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A Tribute To Ronald Wilson Reagan, 40th President Of The United States

 

The year was 1980 and I will never forget the way things were in America regarding inflation and unemployment with both being in double digits yet the exact numbers, I did not know at the time but I could feel there were severe problems much like there are today. I, for my part turned 13 years of age in that particular year and despite my youth, I could sense a certain amount of despair in the talk of those who often referred to how much purchasing power the dollar had lost in recent years; not only in the United States but abroad as well.

 

This was also the year in which I heard the name "Ronald Reagan" for the first time and even with some frequency with it being an election year and though I knew nothing about his politics or even conservative ones as opposed to liberal ones; I did take in interest in him. I, at that time not even knowing that he had been governor of California or that he at one point had been an actor yet I started following his campaign and the victories he was obtaining in the primaries. There being something about him which omitted a sense of victory and even confidence in a mission which was not so much in what he said but the way he felt when he expressed his message. It was sometime in the spring of 1980 that I started thinking he would be our next President yet in all truth, I did not consider the matter with too much attention.

 

The summer came that year as it had every previous year yet with the exception that my sister and brother-in-law, unlike in previous years took me on their trip to Europe. It being during that particular trip that I got to visit Italy, France as well as Spain, where we spent the longest amount of time; in what turned out to be a marvelous adventure through out the southern portion of the European continent yet in all there was one conversation I will never forget. It taking place in the "Santiago Bernabeo Stadium" during the half time break in the match between Real Madrid (Spain) and Benfica (Portugal) that a friend of my brother-in-law asked me if I wanted to be a US citizen or perhaps I had considered taken up the citizenship of my mother's country. I, at the time said that I had not decided one way or the other regarding weather or not to keep my American citizenship though I had considered other possibilities. It was then that this man (whose name I do not recall) said that he could understand why I might want to change my nationality. This given how to a certain extent in his view along with that of many others (even in America); the United States was a country which had had its great moments but these were clearly a part of its past and not its future. The United States being a country much like the city of Rome which at one point in its history had been the greatest and mightiest empire on earth but clearly never would be again. This also being the case with the United States or at least in the eyes of many both in and out of the United States, who simply felt the United States was a country which like so many in the past had reached the point where it would no longer by the power it was in the late 40s (after World War II) and during the 50s.

 

This being the time when American military and economic might were by the far the world's strongest. Of course like Rome and the United Kingdom along with France, so too would the United States endure but no longer as the great world power it had once been. This being how the United States in the opinion of many was being overtaken by the Soviet Union with regards to many aspects that not only included the military one. It seeming as if perhaps America's time had come and gone while that of Soviet Union was about to start.

 

I, in all this must say that I did see the point all these people were trying to make and even found a certain logic in their arguments. This however not being from having any pro communist feelings (not that I even knew what communism was at the time) or anti-American ones for that matter but from the way certain things appeared at the time. I, also remember hearing my sister claim to her husband during that hot summer in Madrid that she felt there was no possible way Ronald Reagan would be elected and this I did not really understand why so many made this claim. As he was wining many of the primaries and many of the polls suggested that he would be elected. Ronald Reagan's becoming President in the esteem of many being similar to death's arrival in the sense that it is something we all know deep down will come but we just hope perhaps against hope that it will not.

 

The summer of 1980 was also the summer in which the Olympic games were held in Moscow and due to my being in Madrid, I was able to watch them on television. This being something I would not have been able to do had I been in the States, given the way in which President Carter chose to boycott the Moscow Olympic games in a way which not only included not sending a delegation but not even allowing the games to be broadcast on American television. The logic of this move being one which till this day escapes me as to why Carter felt that not sending American athletes to a sporting event along with not covering that event, all be it an important one; was going to get the Soviet Union to pull out of Afghanistan.

 

Of course with regards to the Soviet Union, Jimmy Carter went as far as to order a grain embargo which might have hurt the Soviet Union yet most definitely not where it mattered as the military would still find what it needed to perform its invasion while the average citizen would be the one who would surely suffer due to this decision. This not even mentioning farmers in America who most definitely suffered a loss of revenue given the huge amount of grain they exported to the Soviet Union which no other country was in conditions to buy from them.

