Reagan '08

I've been reviewing the commentary following the Republican debate in California last night and was prompted by Michelle Malkin's blog (Link) to listen to Reagan's 1977 speech at Hillsdale College in its entirety. Before I comment on that speech, allow me to explain Reagan's significance in my life.

Having been born in 1971, my formative years took place during an economic dark age in America. I was, of course, too young to have any real awareness of economics or even the concept of money, but I do remember something changing after Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980. Maybe it was the fact that our family was able to afford to drive an Oldsmobile after having endured a tiny Datsun for several years. Perhaps I perceived that we were more prosperous because we purchased a brand new color television with a remote and a VCR, which also had a remote. I was able to purchase my first home computer, my beloved Commodore 64 (one of the best gaming machines ever). As I matured and became aware of more than just my immediate biological concerns, the impression I got was that life in America was good, and that Ronald Reagan had something to do with that.

I remember learning about America's involvement in global affairs and that with Reagan as President, America rarely was on the losing side of any conflict, whether it involved shooting or not. Despite the paranoia and fear that some had that nuclear Armageddon was imminent, Reagan held the Bear at bay and pushed the nightmare of nuclear war seemingly out of sight indefinitely. His voice never failed to comfort, and he seemed utterly nonplussed by the rigors and stress of being the most powerful man in the world.

I remember watching Reagan ride off into the sunset and be succeeded by the generally unpalatable George H.W. Bush, who made it painfully obvious that although he had been Reagan's VP, really didn't comprehend or embrace the principles that Reagan's life was built upon. As Reagan slowly and painfully succumbed to Alzheimer's, his accomplishments and legacy seemed to have gotten lost in the media's wet, sloppy love affair with Bill Clinton. My utter revulsion at the presidency of Bill Clinton lead me to learn more about Reagan and his philosophies, and to learn what made him so great. I am in no way an expert on Ronald Reagan and have never approached his presidency, biography, or character in an academic way. I simply grew up knowing that America was great when Reagan lead her, and that she hasn't been the same since he left office.

When Reagan was elected, I became aware that there are two major political parties in this country, and I knew immediately which one I belonged in. I started paying more attention to future Republican candidates for public office and learned more about the history of the Republican party. It doesn't take a scholar to see that Reagan was a singular, monumental figure not only in the Republican party, but in the very fabric of 20th century America. His vision, which came to dominate Republican politics for a generation, is still revered by the Conservative movement in this country. However, the Republican party seems to have lost a substantial amount of the "Reaganism" that elevated it to prominence in the 1980's and '90's.

So now we come to the 2008 presidential election in which Reagan's name has been repeatedly invoked. This invocation has aroused the ire of the left and given them yet another opportunity to take cheap, gratuitous, and unfounded shots at the legacy of one of America's greatest presidents. It has given liberal Republicans a life raft to tie their presidential hopes to since they know that Reagan Conservatives still form a decisive constituency in the party. They believe that if they can convince voters that Reagan would have supported them that that's good enough to win the nomination. The danger I see is the potential for a revision of what Reagan's Conservatism really is. If a liberal Republican does win the general election after having laid claim to the mantle of Reaganism, it may serve to validate that candidate's policies as an extension of Reagan's philosophy.

It's become painfully obvious to me that Reagan achieved the success he did not because of the Republican party, but in spite of it. His beliefs were so fundamentally American in nature that they transcended the rigid, artificial constraints of party and became a force unto themselves. He exposed post-'68 Democrats as Marxists, and Republicans as elite country clubbers. Reagan's beliefs in the free market, smaller government, federalism, strong national defense, and the God-given right of the American people to be free transcended the scope and ideals of any party, and the Republicans are fortunate that they happened to be closer to Reagan's beliefs than the Democrats. I don't see these as individual issues to be mixed and matched with "progressive" and "moderate" positions, but rather just facets of a monolithic philosophy rooted in the principles of liberty and freedom, the very bedrock of our great nation.

Most distressing to me right now is that as Reagan's presidency grows smaller in the rearview mirror of American history, I see more and more people remembering it not as the beginning of a better future, but as some sort of an aberration or just a hiccup in America's inevitable march toward a Socialist Nirvana. Even those that I assumed were comrades in arms have become very comfortable with the type of policies and ideas that Reagan so ardently fought against, all the while claiming to be Conservative Republicans. Economic policy is the most prominent example, with Keynesian theories being readily embraced while classical free market principles are simply relegated to the same nostalgic scrapbook as Reagan's time in office. Rather than emphasize individual liberty as being supreme in all matters including economic decisions, I hear many people acceding to the notion that it's entirely appropriate for the federal government to manipulate the free market, their justification being that we should assuage the economic pain of a few with the prosperity of the many.

Listen to or read Reagan's Hillsdale address. Read the writings of Adam Smith, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, Murray Rothbard, Bastiat, and Friedman. Rather than mistrust the free market or view it as an anachronism, learn why it's so superior to collectivism and socialism. Learn for yourself why Reagan embraced its principles and viewed profit and property as being so intrinsically tied to liberty. Insist that the government stop trying to manage every detail of your economic existence and demand that you be allowed to live freely, according to your goals, hopes, and dreams rather than some collective median defined by socialist bureaucrats.

My view of America and what makes it the greatest nation on earth has been profoundly shaped by Ronald Reagan, and I think we are facing a time when we would do well to reflect on his attitudes and beliefs about the issues with which a free people must perpetually contend. Perhaps you've forgotten those things or maybe you never really knew them, but in either case, learn them, embrace them, and promote them. Reagan's ideas worked, not because they were new or revolutionary, but because they were as venerable as the human race itself. They appealed to the success and wisdom of ages long past with a reverential understanding that God's most special creation really isn't much different today than it was in the Garden of Eden or the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome.