by Kerry Marsala
June 8, 2004
It is appointed once for man to die…. It is inevitable, we all will one day die, the question is though how will we be remembered? Will there be a brief blip in the funeral announcements in our local paper? Will we have family and friends who will feel the emptiness and pain of our departure? Will those left remember us with love and fondness, or will they recall a selfish, hateful individual? Does our legacy leave our family, friends, and our world a better place? How will they mourn us?
The media moguls known to spew their agendas via television, radio and print have set aside political bias for the past few days to honour a man who was known to be an optimist. Just by typing in the name Ronald Reagan into my computer’s search engine up came 20 links on its first page listing articles that contained, within their synopsis of Reagan, the term 'incredible optimist.' Not an optimist in the sense of blind faith, but an incredible optimist based on principles, and values shared by most americans and by many abroad.
How can it possibly be that one man, with one vision and one deep love for his country change the face of the media's bad news frenzy into one of tribute, honour, and reverence for an actor/politician who served his country for eight years? How can one man blur the political lines of differing ideologies? How did he move a globe full of politicians, news reporters and common people to speak words that were not necessarily in agreement with his philosophies, but were words of praise and admiration for a man known as The Gipper, The Great Communicator and the Incredible Optimist. Within less than 24 hours after his departure from this earth, every form of communication around this world carried a tribute to our former president.
What is it about this man that has moved many of us to feel a great sense of something lost? Was it his eternal optimism or perhaps his undying love for our Republic? Was it his belief that as long as america kept herself as a nation under God, and not divided we would survive as a Republic designed democracy? Was it his way of communicating, straight from the heart and always seeming to know what to say at any given moment? Or perhaps it was his unwavering stance of making decisions and following through, without feeling the need to hold up his finger and find out which way the political winds were blowing at any given moment.
I believe it was all of the above.
Reagan, as many know, came from a poor home. His father was the town drunk, but as only anyone here in america can, he pulled himself up through the ranks to become not only a well-remembered actor, but also the President of the United States. Reagan believed in his country, he believed in the good hard working american, he was a traditionalist that kept his principles simple and succinct.
In his development of incredible optimism there is a story told by author Gary aldrich. 'The ever-optimistic and enthusiastic Ronald Reagan loved to tell the story of how he, as a poor boy, always wanted a pony, but could not afford one. He shoveled lots of "stuff" out of the stables to earn extra money. Since there was always so much "stuff" in the stable, the ever-optimistic Reagan believed there was a chance he’d eventually uncover that much-desired pony. (November 2003 townhall.com). This is how Reagan lived his life, always believing that our silver lining of freedom would remain uncovered and visible as an example to all as long as we kept the communistic and socialistic black clouds of tyranny from overshadowing true yearning and living our blessings of freedom.
There are many angles one could write about our 40th president, many have been and will continue to be written about Ronald Reagan. Some pieces will be honest; others will be full of half-truths, each writer contributing their own opinionated palettes upon our former leader. Hopefully though, I pray all those who comment, write, or espouse about this man will never devalue his optimism, his ideologies, nor his great love for his country called america. You may disagree over the execution of his beliefs, but you can never question his great sense of humour, gentle mannerisms, incredible optimism, and love for God, country and home.
I believe when Tyler Page, a clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives wrote 'The american's Creed' in 1917, that this is what our 40th President of these United States believed as well--
"I believe in the United States of america as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which american patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes. I believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies."
This truly was the creed President Ronald Reagan upheld and adhered to before, during, and after his presidency and one worthy of continuation by all citizens of our great country. The man Reagan was not a summer patriot, he was a man who stood by america, and guided her through the night with a light from above. Reagan's patriotism is one we all need to emulate and set forth as a shining example to our children and the world around us.
america may she always remain, '… strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow steady no matter what storm. … still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home' - (Ronald Reagan; Farewell Speech from the Oval Office 1989).
Now we as a nation must decide. What will the legacy of this man be for future generations to come? Many before him have laid the foundation-- brick by brick--stone by stone--blood by blood--sacrifice by sacrifice. Will all the prior vigilant patriot's call for freedom die in vain? May it never be, may we continue to fight for freedom, to right the wrongs and to gather ourselves back together as a Nation. It is the only way we can stand. It is the only way to pay tribute to the 'incredible optimism' of President Ronald Wilson Reagan.
(Kerry L. Marsala writes for www.americonservative.com, www.azconservative.org Opinion Editorials; assistant Editor of the GOPUSa/arizona; Independent Newspapers and is a regular contributor to Sarah's Seed Woman's Journal; Focus Magazine and The Truth Magazine. During the 80s Ms. Marsala worked as a freelance photojournalist for The Rock Revue and Newsreel Magazine. Writing about cultural, social and political ideologies by using a bit of satire every now and again helps keep her grey cells stirring. Her philosophy remains that no matter the event, you can always find a bit of humor or the human element of hope somewhere amongst the cracks.)
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