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President Reagan
Jun. 11th, 2004 02:14 pmI didn't vote for him, nor did I agree with his politics. These days, I find myself coming closer to the profile of a Reagan Democrat, but I still don't agree with a lot of what he did. (On the other hand, I don't entirely agree with anyone's politics.) This isn't an invitation to debate same; it's just a statement of where I'm coming from.
Yet at some level, I liked the guy, and felt genuinely sad when he died. I've been feeling conflicted all week.
I'm aware that the two statements don't have to be contradictory. IRL, my friends have run the gamut of the political spectrum, except that I haven't been friends with anyone on the far right. (I suspect that anyone from the far right would think that I'm as devilish as my icon, and vice versa.) I've also come to a form of detente with my largely conservative dad (mostly by staying off hot-button topics, but sometimes I think that's what it takes to get along with people).
And, in point of fact, Reagan himself made friends across party lines. I'm not sure if I realized that at the time, but that showed real class.
He had that quality, charisma or something like it, to get people to like him and want to follow him.
Perhaps his lack of cynicism was part of his appeal. Unlike some politicians who seem like they'd disavow their mother if it would get them votes, for good or ill, Reagan seemed to really believe what he said.
Newsweek said that after the Alzheimer's had set in and Reagan no longer remembered that he had been President, he remembered that he had been a lifeguard and had saved lives. To me, that's almost unbearably poignant, and says something about how he must have seen himself.
There's been a lot of people who posted to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
ljover30, saying that Reagan was the first president that they remember, and that they thought of him as a father figure. That set me off muttering that I remembered when Nixon resigned (and no doubt, someone older than me would be amused by my Nixon comment). Reagan did play a father figure quite well.
And anyone from Illinois can't be all bad -;)
I thought that his leavetaking from public life when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's was classy, dignified, and very sad. The bottom line is that he should have been able to rest on his laurels at the end of his life, and he was robbed of that. I found myself wondering how he was doing from time to time. Although perhaps that's just my bleeding heart -;)
R.I.P.
Yet at some level, I liked the guy, and felt genuinely sad when he died. I've been feeling conflicted all week.
I'm aware that the two statements don't have to be contradictory. IRL, my friends have run the gamut of the political spectrum, except that I haven't been friends with anyone on the far right. (I suspect that anyone from the far right would think that I'm as devilish as my icon, and vice versa.) I've also come to a form of detente with my largely conservative dad (mostly by staying off hot-button topics, but sometimes I think that's what it takes to get along with people).
And, in point of fact, Reagan himself made friends across party lines. I'm not sure if I realized that at the time, but that showed real class.
He had that quality, charisma or something like it, to get people to like him and want to follow him.
Perhaps his lack of cynicism was part of his appeal. Unlike some politicians who seem like they'd disavow their mother if it would get them votes, for good or ill, Reagan seemed to really believe what he said.
Newsweek said that after the Alzheimer's had set in and Reagan no longer remembered that he had been President, he remembered that he had been a lifeguard and had saved lives. To me, that's almost unbearably poignant, and says something about how he must have seen himself.
There's been a lot of people who posted to
ljover30, saying that Reagan was the first president that they remember, and that they thought of him as a father figure. That set me off muttering that I remembered when Nixon resigned (and no doubt, someone older than me would be amused by my Nixon comment). Reagan did play a father figure quite well.And anyone from Illinois can't be all bad -;)
I thought that his leavetaking from public life when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's was classy, dignified, and very sad. The bottom line is that he should have been able to rest on his laurels at the end of his life, and he was robbed of that. I found myself wondering how he was doing from time to time. Although perhaps that's just my bleeding heart -;)
R.I.P.
