Monday, September 29, 2003
Reagan, Man of Letters
Reagan, Man of Letters: "ritics who judged Ronald Reagan a regrettably ordinary man, disengaged even when he wasn't on stage as president of the United States, may be surprised to discover that he was dedicatedly dashing off thousands of letters to a wide assortment of pen pals, political allies and even a few global enemies. A sampling from decades of letters has just been published, revealing a hunger for contact with all manner of people.
His hand-jotted observations on practically everything in life — from the simple joy in a starry night to executive imaginings of a Star Wars missile defense — hardly present a threat to Marcus Aurelius's 'Meditations' for introspective angst and wisdom in a leader. But they do reflect an egalitarian curiosity, affability and humility before fellow humans. His letters confirm not greatness so much as exultation in ordinary life."
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The first president I was eligible to vote for . . . and did . . . although I voted for Bush 41 in the primary. If you hadn't already figured out my political predilictions, they're wide open now. :}
It's nice to see history at least giving Reagan a chance at getting a fairer treatment in the history books. Too many of today's historians came of age when he was governor of California and didn't realize they were behind the trend and Reagan was the one ahead of it.
His hand-jotted observations on practically everything in life — from the simple joy in a starry night to executive imaginings of a Star Wars missile defense — hardly present a threat to Marcus Aurelius's 'Meditations' for introspective angst and wisdom in a leader. But they do reflect an egalitarian curiosity, affability and humility before fellow humans. His letters confirm not greatness so much as exultation in ordinary life."
============
The first president I was eligible to vote for . . . and did . . . although I voted for Bush 41 in the primary. If you hadn't already figured out my political predilictions, they're wide open now. :}
It's nice to see history at least giving Reagan a chance at getting a fairer treatment in the history books. Too many of today's historians came of age when he was governor of California and didn't realize they were behind the trend and Reagan was the one ahead of it.
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