Dancing on Reagan's Grave?
Wehhlll.....
One of the first posts I saw on the day of Ronald Reagan's passing seemed, at the least, in poor taste. It was entitled "Reagan is Dead - Finally!" The post was by some guy who aspires to be "the most dangerous mind on the Internet", and draws a lot of attention to himself by making sensational, offensive, thoughtless posts, kind of like the radio jocks that poked fun at Berg after his unfortunate demise.
Now, I see that more sites have put on their dancing shoes for this occasion. I was very surprised to see that one of my favorites, Democracynow.org, has joined the shindig. If you have ever watched an Internet broadcast that portrays a clearer picture of what is actually happening in this country right now than Democracynow.org, I would be surprised. My neighbor turned me on to it awhile back and I've been addicted ever since.
So, why take the opportunity of someone's death to run stories like "Reagan Was the Butcher of My People?" Perhaps it's to present an alternative view to all of the buzz about how this country is forever in his debt. It doesn't seem real classy to bash Reagan right now, just as it wasn't en vogue for Michael Moore and the Dixie Chicks to protest the Iraq War when everyone thought Saddam Hussein really had weapons of mass destruction pointed at us. George W. Bush and John Kerry have even suspended the Presidential race for five days to allow the nation to mourn Reagan.
Maybe we can take these five days to remember Reagan for who he really was, whether it be optimist, patriot, or butcher. Let's just not get so carried away with sentiment that we displace reality. When I was a kid I thought that Reagan was a pretty cool guy. I didn't know anything about right wing death squads or "Reaganomics". I just thought he seemed like a positive person. Now I believe he was a human being who was part of something much bigger than he ever understood.
I won't be taking this opportunity to slam Ronald Reagan. But, I cannot be one of the majority you are hearing now who are singing his praises.
One of the first posts I saw on the day of Ronald Reagan's passing seemed, at the least, in poor taste. It was entitled "Reagan is Dead - Finally!" The post was by some guy who aspires to be "the most dangerous mind on the Internet", and draws a lot of attention to himself by making sensational, offensive, thoughtless posts, kind of like the radio jocks that poked fun at Berg after his unfortunate demise.
Now, I see that more sites have put on their dancing shoes for this occasion. I was very surprised to see that one of my favorites, Democracynow.org, has joined the shindig. If you have ever watched an Internet broadcast that portrays a clearer picture of what is actually happening in this country right now than Democracynow.org, I would be surprised. My neighbor turned me on to it awhile back and I've been addicted ever since.
So, why take the opportunity of someone's death to run stories like "Reagan Was the Butcher of My People?" Perhaps it's to present an alternative view to all of the buzz about how this country is forever in his debt. It doesn't seem real classy to bash Reagan right now, just as it wasn't en vogue for Michael Moore and the Dixie Chicks to protest the Iraq War when everyone thought Saddam Hussein really had weapons of mass destruction pointed at us. George W. Bush and John Kerry have even suspended the Presidential race for five days to allow the nation to mourn Reagan.
Maybe we can take these five days to remember Reagan for who he really was, whether it be optimist, patriot, or butcher. Let's just not get so carried away with sentiment that we displace reality. When I was a kid I thought that Reagan was a pretty cool guy. I didn't know anything about right wing death squads or "Reaganomics". I just thought he seemed like a positive person. Now I believe he was a human being who was part of something much bigger than he ever understood.
I won't be taking this opportunity to slam Ronald Reagan. But, I cannot be one of the majority you are hearing now who are singing his praises.
1 Comments:
At 11:17 PM, EdwardA(ERA) said…
I can't say I'm going to miss Ronald Reagan. I just turned 15 when Reagan got elected. It was a very unsettled time inthis country. We had over 100 citizens held hostage in the embassy in Iran. We had rampent inflation and although I consider him to one of the most genuine and pure people to hold office, an ineffective president in Jimmy Carter. Reagan tapped into that unsettled time and convinced the country he was what we needed. ANd he was god in that he made us more proud to be americans. Unfotunately he also misused his power(or the ones around him did). He started the trend towards rampent greed and loosening of coperate laws that resulted 20 years later in the Enron, Worldcom, Tyco and Adelphia cable scandels. How many ever heard that trees cause pollution. Reagan made that claim when the howls of protest sounded over the policies of James Watt. So all in all I wasnt a fan of him. On the other side his illness has raised awareness over the plight of Alzhiemer patients, and it always sad to see a family lose a patriarch. Lets just not try to rewrite history by making him out to be a saint. He was very human and definately fallible.
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