Today's FORUM is an easy one!

Friday – February 4, 2011

Today’s FORUM is an easy one!

On Sunday, February 6, we will celebrate Ronald Reagan’s 100th anniversary of his birth.

I had the pleasure of shaking that man’s hand. I had the pleasure of listening to his acceptance speech in Detroit (because I was there) as he accepted the Republican nomination for the office of the Presidency of the United States of America on July 17, 1980.

He said then: "Trust me" government asks that we concentrate our hopes and dreams on one man; that we trust him to do what's best for us. My view of government places trust not in one person or one party, but in those values that transcend persons and parties. The trust is where it belongs--in the people. The responsibility to live up to that trust is where it belongs, in their elected leaders. That kind of relationship, between the people and their elected leaders, is a special kind of compact.

Three hundred and sixty years ago, in 1620, a group of families dared to cross a mighty ocean to build a future for them selves in a new world. When they arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts, they formed what they called a "compact"; an agreement among themselves to build a community and abide by its laws.

The single act--the voluntary binding together of free people to live under the law--set the pattern for what was to come.

A century and a half later, the descendants of those people pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to found this nation. Some forfeited their fortunes and their lives; none sacrificed honor.

Four score and seven years later, Abraham Lincoln called upon the people of all America to renew their dedication and their commitment to a government of, for and by the people.
Isn't it once again time to renew our compact of freedom; to pledge to each other all that is best in our lives; all that gives meaning to them--for the sake of this, our beloved and blessed land?”

This was the beginning of an era in this country that has not been duplicated since. The era of Reagan was ushered in after the disastrous era of Carter. Yesterday, I wrote about the old normalcy in America. We find our selves at the same crossroads in America when Reagan was nominated ran and won the Presidency in 1980.

Carter’s policies created high unemployment of over 10%, high interest rates of 21%, low consumer confidence, a demoralized and weak military and yes the crisis in Iran which catapulted the radical Islamic movement that we find ourselves at odds with and embroiled in again today. The administrations of Carter and Obama are eerily similar. The problem today is that we don’t have a Reagan who can inspire and tell another leader, “Mr. Gorbachev; tear down this wall.” This was said in reference to the Berlin Wall and later the Soviet Union, which Reagan defeated.

Reagan knew who his God was and wasn’t afraid to say it. He knew the power and awe of liberty and freedom and wasn’t afraid to use it. He knew the majesty of this nations people, heritage, land, and its inherent strength and wasn’t afraid to use it. Reagan was a normalcy, because he was America.

Reagan was an institution - when you spoke of freedom, you spoke of Reagan. Like Washington, he was humble and modest, but bold when he needed to be. Like Washington he set the seeds of a conservative movement that brought into focus peace through strength and trust, but verify. When Reagan spoke, you listened. When he waved his hand, you wanted to wave back. When he spoke of honor, you didn’t have to look the word up. When he spoke of America, you were proud. He didn’t apologize. He said it like it was. When he spoke to foreign leaders, they bowed to him. When he spoke, they listened and acted, because they knew he was a man of his word.
He said of peace: “The dustbin of history is littered with the remains of those countries that relied on diplomacy to secure their freedom. We must never forget… in the final analysis … that it is our military, industrial and economic strength that offers the best guarantee of peace for America in times of danger.”

Reagan was smart, because he performed the tasks in life that made him so. He didn’t come from academia and he was not an elitist. He was a common man from Tampico, Illinois. He came into public view with no skeletons in the closet and no excuses.

Reagan was able to see both political parties from the inside out and was able to view them from the outside in. He made his choice, because one of the parties just made more sense and was morally superior. He believed in the greatness of spirit, because he saw that his country had an optimistic spirit. He said of Liberalism: “It has nothing more to say, nothing to add to the debate. It has spent its intellectual capital, such as it was – and it has done its deeds.”

He, his country and we had our rendezvous with “destiny.” His destiny became our bright spot - it was that “shining city on a hill” that he spoke about and reminded us of. That is the normalcy of the spirit of Ronald Reagan.

Normalcy in America didn’t come through an entitlement program and bureaucracy. Normalcy came through the family that made up America it came through common respect and the knowledge that “America’s best days lie ahead.”

He knew: “America’s prosperity was not a gift from the government or anyone else. Free enterprise, not government, is the source from which our blessings flow.”

America’s family was important and still is when he said: “Families stand at the center of society”. He believed in the strength and the wealth that we must guarantee for our posterity. He also said: “We have found, in our country, that when people have the right to make decisions as close to home as possible, they make the right decisions.”

He said of fate: “I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.”

He believed: “Conservative thought is no longer over… on the right, it’s the mainstream now.”

His American Dream was: “The American dream that we have nursed for so long in this country, and lately neglected, is not that every man must be level with every other man. The American dream is that every man must be free to become whatever God intends he should become.” Reagan said these words on October 28, 1980 when he debated Carter in a Presidential debate. If he was alive and in a debate with the resident that occupies the White House today he probably would use the same words today. You see, there are not so many differences between then and now. Just watch the news!

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: If we could harness half of Reagan’s optimism, half of his wit and half of what was in his heart, we would have one hell of a man leading America!