Our Shining Light Ronald Reagan by Jan Ireland

Our Shining Light Ronald Reagan

By Jan Ireland

June 06, 2004

"Leadership is a great burden. We grow weary of it at times. …But if we are not to shoulder the burdens of leadership in the free world, then who will? The alternatives are neither pleasant nor acceptable. Great nations which fail to meet their responsibilities are consigned to the dust bin of history. …We must be willing to carry out our responsibility as the custodian of individual freedom. Then we will achieve our destiny to be as a shining city on a hill for all mankind to see."

America was in great need of Ronald Reagan in the 1980's. Inflation was horrible, Iran still held American citizens as hostages, and recent presidencies had failed to inspire - Lyndon Johnson with the Vietnam War spending, Nixon with Watergate, Gerald Ford with the fallout of Watergate, and Jimmy Carter with his inept economic policies and malaise.

America was not in favor. American flags were not in favor. American patriotism was certainly not in favor.

Ronald Reagan brought America back. He repaired the economy of America with tax cuts, the spirit of America with optimism, and the safety of America with peace through strength.

Ronald Reagan began as an actor. He was a Democrat who grew to be a Republican.

Few thought he would be elected Governor of California, and he proved them wrong twice. Even fewer gave him a chance to become President, especially after a failed first try, and he proved them wrong twice also.

Shortly after being elected Ronald Reagan was shot. His typical one-liner was that he forgot to duck, showing not only his grace under fire, but also his unwavering religious belief and trust in God.

He was a man associated with firsts. He was the oldest man and the first Hollywood actor to be elected President; the first President to appoint a woman, Sandra Day O'Connor, to the Supreme Court; the first President to submit a budget in the unprecedented amount of a trillion dollars; and the first in a long time to realize the importance of America's national defense.

His defense budget included massive military buildup. As he said, "What seems to have been lost in all this debate is the simple truth of how a defense budget is arrived at. It isn't done by deciding to spend a certain number of dollars. …We start by considering what must be done to maintain peace and review all the possible threats against our security."

His peace through strength restored American leadership. "I've called for whatever it takes to be so strong that no other nation will dare violate the peace. If that means superiority, so be it."

He was the first person to tell Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall," though all of his advisors were urging restraint lest he offend communist leaders. The two Germany's became united again. Ronald Reagan, more than any one individual, won the Cold War and the fight against Communism.

He retaliated against terrorists who targeted Americans, sending troops to Libya (after the deaths of American servicemen in a West Berlin bar), and to Grenada (when Communist takeover threatened the future security of Americans).

But by far the most important "first" about Ronald Reagan was that he was American, quintessentially American. His "morning again in America" restored an entire nation's belief in itself.

Ronald Reagan has "slipped the surly bonds of earth," but he remains America's shining light. Americans must fight to preserve individual freedom, as we are doing in Iraq, to avoid the dust bin of history. We must win one more for the Gipper.