We Need Another Ronald Reagan

This morning I woke up contemplating whether or not I should write on FB to explain why I did not watch the Presidential Debate. I was weighing in my mind why I am voting for the candidate of my choice and what it would take for me to vote for the other guy. I was lamenting the fact that my daughter and all of her generation would probably never know how great America was or how good it could be. My mind drifted to Ronald Reagan and why I believe he was the greatest president.

There are those who will say I love Ronald Reagan because I am rich. To be clear, I understand that I am better off than sixty six percent of the rest of the world. Of course you can say that about the poorest American. But still, in that respect, I consider myself financially rich. Compared to George Soros, I am financially a pauper. Because of my relationship with Yeshua and my family, I am the richest man in the world. It really is all a matter of perspective.

But, I was not financially rich by the American perspective during the Reagan years. I got married about two months before he was elected to his first term. I remember the time very well. America had just experienced its first defeat at war; a war that nearly tore this country in two. We had experienced a president who was so paranoid that he felt it necessary to spy on his totally incompetent opponent. The only president to resign from office. Replaced by the only president never elected by the Electoral College. This was followed by a good man who had no business being president. Jimmy Carter led us to inflation rates of nearly 15% and interest rates as high as 18%.

Financially, though, I was in pretty good shape at the end of Carter’s presidency. I had a good job. My new bride had a good job. We were doing OK. I was demoralized after the decade of the 70’s but we had money and we were buying things.

It was during the Reagan presidency that we became poor. We remember one Christmas when we made candy to give to family members as gifts. We made enough of the candy so that we could sell it to friends and co-workers so that we had enough money to pay for the candy sold and the candy given. We drove hand-me-down cars from family. We struggled to make ends meet.

It was a rough time. And it was rough for Reagan. He inherited the financial mess from Carter which eventually led to the Savings and Loan collapse during his terms in office. He inherited the demoralized country with fresh memories of Vietnam and the Iranian embassy. And, for eight full years, the House of Representatives was controlled by the opposing party. He did have the Senate for six of the eight years, but without both, it makes for tough going.

So, what makes Reagan so great in my mind? Having read the previous two paragraphs, that is probably the question you are asking yourself. That is probably because you think money or the things you can buy with money make you happy. Therefore, if I was poor, I should have been unhappy.

We became poor because of decisions we made. Not bad decisions like smoking or gambling. But they were decisions which strained our finances. The first such decision was to quit my job and begin a career selling insurance and investments. After a short period of time we learned that while I could sell tangibles fairly well, selling intangibles was not something I should do. You could consider this a bad decision.  But we learned a lot about me. And I learned a lot about money from the training I received.

 I went back to work in my previous field, but at an entry level, so we could pay the bills. What we did then was to pay the bills down so I could quit my job again and go to college. I worked weekends and summers. My lovely bride provided most of our support. Those five years of college spent obtaining my degree in Mechanical Engineering were tough. But we did it. And today, we are both much better off. We are together. You can allow those types of times to tear you apart or bind you together. We chose to do the latter.

So, again, why do I think Reagan was the greatest president? It is quite simple. He took a country that had nearly been destroyed and made a young kid like me believe that there was opportunity here that was up for grabs. He led me to believe in the American dream again. He worked hard at convincing enough of the opposition that America could be great. He compromised where prudent, stood firm where necessary, and led this country out of a hole; not by throwing money at every problem but applying money where appropriate and encouragement to all the rest. He made me believe that sacrifice in exchange for a bright future was a worthy cause. He made me believe enough so that I took the chances. I grabbed for the brass ring. I sacrificed money and time in the present for a better future. Because of this, many consider me rich today. And, like him, I want you to experience that same success. That is what makes America great. And, for me, it was because Reagan led me to that understanding.