He soon entered political life, and it was there that a stark difference between himself and his party began to emerge. It grew over time, until finally he officially switched to the Republican Party -- something, in the culture of the United States at the time, akin to converting to a radically different religion.
The reasoning behind this move was at the core of why he had been a Democrat: he was for the little guy. He was in favor of being able to earn a wage through hard work, and that harder work should earn a greater reward. He favored people being able to start their own businesses, and grow their business and hire more people. He favored competition without undue restriction, enabling people to make their own decisions about what to buy, and when, and where, according to their own needs, wants, and desires. He was a true liberal, focused on individual freedom as the firm basis of a free society.
Over time, however, he began to realize that those who called themselves liberal weren't focused on liberating the individual. He realized that to be a true liberal in the United States of America in the 1962 meant something very different from the way the word was used, both then and now. The true liberal, it seemed, was the conservative: focused not on the past, but on protecting the freedoms of the individual man from a philosophy that now said that anything old was wrong.
That year, this former actor turned politician left the party he once held so dear, saying "I didn't leave the Democratic Party. The party left me."
This man, of course, was Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States of America, the man who founded the modern conservative movement. Perhaps I'll make a post in the near or relatively-near future about what the term "conservative" means, and what exactly is "right" and "left" in terms of politics. For now, that doesn't really matter.
Today is -- would have been -- Reagan's 100th birthday. Today is a day of celebrating the life of one of the greatest men in United States history, and arguably in the history of the world itself.
I won't go through a biography of Reagan. You can read his Wikipedia page if you'd like, or any of the numerous biographies about him. It's rather redundant of me to try to recount his life here, and rather stupid to do so in the length of a single post.
What I'd like to bring to you attention is instead the way Reagan affected things. For one thing, he was always professional, yet at the same time very relaxed. He never so much as removed his suit jacket or loosened his tie in the Oval Office, as he had enormous respect for the office he held only temporarily; but he was possibly the most approachable President in United States history. If you spoke to him, he was the warmest, most sincere person you could ever imagine, and if he was speaking to you, you knew his attention was on you. Even some of his enemies found him likable -- though some took some time to come around.
He used humor to an amazing level. Today you hear politicians try to crack jokes, and sometimes it even works. Half the time when it does, the politician in question looks somewhat surprised that it got a laugh at all. Reagan did it so easily that it seems effortless. Just go look up some on YouTube.
My favorite quick response is a very famous line, which he used to respond to Sam Donaldson of ABC News, who asked "Mr. President, in talking about the continuing recession tonight, you've blamed mistakes of the past, and you've blamed the Congress. Does any of the blame fall on you?"
President Regan immediately replied, without hesitation, "Yes, because for many years I was a Democrat."
His life and his words are both worth study, and today politicians on both the right and the left try to emulate him and his success. It's hard to emulate, though, because he was a very special man. One man might have charisma, another wit, and another great leadership qualities, but Ronald Reagan had all three at once, and in spades. Further, he had a great understanding of history and common sense -- both of which are in very short supply among politicians of all walks of life, in all countries, and at all points in history.
Ronald Reagan is, without a doubt, the hardest act to follow in American politics since George Washington.
Mr. President, your country salutes you. God bless, and Godspeed.
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