March 30 1981
It was shortly before 2:30 pm and President Reagan headed out of the Washington Hilton. I was about a thousand miles away and headed into my high school locker room. Baseball practice was on my mind. I’m sure what happened next wasn’t on his.
Six shots echoed from a .22 cal. revolver… and the world waited.
Had the bullet been over a few inches, my views on politics might be on the other side. As a 17 year-old kid I was scared to death of Ronald Reagan. Eight years later, the 25 year-old man was scared to death he was leaving office.
I was too young to vote in the 1980 election, but I did have an opinion. Reagan was a warmonger, who hated the poor. I actually wanted Jimmy Carter re-elected…. (Not only is youth wasted on the young, but brains are too.)
Back then; most of our news came from the morning paper. The nightly news, pick your channel, came from the left. This was before Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and conservative talk radio. CNN was the only cable news channel and we all know which way they lean…. Is it any wonder why I thought the way I did…. Think of that old saying. If you say something loud enough and long enough people will believe it, (was that Hitler?)
My conversion came before Rush, but let me say one thing about him. He’s not popular because so many people agree with him. It’s the other way around, Rush agrees with so many people. His popularity came from a thirst of like-minded people who were sick of getting bombarded from the other side. And the other side hates him for it.
Back to Ronald Reagan.
When Reagan took office, this country was in a recession, we had hostages in Iran, and the Cold War was getting hotter. Reagan preached against big government and defeating communism. You may not have agreed with him, but you knew where he stood.
It’s wasn’t long before I figured out, on my own, that I was really a conservative. Reagan made sense. He wasn’t this actor Dan Rather made fun of on a nightly basis. The more I read and learned about the man, the more I liked. I couldn’t believe it, the same kid who wouldn’t have voted for him the first time around, couldn’t wait to re-elect him.
I know the Reagan policies are still controversial. I researched, trickle-down, supply-side, and Reaganonmics on the Internet. Wow, a lot of people still hate that man.
Reagan cut the government, lowered taxes (not just the rich, I’m proof) and won the Cold War. Yes, he built up the military and it did cost money. But I think we slept safer back then.
You want to blame him for the debt? Fine, but I recall him railing against congress for out of control spending. Reagan asked for money to be spent on things like making this country safe and strong. Congress on the other hand, acted like everyday was payday, and every night was Saturday…. This is why I say; a senator should never be President. They fail when it comes to self-control.
Ronald Wilson Reagan taught me not to look at government for help. He also wanted government not to look at me for help… I think that’s a pretty fair trade.
He knew I could make it because I lived in the land of opportunity. He had confidence in all of us and never wavered from what he believed…
When those shots rang out 27 years ago, it was just 69 days into his first term…. Sometimes I wonder how my views would’ve turned out if the bullet was a little more to the left. (Or right)
Today, the times are similar to what President Reagan faced…. But all I’m hearing is “New Deal” answers… And to bring this full circle, I look back to that 17 year-old kid and I’m scared to death.
That’s the way Ron sees it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment