Because of Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan is gone now but his legacy will live on.  His dream for a better tomorrow came true.  Because of Reagan, the Soviet Union is no more.  Because of Reagan, our country fell in love with itself once again.  We became proud to be Americans instead of apologetic for it.  Because of Reagan, we learned that lower taxes and economic good times are not mutually exclusive.

The disease that took his life, as horrible and agonizing as it was, allowed him a luxury few presidents have been afforded.  He had 10 years of honest assessment while the detractors with good taste dared not tear him down while in such a sympathetic state.  Those 10 years allowed the true Reagan legacy to grow and blossom without the hateful heel of the revisionists stamping it out.

I know in some perverted quarters of our society there are those who celebrate the demise of Ronald Reagan.  But, fortunately, their hatred is drowned by the millions of tears shed by a nation of mourners who, at last, appreciate his wisdom and who live in the shadow of the tree he planted.  A tree that bears the fruits of happiness and security for anyone who wishes to pick from its branches.  As long as freedom-loving Americans prevail, that tree will never die.

Phil Valentine

June 5, 2004