In Memorium

Ronald Wilson Reagan passed away today. It was quite a sobering day for me, as in my opinion, President Reagan was the greatest leader of our country since Abraham Lincoln.

President Reagan was our leader between my ages of 5 and 12. I didn't know much about his policy during this time, but I do recall during the 2nd grade thinking that if Walter Mondale were elected (in 1984), we would need to build nuclear bunkers in our backyard. Somehow, I felt safe with President Reagan.

Throughout his life, President Reagan was an optimist; something I pride myself on. He looked to the good in people. He believed, like I do as well, that people would take responsibility for themselves, if given responsiblity. Also, President Reagan had a tremendous amount of respect for the office of the Presidency. In fact, he never took off his coat while in the Oval Office (something I learned from my grandfather, who was a docent at the Reagan library in Simi Valley, California).

My grandfather once said that he didn't care for Rush Limbaugh. I found this kind of odd, because at the time, Mr. Limbaugh was criticizing President Bill Clinton; a man I am sure he didn't care for. My grandfather said something to the effect that the Presidency was nearly a sacred institution. It wasn't right to criticize the President while he was in office.

I believe that something about their generation gave them this perspective, and it is unfortunate that subsequent generations did not inherit this.

Undoubtedly, many television programs will discuss him now that he has passed on, but I would like to remember President Reagan and the values that we learned from him: personal responsibility, hope, and the American Way.

God bless Ronald Reagan and his family. I just hope that our country will be blessed enough to have more leaders like him.