Sunday, June 06, 2004
RONALD WILSON REAGAN
I waited until today to express my thoughts about the passing of the greatest President I've known in my lifetime. He was the first President who made me understand why I believed what I believed...and gave me the courage and optimism to express them without fear. He was the first to get me thinking about politics and why they mattered...sadly, I think most of America these days would welcome a return to the kind of politics he practiced.
Ronald Reagan was a radio broadcaster too.
I never knew him personally, of course...but when he left office (I actually got a chance to vote for him in 84) I sat down and wrote him a thank you note. When I read his "goodbye address" though, I realized he was thanking ME and the American people for helping him do what he did. It's an amazing contrast to the self-important "legacy building" we have today with some ex-Presidents (ahem).
Ronald Reagan liked to tell jokes...but those jokes usually meant something. They weren't simply off the cuff laughers, they were to make a point. One of my favorites was about the two boys, Optimist and Pessimist. Scientists were trying to figure out just how much of an optimist and pessimist they were, so they built two rooms. The Pessimist was put into a large room filled with every toy you could imagine. The Pessimist boy cried the whole time because he worried about breaking them and getting in trouble. The Optimist was put into a room filled with manure - floor to ceiling with a few spaces bare for walking. The Pessimist squealed and cried with joy. Scientists were dumbfounded at why he was doing this...thinking him insane, they quickly removed him from the room and asked him why he was so happy. He said, "With all that manure in there...there's got to be a pony somewhere."
Ronald Wilson Reagan will be missed...not just for his sense of optimism, but for the optimism he inspired in a generation. It was the greatest expression of pride for America, patriotism, optimism, a can-do attitude I witnessed in my lifetime. And it all happened because of his leadership...not because some planes hit a few buildings. He inspired me to think beyond myself...to do the right thing even if I met with difficulty in being persuaded to go the easy path.
I hope some of the campaign literature that George W people print up have just a simple tag-line - "George, when the team is up against it, when things are wrong and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go in there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper."
Let's Roll, George...for Ronny.
I waited until today to express my thoughts about the passing of the greatest President I've known in my lifetime. He was the first President who made me understand why I believed what I believed...and gave me the courage and optimism to express them without fear. He was the first to get me thinking about politics and why they mattered...sadly, I think most of America these days would welcome a return to the kind of politics he practiced.
Ronald Reagan was a radio broadcaster too.
I never knew him personally, of course...but when he left office (I actually got a chance to vote for him in 84) I sat down and wrote him a thank you note. When I read his "goodbye address" though, I realized he was thanking ME and the American people for helping him do what he did. It's an amazing contrast to the self-important "legacy building" we have today with some ex-Presidents (ahem).
Ronald Reagan liked to tell jokes...but those jokes usually meant something. They weren't simply off the cuff laughers, they were to make a point. One of my favorites was about the two boys, Optimist and Pessimist. Scientists were trying to figure out just how much of an optimist and pessimist they were, so they built two rooms. The Pessimist was put into a large room filled with every toy you could imagine. The Pessimist boy cried the whole time because he worried about breaking them and getting in trouble. The Optimist was put into a room filled with manure - floor to ceiling with a few spaces bare for walking. The Pessimist squealed and cried with joy. Scientists were dumbfounded at why he was doing this...thinking him insane, they quickly removed him from the room and asked him why he was so happy. He said, "With all that manure in there...there's got to be a pony somewhere."
Ronald Wilson Reagan will be missed...not just for his sense of optimism, but for the optimism he inspired in a generation. It was the greatest expression of pride for America, patriotism, optimism, a can-do attitude I witnessed in my lifetime. And it all happened because of his leadership...not because some planes hit a few buildings. He inspired me to think beyond myself...to do the right thing even if I met with difficulty in being persuaded to go the easy path.
I hope some of the campaign literature that George W people print up have just a simple tag-line - "George, when the team is up against it, when things are wrong and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go in there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper."
Let's Roll, George...for Ronny.
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