Post Election Thoughts & Pres. Regan

Well, it’s finally over. I thought the 2024 election campaigns would never end. Perhaps you’re happy with the results, perhaps you’re not. At least you can go on with a fairly normal life again. No more TV political ads. No more political mailings to fill the waste basket. No one knocking on your door and urging you to vote for so-and-so. Yes, there will be plenty of analysis, commentary and biased reporting on a few channels, so just switch to your favorite shows or sports events and let those folks talk to themselves. It’s over. Give Trump a chance to make needed changes for our country.

   I have read biographies of just about every President in our history. I have lived through the terms of fourteen Presidents during my 76 years, from 1948 to the present … from Truman to Biden. All had their strong points, and all had their weaknesses. My choice as the best overall was Ronald Reagan, who served from 1981 to 1989. Yes, he screwed up a few times, but I consider him to have been a passionate and courageous leader, and also the best speaker, although John F. Kennedy was also tops in that regard.

   With regards to this past election and our future, you might keep in mind a few of Reagan’s quotes:

  “By 1960, I realized that the real enemy wasn’t big business, it was big government…Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.”

  “Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it…What is good for the American workers is good for America.”

  “Today’s hard-liner on law and order is yesterday’s liberal who was mugged…You won’t get gun control by disarming law-abiding citizens. Disarm the thugs and criminals, lock them up, and if you don’t actually throw away the key, as least lose it for a long time…We must reject the idea that every time a law is broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions…You know, I think the best possible social program is a job.”

  “An America that is militarily and economically strong is not enough. The world must see an America that is morally strong with a creed and a vision. For us, values count.”

  “With freedom comes responsibility…We might start with the Ten Commandments. If we lived by the Golden Rule, there would be no need for other laws…If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”

  “I believe the American people will reject the politicization of our judiciary. When the people begin to hear the truth, they will demand an independent judiciary, free from high-pressure politics and founded on the principle of judicial restraint.”

  “I’ll confess to getting a lump in my throat when I witnessed a swearing-in ceremony for new citizens. Written on their faces was happiness, pride, and determination to pursue their vision of the American dream.”

  “I have been described as an undying optimist, always seeing a glass half full when some see it as half empty…I always see the sunny side of life. A leader, once convinced a particular course of action is the right one, must have the determination to stick with it and be undaunted when the going gets rough.”

  “Education doesn’t begin with some isolated bureaucrat in Washington. It doesn’t even begin with state or local officials. Education begins in the home, where it is a parental right and responsibility…Let me offer lesson number one about America: All great change in America begins at the dinner table.”

  “There’s a tendency to throw aside old values as belonging to an earlier generation. Don’t discard those values that have proven, over a period of time, their value. Just believe in those values that made our nation great and keep them: faith, family, hard work, and above all, freedom.”

   And in his farewell address to the nation, President Reagan stated, “Because we are a great nation, our challenges seem complex. It will always be this way. But as long as we remember our first principles and believe in ourselves, the future will always be ours.”

   We need to remember President Reagan’s wisdom. Let us all pray that the citizens in our country join together after this election and move forward to solve the problems facing us today. Political differences will remain, but whether you are a Republican or Democrat, the divisiveness and hatred must end.

John “Butch” Dale is a retired teacher and County Sheriff. He has also been the librarian at Darlington the past 35 years, and is a well-known artist and author of local history.