Who Loves Ronald Reagan and Why

After typing the last post, I went to YouTube and typed in the words Ronald Reagan. Sometimes I just like to hear and see him speak. His words are inspiring.

Some people do not like Reagan, but many more do. In fact, I think the national media was surprised by the way the country reacted to Reagan's death. Just like film critic Pauline Kael, who once said, "I don't know how Richard Nixon won. I don't know anybody who voted for him," most in the media never understood what Ronald Reagan meant to the average American. In spite of his two landslide victories, they probably never knew anybody who voted for him.

It is laughable when big media journalists claim to be unbiased. It is not as if they are lying when they make that statement though. They actually believe they are telling the truth. They actually believe that most people think like them and see the world the way they see the world. They actually think that they are mainstream.

But they are not mainstream. Most Americans have never even been to New York, much less attended Columbia University. Most Americans don't even make enough in one year to cover tuition at Columbia. Most Americans even have the gall to think that they know more about how to run their lives than do Ivy League elites.

We don't have any Ronald Reagans today. The Republican Party has reverted back to the way it was pre-Reagan, which is not much different than the Democrats. Sadly though, populism is still alive and well. On the so called right, we have a Yale graduate and Harvard MBA, stirring up the common folk with the gay marriage issue. On the left, we have the usual wealthy elitists fanning the flames of class envy for their own selfish interests.

Both of these groups prey on and benefit from the worst in human beings. The right populists use fear and bigotry to their advantage, while the liberal populists benefit from envy, one of the worst of the seven deadlies.

Ronald Reagan was much different. He brought out the best in human beings, that proud, patriotic, and hard working spirit that built this republic. He reminded us that we were great. He referred to the United States as a "shining city on the hill." He didn't grow up in a wealthy family. He grew up poor, the son of a town drunk. He wasn't wealthy enough or educated enough to attend an Ivy League school. Instead he attended a small college in Illinois. He became a sports announcer and later an actor. He lived and embodied the American dream. Reagan was one of us. He never became one of them. As a matter of fact, most Republican elites despised Reagan. They considered him to be a simpleton, not smart enough to be President. The Presidency was supposed to be reserved for people like them, not people like Reagan.

Reagan was elected when America was at its worst. High taxes had crippled our economy by taking away the incentive to create wealth. Our self-esteem was at an all time low. Intercontinental ballistic missiles were pointed at us and at the Soviet Union. We were losing the Cold War and Eastern Europe was still being held captive by communism. Radical Islamists in Iran were holding Americans hostage and there was nothing we could do about it. When Reagan left office, the American economy was growing, and we had won the Cold War without ever firing a shot. When he was elected in 1980, America was weak. When he left, America was strong. Reagan reminded us that we were the greatest nation on the face of the earth, a "shining city on a hill."

He also made his share of mistakes. He wasn't perfect, but he was the best we ever had. This country needs another Reagan. The Republican Party needs somebody who actually believes that government is not the answer. We need peace through strength. When I look at our current Republican President and I gloss over the 2008 candidates, I feel discouraged. What happened and how did we get here? I don't know, but I do know this. We need another Reagan, another common man who believes that human beings serve themselves better than any government ever could.