From: Ascmjk@aol.com
Date: Mon Jun 07 2004 - 04:16:12 BST
In a message dated 6/6/2004 8:31:24 PM Central Standard Time,
markheyman@infoproconsulting.com writes:
You're right of course, people who attribute the fall of "The Evil
Empire" to Ronald Reagan are the same who think the US won WWII in
Europe, singlehandedly. As if the outcome would have been the same
if the Russians weren't fighting Hitler on the Eastern Front. Don't
have the numbers at hand, but something like 20 million Russians lost
their lives in that war? I'm sure someone will correct be if I'm
wrong.
Mark, what you say points to a bigger problem--a general lack of interest in
history among young people. Those who believe the US won WW2 single-handedly
have no serious interest in history anyway.
I believed on the occasion of his death, it was far more appropriate to point
out Reagan's positive contributions to history, than to dwell on his
failures. Considering the moral caliber of many who admired Ronald Reagan's
accomplishments--luminaries, intellectuals, world leaders (who disagreed with him on
some issues), I find it perplexing that for every complement lobbed admiringly at
his legacy, someone rushes forward to lob a degrading footnote. It's almost
as if Ronald Reagan symbolizes something so different from what they believe in
their own hearts, that every fiber of their being is instinctively aroused in
protest at the mere mention of his name. Self-defense is, in fact,
instinctive. Communists at heart instinctively hate Ronald Reagan because he helped
undermine the progress of their ideology. I simply don't buy the argument that he
just "stood around" while worldwide Communism died off from natural causes.
Reagan didn't kill the ideology all by himself, but his unparalleled rhetorical
skill helped contribute to the confidence that it could be beaten. He said
over and over again that our system in the US was better than the Soviet's, and
history has proven him correct. No Marxist Sympathizer wants to hear that, but
it's the truth. Communism appealed to people for all the wrong reasons--it
offered a world where everyone would be equally miserable. Reagan understood
this, and understood why the Untied States appealed to people for all the right
reasons, why people have risked their lives to get here throughout history.
As Horse pointed out, others were instrumental as well. And some of the most
prominent ones were pushed hard by Reagan to help bring about change. But now
is the appropriate time to remember Reagan himself. One thing is certain: the
Communist Threat, which was a very real menace from the end of WW2 up through
the mid-80s, is No More. To suggest that the most influential man in the
world, the President of the United States, had *nothing to do* with the downfall of
the ideology he dedicated the latter part of his life to destroying, makes No
Sense.
Jon
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