ronald reagan: a true american hero

Reagan: A True American Hero”

“We will continue our quest in space. There will be more flights and more space shuttle crews. And, yes, more volunteers.”

-Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan, viewed by some as a true American hero, was as stupendous as presidents can be. His dramatic speeches and down-to-earth personality made people proud to be American. Ronald Reagan seemed more then American. He was a patriot. Ronald Reagan cared deeply for the American people as well at their values. Our nation now felt, with Reagan’s assistance, united. After a nation torn apart by the specter or war, Ronald brought the people together again. However, disaster can unite or divide a country. At a difficult time, when the Challenger exploded, Ronald Reagan inspired his nation to realize that we are modern day explorers, and disaster may be the price that must by paid.

Certain elements in Ronald’s life prepared him to be an effective ruler at a critical time. Reagan did not start out as a man of politics. In fact, he made his debut as an actor. Although he never made it to Hollywood, he would often appear in grade “B” romance films (Fox V. 73-80.) In his early years of politics, 1964 to be exact, Ronald supported and rallied for Barry Goldwater, a republican presidential candidate. It was a strange twist of irony, because at the time, Reagan was an ultra liberal. This may have come from the preposterous fact that Reagan knew very little about politics. It was said that Barry Goldwater drew Reagan to the more conservative side of politics. When Reagan finally began to get enthralled with politics, he ran for governor of California. He got elected in 1966 (Fox V 90-103.)

Since Reagan was very liberal in a turbulent time, he used superflous police force in events which he deemed “riots.” Because of this, he was an outcast by the minority community. Since Ronald Reagan was very liberal, he had an open mind to influences. In his early acting years, he was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, where he learned small-scale government procedures (Fox V. 73-80.) Reagan was also a supporter of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who...

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Patriotism is soaked in his speech. He continues mentioning how the nation must mourn their loss. Reagan acknowledges the obstacles and the challenges the crew overcame. He then mentions the names of the perished crew to commemorate their death. He then gives an apology to all the school children who witnessed the tragedy on live TV. He assumes his people from the space program have nothing to hide, and will continue to thrive in the public. I feel the president prescribed the remedy of patriotism in his speech. He wants America to be proud even in the face of danger. The people ate this up and generally agreed with it. (Speech)

Reagan’s speech was to go down as one of history’s best. Ironically, it wasn’t written by him. It was composed by Peggy Noonan, one of the White House’s best speech writers. On a personal note, I feel this speech gave a beacon of hope to a nation in need. It captivates the nation’s disaster and made the burden seem less. In the end, Regan was one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. Even when hes not with us anymore, the effects that he left, both positive and negative, will dwell in the belly of our nation.