voice began intoning, "Wheaties! Wheaties! Wheaties!" His boisterousness threw me completely off course. I forgot what I planned to say, as the president pumped my arm vigorously for what seemed like a minute, all the while repeating of the name of the Breakfast of Champions. He didn't want to let go. Before leaving the room, I bowed slightly and whispered to the most powerful man in the world, "God bless you, Mr. President," a wish that came naturally and without artifice. But I was speaking into his bad ear, so the magic for me vanished. Eyes twinkling, he kept smiling past me, reflecting on his halcyon days as a baseball radio announcer, and forgetting for a moment the awful burdens of his office. -Terry Thompson, Minneapolis, is a teacher, writer and former communications officer for General Mills and Pillsbury. This was published May 24, 2003 in the Star Tribune. |