The 20th Century's greatest President

This was a week that will be forever remembered in the annals of American History. The greatest President of the 20^th Century was laid to rest. Ronald Reagan did more to revive the spirit and prosperity of America –and the world –than any other of our time. Why is it then that those on the far-left insist on slandering this great American? Though I had resolved to ignore it in writing, such resolve is predictably absent regarding this matter. But, in honor of the unbridled optimism of Reagan in life, I will attempt to address the issue in the most upbeat fashion possible. Let me apologize in advance for the liberality of my use of quotation; but it is a qualified apology, because no one defended Reagan better than Reagan himself.

            Far from pandering to the rich, as is often cited, Reagan did something that was previously not even considered; instead of taxing everyone to pay the way for the poor (thereby ensuring that they perpetually exist in poverty), Reagan dared to redefine the economic system of America. Some call it “tax cuts for the rich”, “Reaganomics”, or more properly, “supply side economics”. This idea of reducing operating costs for the production and distribution of products to decrease prices, while simultaneously reducing  taxation to promote spending, created wealth and jobs in an increasingly impoverished nation. After nearly 25 years, this method still fuels economic growth. He led a program that refused to support able workers on mass scale, and provided the economic environment that would allow these people to support themselves. From the 60s to 1980, inflation rose to 14%. By 1988 it was at 1%. Unemployment went from 10% in 1980 to 5.5% in ’88. The economy grew an astounding 85% under Ronald Reagan.

            Even this “tough love” approach to poverty was tempered with compassion. Critics cite the fact that budget allocations for federally subsidized housing were immediately and drastically reduced in Reagan’s first year, and continued to stay below some liberal “bench mark” of acceptability. What is often not presented in these discussions is the fact that the actual number of government aided dwellings quadrupled during the 80’s. This was largely due to the fact that the money allocated was actually spent instead of held over for later projections.

            It is difficult for many of us under 40 to imagine what government was like in the 70s, after decades of tax and spend philosophies. Reagan was at the forefront of the fight way back in 1975. After describing the consequences of these policies, he describes, as only someone of Reagan's abilities can, an example:

            "One Congressman found the federal government was spending 4 billion dollars on research in its own laboratories but did not know where they were, how many people were working in them, or what they were doing. One of the research projects was "The Demography of Happiness," and for 249,000 dollars we found that "people who make more money are happier than people who make less, young people are happier than old people, and people who are healthier are happier than people who are sick." For 15 cents they could have brought an Almanac and read the old bromide, "Its better to be rich, young and healthy, tan poor, old and sick." [First Conservative Political Action Conference, Jan. 25, 1975]

            Reagan, along with other visionaries of the time, were trying to show the American people the way to a prosperous future lies not in the hands of large government and its endless programs, but in that of the people.

            The San Francisco Times loudly and bluntly proclaimed that Reagan practically invented homelessness. They tell us that, due to Reagan’s policies, we now have a new household term –“the homeless”. They are correct in this, but miss the reality of the matter. Before the 80s they were just called “bums”, and there were far more in the 70s than the 80s. I don’t suppose I should be surprised to see that this and other “unbiased” news publications fail to tell of the long phone conversations President Reagan had from the White house with normal citizens, listening to their problems, and even writing personal checks. This is not the side they want us to see.

            When it is repeated (often as of late it would seem) that Reagan “funded guerillas”, it is not mentioned that these “guerillas” were fighting oppressive Communist regimes for their natural human and civil rights. In 1980, the world considered Western civilization to be on the way out, with Soviet Communism on the way in. It was also considered that this form of Communist rule was a “moral equivalent” of sorts with any other type of government. When the world, and even some Americans, maintained these positions, Ronald Reagan saw not only the inherently oppressive regime in the USSR, but also ingeniously found each weakness, and envisioned its eventual fall. By playing their game of militaristic expansion, Reagan ended the Cold War for good and the Soviet nation fell. Playing their game with their rules, Reagan not only led America to victory, but did so while making friends with the fallen nation! The very real fears of global nuclear annihilation nearly eliminated by the vision of this man, who Americans often liked to joke was absent-minded or ignorant, but who foreign leaders recognized as a tough negotiator, an able leader, and a visionary planner. He allowed any and every American the right to make fun and tell jokes about him, and would even laugh at himself along with us. But the United Nations wasn’t joking. Russia wasn’t joking. The world took him very seriously.

            It is true , as the lefties say, that the deficit soared through the Reagan years. Here again the immediacies of convenience are asserted to hide the realities of the big picture. By “out militarizing” the Soviet Union, Reagan ended what would otherwise be a perpetual competition with Communism. Russia would have continued indefinitely to assert itself onto the world, expanding to every corner, creating an eternal economic drain on our resources and, more importantly, the perpetual threat of Communist takeover or nuclear annihilation. Instead of ignoring the threat, Reagan asserted the American ideals of freedom and liberty and the peoples of the world took notice. Communist governments still stood, but the people under these governments, because of Reagan, began to see the benefits and realities of life in a free society, and the oppressive right-robbing regimes of Communism eventually fell by the wayside for many countries. Additionally, by instituting the innovative economic policies famously (and infamously) known as “Reaganomics”, he ensured that the deficit would fall so long as the federal government continued to act in a responsible manner. When these governments fell, Reagan didn’t impose our nation upon them, nor did he use the opportunity to exploit these fallen systems of government. He opened his hand in friendship and fostered goodwill between equals, offering with it the aid and support of the greatest nation on earth. Lifetime enemies became lifetime friends, and differences that were insurmountable before him became nonexistent in his wake.

