More than in years past, it seems right to revisit our past great leaders like Ronald Reagan, and, last week, Andrew Breitbart, on what would have been their birthdays. Today would have been Ronald Reagan’s birthday; he was born February 6, 1911, in Tampico, Illinois.
I was born in 1980, and associate Reagan more broadly than specifically with a time of honorable presidents, a belief in America’s exceptionalism and its power, and a humility. Today, it seems almost impossible that an American president would view himself as a servant-leader rather than mandate-driven demi-god, but that is above all how I think of Reagan.
Reagan’s character, his style of leadership, his principles economic and foreign, and his legacy are all, really *must* all, be under attack today by the left because he was proven right.
Charles Krauthammer has written that the left has taken to describing Reagan, dismissively, as an “optimist” rather than the tough visionary he was. I came across this video, a promotion for a film about the Reagan Ranch, and it seemed, to me, to capture what the description “optimist” misses about Reagan:
When Reagan responds to Margaret Thatcher’s question of what he does at his ranch, he responds:
It casts a spell, there’s such a sense of seclusion and, I suppose, it’s the scriptural line, “I look to the hills from whence cometh my strength.” I understand it a little better when I’m up here.
I understand it all a little better when I return to the servant-leadership of Reagan.
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Comments
What a beautiful, awful, wonderful, terrible contrast.
Ronald Reagan, who loved his nation and people.
Barrackah Obama, who deplores his nation and loves himself.
Well said Rags.
That’s for sure. They were inspiring years, Reagen as governor, and later as president. Among other things, I remember the awe with which we watched him fire the illegally striking aircraft control workers.
They were inspiring years.
Ah, as a young, non-conformist know-it-all under his command, he changed the attitude and course of countless, like me.
Believe in yourself, your country, God Almighty. Never about him.
Antithesis of Cult of Obama.
Obama never inspires us to be great … he tells us what haters and racists we are and how our country has harmed those we actually helped.
But I don’t think Reagan had the verse right, though other verses might fit what he meant. At least this is how I learned it, which makes more sense to me. The Bible didn’t have punctuation. We still need to cast down the idols on capitol hill. 🙂
““And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcasses of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.” Lev 26:30 ”
http://www.goodnewsaboutgod.com/studies/spiritual/home_study/diff_bible_pass_VI.htm
“1
I willWill I lift up mine eyes unto the hills? (where the pagans worshiped) from whence cometh my help.?2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. (like the pagan gods that had to be woken with bells, as we now do on Sundays heh)
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
He wasn’t “quoting” scripture. He was merely answering a question.
He answered a question and included a scripture, which he said he understood better … but he did not understand the real point of that scripture.
Obama being a sort of false god people worship on the hill … the real meaning seems fitting in another way.
I tend to watch these clips on youtube.
…just to gauge the reaction:
digitalconservative 2 years ago
What the libs just do not understand is that Ronald Reagan inspired a nation by reminding it that the ability to succeed lies within ourselves, not the government. He believed in the greatness of the promise of this nation and not a need to “change” it.
The way I remember it the Republican Elite didn’t want Reagan. He was never “their man”, he was ours.
The GOP elite’s continual failure and light corruption gave us eight years of Barry Fudd.
These idiots are going to give the Democrats the House in 2014, and the presidency once again in 2016.
Very true. The establishment backed GHW Bush. The two sides were pretty nasty toward each other in the primaries – or at least the Bush people were nasty towards Reagan. So nasty that after Reagan won the nomination, Bush had so alienated himself from the Reagan camp that Bush was not even on the short list of candidates under consideration to be vice president. Reagan, of course, was partial to movement conservatives such as Senator Paul Laxalt and Jack Kemp. But the establishment was so convinced that a pure conservative ticket would lose, they steered Reagan into considering former President Gerald Ford to be his vice president. The press loved it. They were already calling it a co-presidency, should Reagan go on to win.
At the last minute – and by last minute I mean that literally – Reagan called off the negotiations with the Ford people. Ford had fallen for the media hype about a co-presidency and pushed Reagan too far. Reagan did not like what he saw his presidency turning into with Ford as VP. With less than two hours to go before Reagan was to give his acceptance speech, he had to find a VP.
It so happened that GHW Bush and Reagan were staying in the same hotel. Reagan’s people phoned James Baker, who was Bush’s right hand man and quickly arranged a meeting between Reagan and Bush. After about 20 minutes, and an hour or so before Reagan was to give his acceptance speech, Bush agreed to be Reagan’s VP.
Had Reagan gone with his gut, and picked Laxalt or Kemp to be his VP and gone on to win, imagine how much different history would be today without the Bush dynasty.
I was happy to hear President Reagan quote my favorite Psalm. He was a great man who truly loved America.
Reagan paraphrase: “Let’s make a bigger pie for everyone to share in America’s greatness.”
Obama paraphrase: “The pie is mine, I need more of it and I might cut you a slice if you vote for me. To hell with America.”
“Charles Krauthammer has written that the left has taken to describing Reagan, dismissively, as an “optimist” rather than the tough visionary he was.”
I think that Reagan was a “tough visionary” because he was an optimist.