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June 11, 2004
What a wonderful funeral for
What a wonderful funeral for Ronald Reagan here in Washington DC. Pageantry, ceremony, and precision as only the military are truly good at. Margaret Thatcher saying "evil empire" not once but twice in her remarks.
We've lost a great one. Funny I don't really feel sad but rather like celebrating in the manner of an Irish wake. To be sure there were times during the ceremonies when the emotions take over. But you think of his incredible achievements and you become asterisk.
For it was not at all obvious in 1980 as to which would prevail, liberty or totalitarianism. As discussed below, the Soviets were expanding their influence throughout the world. We were still licking our wounds from Vietnam and Watergate. The Carter years left us reeling as we staggered from one crisis to another.
And of course before Reagan it was not considered the mark of a serious thinker to be in favor of limited government or lower taxes. The Laffer Curve was considered a curiosity. Now its dogma.
Simply put, before Reagan it wasn't cool to be conservative. Conservatives were old cranks. One paradox of Reagan is that despite his age he appealed to young people in a way noone else could. Today there are a whole generation of conservatives who grew up during his administration. People now in their early forties who served in his administration and are now influential. And of course average citizens who were looking for inspiration and not finding it before he came along.
Reagan's influence extends far beyond the '80s. Reagan so battered the liberals that the Democrats had to reinvent their party. George H W Bush used the term "liberal" as an epithet to attack Michael Dukakis. The DLC was formed to provide a moderate alternative within the Democratic party to the far left. Seen in this context, the election of Bill Clinton is unimaginable without Ronald Reagan. Today we see John Kerry running hard from the "liberal" label.
Just as Franklin Delano Roosevelt defined a period lasting from 1932 to the late 1960's, Ronald Reagan's influence will go far beyond his presidency or lifetime. We are still in the Age of Reagan.
Posted by Tom at June 11, 2004 8:54 PM
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