One For the Gipper

Ronald Wilson Reagan 1911-2004

One year ago today, President Ronald Reagan died after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease.
It was a day I hoped would never come, but also knew was inevitable. He once remarked that he had already outlived his life expectancy by 20 years, which, he said, was probably an irritation for some. It wasn't to me. I always felt better and safer just knowing he was around.

I was 12 years old when he was elected to his first term and I remember being terrified by the prospects of nuclear war with the Soviet Union. I was probably too young, or too interested in other things, to realize all of the political implications of everything that was happening then, but I do remember the confidence he exuded and the belief in ordinary Americans he brought to the job. It wasn't long before I started paying attention.

I was 16 years old when he was re-elected to his second term. It is sad, in a way, that I was never old enough to vote for the man who is one of the primary reasons I became a conservative, but I did have the opportunity to experience the Reagan years, and I feel I am a better man today because of it.

He came along at a time when the country had lost faith in itself, and injected optimism into its veins. He saw our nation as a shining city on a hill that needed nothing more than a little polishing. He looked across the ocean, saw evil, and called it by his name. In short, he made America believe in itself again, and I, for one, will be eternally grateful.

Today, I remember the man who realized the only real peace comes through strength, and who knew that nothing on earth was as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. I remember the man who reminded us that the United States of America is not great because of it's government, but because of it's citizens. And finally, I remember the man who made me feel safer, more confident, and more assured that this is, indeed, the last best hope of man on earth.

Other Tributes:

Trey Jackson

Rick Sincere via Commonwealth Conservative

Mister Politics