            Just as important as his policy was his optimism. Reagan's optimism was literally infecting the nation and the world. His combination of love and admiration for the ideals of America with an ability to communicate those ideals was simply impossible to overturn. He had a way of making us remember what made this country great. It wasn't policies and programs, or even government power. It was the heart and dedication to ideal that made our nation great. Earlier in the above-quoted speech, Reagan brings to life an all but forgotten piece of American past that reminded those in audience (and hopefully present-day readers), of what really determined the success of this nation, when he recounted the following:

             "The great powers of Europe still had the idea that one day this great continent would be open again to colonizing and they would come over and divide us up. 
            In the meantime, men who yearned to breathe free were making their way to our shores. Among them was a young refugee from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He had been a leader in an attempt to free Hungary from Austrian rule. The attempt had failed and he fled to escape execution. In America, this young Hungarian, Koscha by name, became an importer by trade and took out his first citizenship papers. One day, business took him to a Mediterranean port. There was a large Austrian warship under the command of an admiral in the harbor. He had a manservant with him. He had described to this manservant what the flag of his new country looked like. Word was passed to the Austrian warship that this revolutionary was there and in the night he was kidnapped and taken aboard that large ship. This man's servant, desperate, walking up and down the harbor, suddenly spied a flag that resembled the description he had heard. It was a small American war sloop. He went aboard and told Captain Ingraham, of that war sloop, his story. Captain Ingraham went to the American Consul. When the American Consul learned that Koscha had only taken out his first citizenship papers, the consul washed his hands of the incident. Captain Ingraham said, “I am the senior officer in this port and I believe, under my oath of my office, that I owe this man the protection of our flag.”
           He went aboard the Austrian warship and demanded to see their prisoner, our citizen. The Admiral was amused, but they brought the man on deck. He was in chains and had been badly beaten. Captain Ingraham said, “I can hear him better without those chains,” and the chains were removed. He walked over and said to Kocha, “I will ask you one question; consider your answer carefully. Do you ask the protection of the American flag?” Kocha nodded dumbly “Yes,” and the Captain said, “You shall have it.” He went back and told the frightened consul what he had done. Later in the day three more Austrian ships sailed into harbor. It looked as though the four were getting ready to leave. Captain Ingraham sent a junior officer over to the Austrian flag ship to tell the Admiral that any attempt to leave that harbor with our citizen aboard would be resisted with appropriate force. He said that he would expect a satisfactory answer by four o'clock that afternoon. As the hour neared they looked at each other through the glasses. As it struck four he had them roll the cannons into the ports and had then light the tapers with which they would set off the cannons -- one little sloop. Suddenly the lookout tower called out and said, “They are lowering a boat,” and they rowed Koscha over to the little American ship.
           Captain Ingraham then went below and wrote his letter of resignation to the United States Navy. In it he said, “I did what I thought my oath of office required, but if I have embarrassed my country in any way, I resign.” His resignation was refused in the United States Senate with these words: “This battle that was never fought may turn out to be the most important battle in our Nation's history.” Incidentally, there is to this day, and I hope there always will be, a USS Ingraham in the United States Navy." [Jan 25, 1975]

            That is what made America great. That is what America forgot and later remembered, if not the particular incident, at least the mentality. That was Reagan's greatest contribution to the American society. 
            All of this is side-stepped by the left, who will grant that Reagan was a “great communicator”. They do this because they do not wish for us to see the actual tangible benefits he provided for all of us in his 8 years of service to this country. The left has been extremely successful in this respect, and today many only generally remember Reagan as a “great communicator” (speaking of course of those under 30, who were not so directly affected by Reagan during his administration). This is a travesty of history, which hopefully will be remedied.
            Finally, there's a lot of talk on the right about which monetary denomination should receive Reagan's portrait, and on the left on why it shouldn't be on any. If you ask me, they're all fair game except for the dollar bill and the quarter, because in my view the only president comparable in character and tangible positive impact on this nation is George Washington.

            He took a world of fear and instilled hope for all. He took a tired nation, burdened with lack of spirit and vitality, and turned it back to a former glory, when being American was something special in the world. Pessimism evaporated before his gaze, leaving only the optimism that comes with hope for a better tomorrow. Walls fell because of him, and millions were granted unknown rights due to his fearless confrontation of oppression. Once again America was seen as a beacon of freedom and liberty. He laughed and the world laughed with him. All the way to the bank.