Thursday
6/10/04
Thinking About The Gipper.
I find that as I get older it’s getting harder and harder to ignore the mounting evidence that I am doing just that; getting older. Despite the obvious sort of evidence of aging, like the gray in my beard that seems to sprout faster than subpoenas at a congressional hearing, I also seem to be looking at the past with a more measured eye.
In practical terms this means that I’m having a hard time pinning down just how I feel about Reagan’s death and his legacy. No doubt his record in office will be subject to plenty of whitewashing and historical revisionism at the hands of republicans in the next few weeks… yet it’s hard to dismiss his vision of a greater America that was so transparently sincere.
For a little perspective, perhaps it would be helpful to consider an earlier president widely thought to be one of our finest: Teddy Roosevelt. History reflects well on T.R.; born wealthy, he was an unpretentious adventurer who championed the ideals of the new Progressive Era. Social justice was a priority for him before anyone even thought up the term "social justice," and his exploits in Cuba were, all hyperbole aside, truly heroic. There was no hiding in the National Guard for T.R.
That said, he is also guilty of appallingly flagrant crimes on the international stage, most notably involving Panama. I could blather on about the details of how he grabbed a bunch of land that didn’t belong to us and made it into a country simply because it suited him… but I’ll just leave that chore to this link for those of you who have never heard the whole story.
In any case, my point: T.R. was a larger than life mixed bag of really big Rights and equally large Wrongs. Likewise, despite Reagan’s terrible record on domestic social issues, he had a clear vision of America as a strong leader and partner in world affairs, and worked tirelessly to make sure the world saw us as the optimistic America we could be. And, moreover, it was clear that even if you disagreed with him he was the sort of guy who, at the end of the day, would sit down with you and talk it over like a gentleman.
Of course it’s a very sad thing indeed that we have no choice but to frame our discussion of Reagan’s legacy against the backdrop of what passes for the Presidency today. Clearly, just about anyone would compare favorably with the cravenly insincere warmonger that currently occupies the White House. Yes, it’s sad that today we believe that someone was a decent man and strong leader simply because he wasn’t a sycophant incapable of putting two thoughts together in a coherent sentence; and yet that’s the world in which Bush has stranded us.
So here we stand, at the beginning of the twenty first century, again longing for a leader who believes not in what America can be, but what it should be. A leader who is self confident rather than pathologically incapable of admitting a mistake. A leader who is intellectually curious, rather than one who exhibits an oddly perverse pride in never reading newspapers.
Yes, it’s a sad day on many levels when we mourn the loss of the Gipper.
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Thinking About The Gipper.
I find that as I get older it’s getting harder and harder to ignore the mounting evidence that I am doing just that; getting older. Despite the obvious sort of evidence of aging, like the gray in my beard that seems to sprout faster than subpoenas at a congressional hearing, I also seem to be looking at the past with a more measured eye.
In practical terms this means that I’m having a hard time pinning down just how I feel about Reagan’s death and his legacy. No doubt his record in office will be subject to plenty of whitewashing and historical revisionism at the hands of republicans in the next few weeks… yet it’s hard to dismiss his vision of a greater America that was so transparently sincere.
For a little perspective, perhaps it would be helpful to consider an earlier president widely thought to be one of our finest: Teddy Roosevelt. History reflects well on T.R.; born wealthy, he was an unpretentious adventurer who championed the ideals of the new Progressive Era. Social justice was a priority for him before anyone even thought up the term "social justice," and his exploits in Cuba were, all hyperbole aside, truly heroic. There was no hiding in the National Guard for T.R.
That said, he is also guilty of appallingly flagrant crimes on the international stage, most notably involving Panama. I could blather on about the details of how he grabbed a bunch of land that didn’t belong to us and made it into a country simply because it suited him… but I’ll just leave that chore to this link for those of you who have never heard the whole story.
In any case, my point: T.R. was a larger than life mixed bag of really big Rights and equally large Wrongs. Likewise, despite Reagan’s terrible record on domestic social issues, he had a clear vision of America as a strong leader and partner in world affairs, and worked tirelessly to make sure the world saw us as the optimistic America we could be. And, moreover, it was clear that even if you disagreed with him he was the sort of guy who, at the end of the day, would sit down with you and talk it over like a gentleman.
Of course it’s a very sad thing indeed that we have no choice but to frame our discussion of Reagan’s legacy against the backdrop of what passes for the Presidency today. Clearly, just about anyone would compare favorably with the cravenly insincere warmonger that currently occupies the White House. Yes, it’s sad that today we believe that someone was a decent man and strong leader simply because he wasn’t a sycophant incapable of putting two thoughts together in a coherent sentence; and yet that’s the world in which Bush has stranded us.
So here we stand, at the beginning of the twenty first century, again longing for a leader who believes not in what America can be, but what it should be. A leader who is self confident rather than pathologically incapable of admitting a mistake. A leader who is intellectually curious, rather than one who exhibits an oddly perverse pride in never reading newspapers.
Yes, it’s a sad day on many levels when we mourn the loss of the Gipper.