 

Another thing, I remember during the summer of 1980 was hearing about Poland and its Solidarity moment along with a man by the name of Lech Wałęsa though this bit of news did not mean so much to me at the time. There even being talk of a Soviet Invasion of Poland in the months to come, much like had been the case with Hungary in 56 or Czechoslovakia in 68 yet it did not come to this.

 

My trip to Europe was full of rewarding experiences yet like all good things it too came to an end when I returned to America, ready to start the school. It being during the month of September that talk of the upcoming presidential election increased which made me become more aware of the election process then ever before. I, getting the impression that Reagan talked more about practical solutions to solving the economic problems of the time such as inflation and unemployment while Carter limited himself to talking about theories and ideas not directly connected to the problems of the day.

 

Naturally, with it being so close to the presidential election, there were a number of TV commercials advising one to not only vote for Ronald Reagan but Jimmy Carter as well as Anderson; an independent candidate. The last of these candidates being the one I remember mostly for his gray hair. Many were the commercials yet there was one which I will never forget and though the exact words elude me; the message is what I remember till this day. It being one in which an older gentleman says something which more or less went like this though perhaps not word for word. "The other day I heard my son say that the strongest country on earth was the Soviet Union (which was also what I was starting to think at the time given many factors) and this worried me and that is why this year. I am voting republican".  The commercial ended with words to the nature of "make America strong again, vote for Reagan, vote for strong leadership".

 

Many were the commercials on both sides with such notables as Henry Fonda campaigning for Jimmy Carter yet it was a speech by Reagan which ended up convincing me in which he said something which more or less went like this "Many are saying that America has seen her best days, that they are behind us never to return well they are just trying justify there leadership or lack of leadership and their lose of faith in this nation and its people which made it the great country it was and still is but I am here to tell you that America's best days are still in front of us" and though exact words are not important; the message is for in all words are but a tool for expressing thoughts. It being not only the message itself but the way he expressed himself and believed in what he said that made me believe that all the talk about America not being the world's strongest nation was just that and where some simply had given up on America and its possibilities others such as Reagan had not.

 

The election came and Reagan won with relative ease to became the 40th American President yet many were still skeptical as to weather or not things would be better with Reagan. In looking back I even remember some referring to Reagan as the anti-Christ, claiming he even had the number to confirm such nonsense yet be that as it might have been in the years to come inflation and unemployment along with interest rates on homes did go down significantly. There was even the day, he was almost killed by a man who in his love for actress Jodie Foster made an attempt on the life of Reagan which came ever so close to killing him. As one of the bullets fired by this individual came within a few centimeters of Reagan's heart yet thanks to the quick reaction of those around him; he was saved. This incident creating a memorable situation when Reagan said "I hope you are all Republicans" just before he was about to be operated on. It being the surgeon (Joseph Giordano, a Democrat) who was about to perform the operation who memorably replied  "Today, Mr. President, we're all Republicans."

 

Reagan's first four years went by and he was true to his word as in fact things were better for a lot of people. As for my family, I can honestly say that we went from being part of the economic lower classes to being part of the upper middle classes. As it was in these years that my family's standard of living went up which led to me attending a private school as opposed to the public ones I had up till then. It in fact being during my school's 1984 graduation ceremony that I heard (though I myself was not amongst the graduating students in that particular year) a man, who was most likely affluent and definitely a liberal claim what would be repeated in the Democratic convention of that very year. This being that the rich were getting richer while the poor were getting poorer.

 

This being something I had heard before from many people and still do about those days yet in all something seemed funny to me then as it still does today and this being that I have yet to hear a poor person make this claim about the policies of the Reagan administration. It always being rich liberals who made such statements yet never the poor themselves. It being as if the poor did not know enough or were not of intelligence sufficient to see that they were getting poorer and were in need of others who had never known poverty to inform them that they were getting poorer. I even wondered as I heard this man speak on that hot day in June of 1984 that perhaps all the time, my family had in fact become poorer and not better off as we had thought given the way our income had increased along with the standard of living we had which allowed us to not only make more trips abroad but even buy an apartment. All of which leading me to believe that it is always funny how liberals in America, who claim to be in favor of the poor, for the most part are rich and always seem to know more what is better for the poor then even the poor do.

