Due to recent episodes of Righteous Anger and Ice Cold Fury, I've not been able to settle into the appropriate state of mind to properly honor a great, great man.
President Ronald A. Reagan.
To my thinking, the greatest President of the twentieth century. Yes, even above the vaunted FDR, Truman and Kennedy.
No, not because those fine men and great Presidents were Democrats, (I used the captial D for them, to show my respect. Those men were Americans first, and democrat party-ists, only second).
Franklin Roosevelt foresaw a looming conflagaration just over the horizon, and prepared a naieve Nation for a war not of their choosing. And he fought it well, and with great courage.
Truman inherited the mantle of ending that war, with the most terrible weapon ever devised by man. And did.
Ronald Reagan fought and won an even greater war. One waged for the very heart and soul of the world, and fought not so much with bombs, bullets and the bodies of fallen soldiers, as with the forces of hope, freedom and love. And faith.
A love of God. A love of Freedom. A hope of a better world. A faith in God Almighty, that it could be.
In the 2000 elections, I prayed that George W. Bush would win, but not for the reasons you might think. And pray I most certainly did, I was desperate in my fervor and supplication.
My prayer was that Al Gore not be allowed to preside at the funeral of President Ronald Regan.
If ever there would have been a blasphemey on earth, to me, that would have been such. I'm not at all sure I would have retained what little sanity I have, witnesseing such a travesty. It was bad enough that the President who shall not be named, presided at the funeral of President Nixon.
I thank God Almighty that said event did not, and will never, come to pass.
Ronald A. Reagan will die soon, and will go to his incredible welcome and reward of a Loving God. In light of the terrible suffering of the former President, I pray the hastening of that day.
Yet still, I will mourn. Though his mind has already passed, and his soul be, even now, in some form of transition, the day that President Regan perishes from this earth, for me will be but sackcloth and ashes.
I shall remain here, aboard the Sloop New Dawn. Alone. And in the deepest sorrow.
But knowing that the way has been paved by one far greater than I, along that path to a Shining City on the Hill.
Happy Birthday, President Regan. We love you. We miss you.
May God Bless the President of the United States of America.
I Love you, Ronnie.
Jim,
Thank you so much for this stirring and lovely tribute to a President who truly saw America as trhe shining city on the hill. And he made everyone (almost everyone, Lefties are spirtually blind after all) see her that way too. Even the Russians.
I will never forget a PBS documentary on Ronald Reagan where a (ex?) KGB agent related covering a major summit meeting. To paraphase his satement "The car pulled up. President Reagan walked out of the building. It was very cold, but he was not wearing a coat. He had on a blue suit, a smile ,and an outstretched hand. I knew it was all over." Priceless.
This past week seemed to be one filled with insanity. Thank you for reminding us ot the birthday of this good man.
Posted by: Valerie | February 07, 2004 at 07:04 AM
Reagan had two things that I don't know if we'll ever see in a President again. (And I'm not talking about balls, although he had those, too.) He had core beliefs and they were correct. He stuck to his guns and changed the world forever.
Can you imagine Bill Clinton as Ronald Reagan?
Posted by: Acidman | February 07, 2004 at 06:28 PM
Very nice, Jim, and true.
Posted by: Jon, Imperial Hunter | February 07, 2004 at 07:47 PM
Damn, Jim. Took me a couple of minutes to wipe the tears out of my eyes after reading that. You covered it, better than any mere mortal could have. Yes, Ronnie, we love you and miss you!
Posted by: LC Steve | February 09, 2004 at 11:29 AM