Posted on 02/07/2003 4:41:54 PM PST by TLBSHOW
The Gipper Taught Us to Dream Again
By Joseph J. Sabia
February 6 is a day that American conservatives look Westward and salute the greatest president of our lifetime, Ronald Reagan. The Gipper turned 92 today. Ronald Reagan committed his public life to fighting for liberty. The legacy that he left behind was one of more freedom, less government intrusion in our lives, greater military might, and enhanced optimism for the future. He made our shining city on a hill shine all the more brightly.
Nowadays, displaying optimism is just a strategy for most politicians. For instance, Bob Dole was said to have too much of a scowl for the voters. Jonathan Alter told a great story about Dole’s performance in the 1996 Republican primary. A little girl, maybe five or six years old, ran up to Dole and said, “Sir, I am very worried about acid rain. What are you going to do to keep the environment clean?” Dole looked down at the little girl and said, “That bill’s in mark-up,” and walked off.
Dole’s dark humor might have given reporters a laugh, but he never was able to shed the image of being an angry old man, despite his advisors’ attempt to make him appear more optimistic. In fact, when Dole tried to campaign like an optimist, he looked terribly insincere.
Ronald Reagan was the genuine article. He believed that it was always morning in America and that the key to our nation’s future success was to foster the dreams and ingenuity of individuals. He trusted everyone—perhaps at times too much—and truly believed that everything would work out for the best if folks put their faith in God, practiced a strong work ethic, and spoke the truth.
Many leftists and moderates view Reagan an “amiable dunce” because he never stayed up all night with advisors, ate pizza and dissected Section 289.4-3 of a Medicaid reform bill. Ronald Reagan did not care about inconsequential details and endless minutia—he cared about big ideas. Upon entering the White House in January 1981, he set his sights on conquering inflation, slashing taxes, reducing unemployment, boosting military spending, and defeating Soviet communism. The “amiable dunce” accomplished all of his major policy goals, including a victory in the Cold War.
Ronald Reagan had what no liberal politician since Franklin Roosevelt has had—courage. Reagan told the truth. He told the truth when it was not diplomatic to do so. He told the truth when there was a political price to pay. He told the truth when his Cabinet, his advisors, and his party advised him to be more “politically sensitive.” During his first press conference, Sam Donaldson asked President Reagan about his perceptions of Soviet goals and whether détente was possible. Reagan responded by saying:
”Well, so far détente’s been a one-way street that the Soviet Union has used to pursue its own aims. I don’t have to think of an answer as to what I think their intentions are; they have repeated it. I know of no leader of the Soviet Union since the revolution, and including the present leadership, that has not more than once repeated, in the various Communist congresses they hold, their determination that their goal must be the promotion of world revolution and a one-world Socialist or Communist state, whichever word you want to use. Now, as long as they do that and as long as they, at the same time, have openly and publicly declared that the only morality they recognize is what will further their cause, meaning they reserve unto themselves the right to commit any crime, to lie, to cheat, in order to attain that.”
Following this statement, there was outrage among non-conservatives. Many fretted that in his first press conference, Reagan had overturned 35 years of foreign policy doctrine. “Why couldn’t he be more diplomatic?” they wondered. Reagan answered his critics directly:
“I think I should point out I was only quoting Lenin, their guiding spirit, who said in 1920 that they repudiate all morality that proceeds from supernatural ideas—that’s their name for religion—or ideas that are outside class conceptions.”
Ronald Reagan was never afraid of the truth. He spoke in terms of black and white, good and evil. And in doing so, he infuriated the intellectual class, who always saw shades of gray in the world and never believed in easy answers. In his most famous statement about the Soviets in March 1983, Reagan warned a group of evangelical Christians:
”I urge you to beware the temptation of pride—the temptation of blithely declaring yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire, to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the struggle between right and wrong and good and evil.”
This statement is often cited because of Reagan’s bold declaration that the Soviet Union was “evil.” And, of course, he was right. But there is something else. In these remarks, Reagan denounced the doctrine of moral equivalence, a philosophy adopted today by many on the American Left. Today, we see far too many in religious circles opposing war in Iraq because, they say, “violence begets violence” and “the U.S. is at fault too.” Once again, these criticisms ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil regime.
Ronald Reagan was a treasure to this nation, a courageous and bold leader like none other. He inspired us. He reminded us that our best days lay ahead, that today’s tears would be tomorrow’s laughter, and that God was always with us. Ronald Reagan taught us to dream again. He made us see the stars. And isn’t that what America is all about? Happy Birthday, Mr. President. We love you.
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