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Respect
for Reagan despite stance
Most
of us did not live through the Reagan administration
— at least not at an age where we
remember his foreign policy, "Reaganomics",
or his term as Governor of California —
still this is a difficult time in which
we mourn our 40th president, Ronald Reagan.
The
death of any president is a sad time, whether
or not we agree with their policies. Whatever
the popularity of a president, the job is
difficult and immensely important and not
one I would ever volunteer for. The President
must make decisions for the welfare of an
entire country. For accepting a position
as leader of the United States and choosing
to stand for the country though they are
constantly criticized, American citizens
should respect all past and future Presidents
for the sheer effort of the work they do.
Reagan
stuck with his promise to the country even
after an assassination attempt only 69 days
after he took office. He laughed it off
and plowed on, earning him more popularity
and support. He died at 93 on Saturday.
We
will all mourn the death of the man who
introduced ketchup as a vegetable into our
school lunches in the 1980's, and inspired
the blueberry Jelly Belly.
He
always kept a full jar of the candy on his
desk in his Governor's office and after
he moved on to the White House. Reagan pushed
forth the war on international terrorism
and the war on drugs, as well as ending
the Cold War and striving for friendly and
peaceful relations with the Soviet Union,
though he increased military spending, he
also negotiated a treaty that would eliminate
intermediate-range nuclear missiles. He
kept oil flowing to America during the Iran-Iraq
war and gave support to anti-Communist insurgencies.
He
was a loved leader by many of America's
citizens, and this is why tens of thousands
of people waited as many as ten hours to
pay their respects to Ronald Reagan, leaving
jelly beans, American flags, and flowers
to show their admiration for the man. Visitors
and residents of California will always
have his handprint in the Hollywood Walk
of Fame and can see how their prints measure
up. Reagan was a true man of California's
culture industry, having acted in over 50
films.
The
difficulty of making decisions on behalf
of an entire country is good enough reason
to respect any man or woman willing to take
on that responsibility, whether or not we
personally agree with their policy.
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