 

It was also in that year, in the first week of November that Ronald Reagan was re-elected by one of the widest margins in US history. As he won every state with the sole exception of Minnesota and the District of Columbia and though I did not vote; given the fact that I was only 17 years old at the time; I can say in all honesty that I would have done so for Reagan had my expired years allowed me to. Reagan however in spite of not having my vote won and went on to serve four more years as President of the United States.

 

Much happened during Reagan's second term in office yet perhaps what he will mostly be remembered for are the Iran-Contra Affair and the way he brought an end to the cold war. It being Reagan who through out all of his presidency had been against the government of the Soviet Union but never its people. Reagan on many occasions declaring that governments that do not respect the rights of their own people are not those that can be trusted to live up to any agreement. I, for my part once heard in a film, the title of which escapes me that only Nixon could travel to China yet I being of another generation believe that be that as it may; only Reagan could make peace with the Soviet Union. There are many views on Reagan and his presidency along with his accomplishments and like with all other men in high positions not all of what was said about him was positive. Reagan also having his weak points but then again who does not; yet he was able to work with others and at times put aside his ego for the greater good.

 

I, for what concerns me remember Reagan for many things which include creating the biggest economic recovery in US history, even larger than Clinton's when we consider how low the economy had sunk in the late 70s along with the way he made America strong again. This to include ways that went beyond the military and the economy yet there is another side of Reagan I wish to write about in this article. It being a story which perhaps not many have heard about and though it was not perhaps a major issue at the time, it is one which in my opinion truly captures the essence of the man. As it manages to go beyond bombastic political speeches and in to what in my opinion if nobody else's makes a man, a true leader.

 

The year was 1987, when many were worried about aids and the HIV virus. It being a time when people were afraid of any who they even suspected of being infected yet it was for the most part known that casual contact did not lead to getting this fatal disease. It was in those days that I heard a story of a child even younger then my daughter is today, who was denied the opportunity to go school due being infected with the HIV virus. It being the administrators of a school which refused to admit her giving her illness yet it was Reagan, much to the surprise of many of his liberal critics, who spoke out in her defense. Reagan claiming that "there is no place for fear in the home of brave" as he intervened on the girl's behalf; who was eventually allowed back to school. It being actions such as these which though perhaps small in the grand scale of things, marked the way Reagan really was and thought. Reagan being a man of integrity and though I did not always agree with him on all issues such as religion (me being an agnostic), I do share many of his political views to include his stance against Communism along with many others.

 

As for the lighter side of Reagan, it is not without cause that he was and till this day remains one of America's best loved presidents. As he even had an ability not only to laugh at his political opponents but himself as well. This including a sense of humor which I think though I can not speak with certainty might have enjoyed hearing his name mentioned by the fictional conservative known as "Archie Bunker" from the sitcom "All In The Family". It being Archie who said after the 76 presidential elections that because he did not like either Carter or Ford that he wrote in Reagan; after which he claimed that we would get him in 1980 which we in fact did. All of which being most interesting, as Reagan really did receive a considerably high number of write in votes in states such as New Hampshire and Wyoming and even won an electoral vote from a faithless electorate in Washington state.

 

In conclusion, I would like to say that Reagan was definitely a man who had his strong points as well as weak ones yet he was able to give the United States as well as the world what it needed when it was his time to serve. Reagan being a man, who was strong enough to stand up for what he believed in while being flexible enough to work with the Soviet Union in bringing to an end, a tense situation which might in fact have ended life on earth as we know it. This in spite of some of his party members such as Gingrich, claiming his policies of engagement with the Soviets were those of appeasement which could not have been further from the truth.

 

I would like to end this article with a humorous moment which in a way involved Reagan. It happened back in 1981 when I went to the cinema to see the film "Superman II". There was a moment in the film when three very powerful visitors from Superman's planet enter the White House and ask to see the president. This creating a moment of drama during the film yet I will never forget how some guy yelled out "your gonna get it now, Reagan" to the laughter of many who heard his comment. Naturally, never having met Reagan personally, I can not say how he would have reacted to this person's comments yet I imagine that with his friendly sense of humor he might have chuckled.

About the Author

My name is Gianni Truvianni, I am an author who writes with the simple aim of sharing his ideas, thoughts and so much more of what I am with those who are interested in perhaps reading something new. I also am the author of the book entitled "New York's Opera Society" which is now available on Amazon.

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