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The Legacy of Ronald Reagan - Freedom Man

By Judson Cox

June 06, 2004

Today, we mourn the loss of President Ronald Reagan. His impact on history cannot be overestimated. The world will remember him as the man who saved us all from nuclear destruction and freed half the world from the slavery of communism. America will remember him as the man who saved us from despair. He made us proud to be Americans again; he gave us hope. Before Ronald Reagan, most people who thought about the fate of freedom came to the conclusion that it could not stand the assault of communism - it was inevitable that America fall. President Reagan reminded us that freedom is not a privilege, nor equality an experiment - that those who oppressed masses of humanity under the jackbooted heel did so in opposition to the spirit of mankind and the will of his creator. Ronald Reagan restored to us our birthright - hope.

President Reagan assured us that there would be better times ahead. Indeed, there were. His economic policy gave us the largest peace time expansion in history. His foreign policy brought down walls and opened prison doors. To those of us who witnessed his presidency as children, he was America - a real life embodiment of the characters John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart played in movies. He was the hero who rode to the rescue, who saved the day and who humbly accepted praise with a wink, a grin and a self deprecating joke.

I was three years old when President Reagan was elected. For those of my generation, Ronald Reagan was an incredible influence upon our lives. For us, he was not merely a President - a national leader, distant and powerful. He was more like a national grandfather. He was wise and good humored; he laughed as he watched us hunt Easter eggs on the White House lawn, and told us stories on television. He provided an example of optimistic Americanism that echoed the best of our nation's history and a powerful, masculine leadership to which we should aspire. He showed strength and humility, faith in the Lord and in his fellow man.

At once, he was larger than life and all too human. He survived an assassination attempt, defeated an evil empire, cured our own malaise and became the greatest President of the 20th Century. He brought to fruition the conservative movement, returned faith to the public square and made us all proud to be Americans. Through it all though, he never lost his human touch, his humility - he made it clear that an American President is a servant to the people; there are no rulers here. He left some very large shoes to fill, but left us also with the truth that in this great land, this "shining city on a hill," a poor mid-western kid, from an Irish Catholic family, with an alcoholic father and all odds set against him, could become President of the United States of America, leader of the free world.

His legacy urges us, no matter the circumstances we face, to "win one for the Gipper" - to live up to the privileges granted us by the sacrifices of our forefathers. He passes to us a torch, a vision of America as a beacon of freedom and a light of hope in a world of despair and despotism. In a speech, President Reagan told of a refugee in a boat, calling out to the Coast Guard, "Hello America. Hello freedom man!" That is who Ronald Reagan was, he was America.