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People often say that history is surprisingly similar;trumpDoes he really look like President Reagan? (Image source: Free Image Reagan: Public Domain/Trump: Video Screenshot)
Chinese proverb “Great wisdom and courage” means that courage comes from wisdom. It is precisely becauseReaganHis wisdom led him to display superhuman courage during his eight years as president. This courage is demonstrated in four aspects:
One is that he had the courage to challenge the communist empire.
In the 1980s, the peak of the Cold War, the Soviet Union not only aimed 10,000 missiles at the United States and other free worlds, but also, together with Red China, exported “Animal Farm” and “1984” to the world. As the leader of the free world, Reagan never flinched in the face of powerful communist forces. In Afghanistan, the Philippines, Nicaragua, the Middle East, Europe, and the Taiwan Strait, he fought tit-for-tat against communist forces and defended freedom. value.
In his speech to the British Parliament, he firmly predicted that the communist revolution was in a period of crisis and would definitely fail. During a speech in West Berlin, he bravely called out the true name of the communist Soviet Union: “The Evil Empire.” Facing the Berlin Wall that blocked freedom, he publicly called out to the Kremlin: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
Reagan had the courage to speak the truth, which gave great encouragement to people in communist countries who longed for freedom. “Washington Post” columnist David Ignatius wrote that when he interviewed a professor in Moscow, he would never forget what the professor said to him: “The president of the United States dares to say to the world The truth of the Soviet Union, you have the courage to tell our true name.”
The American columnist said that he would look at Reagan differently from then on. Reagan’s words gave hope of freedom to the people of the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries who were still in the Iron Curtain world. It was this hope that destroyed all European communist systems less than ten years later.
The German singer-poet Biermann, who is known as the man who brought down the Berlin Wall, believes that wealth does not guarantee everything. Freedom should first come before wealth. (Photo source: Central News Agency)
The second aspect of Reagan’s courage is that he dared to tell the truth and bear moral responsibility in the face of attacks from the leftist camp that dominated the major Western media.
The above-mentioned “Heritage Foundation” researcher Ledding said, “The left hates Reagan and his followers because he demonstrated the huge deception and emptiness of the theory that the left believes in the justice and inevitable victory of the communist revolution. Leftist knowledge The elements have never forgiven the Reagans for destroying the Soviet empire.”
“New York Times” reporter James Reston wrote, “In 1984, when Reagan was seeking re-election, never in American history had so many reporters, editors, producers, and television anchors done so much to stop a president. But, thank God, they failed.”
At that time, the left-wing media attacked Reagan hysterically, calling him “idiot”, “arrogant”, “sloppy”, “extreme rightist”, “ideological maniac”, “a president who only tells jokes” and so on. Even today, when the power of the left has obviously declined, American universities and media, including Hollywood, are still the stronghold of the left. There are more than twice as many editors and reporters registered as Democrats than Republicans. One can only imagine how powerful the power of the left was back then.
After visiting the Soviet Union in 1982, American leftist historian and Pulitzer winner Arthur Schlesinger declared, “Those who believe that the Soviet Union’s economy and society are on the verge of collapse, and that if external forces push it further, it will fall off the cliff. Americans are just kidding themselves.”
Another American leftist economist, John K. Galbraith, returned from a visit to Moscow in 1984 and highly praised the Soviet Union’s socialist economic achievements. He explained, “The success of the Soviet system lies in its ability to concentrate on using all resources. Human resources.” Some conservative commentators once responded unceremoniously, saying, what is “all human resources”? Does it mean “gulag”?
Faced with the Western left’s admiration and praise for the Red Soviet Union, Reagan replied firmly: The Soviet Union was in a “huge revolutionary crisis” and the “global freedom movement” would definitely win. “The march of freedom and democracy – will turn Marxism-Leninism into the ashes of history.”
While Reagan insisted on strong national defense and the development of missile defense, Western leftists launched an anti-nuclear march with millions of people in Paris, demanding that the United States first freeze and destroy nuclear weapons. This is tantamount to asking the United States to disarm and let the Communist Soviet Union slaughter it. In his famous book “The Intellectuals” which criticized the Western leftists, contemporary British historian Paul Johnson revealed in detail the ugly behavior of Sartre, Russell, Simone de Beauvoir and others who led anti-American and anti-nuclear demonstrations and worshiped the Communist Soviet Union. According to historical data, the anti-nuclear demonstrations in Paris that year were funded and sponsored by the Communist Soviet Union. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Western leftists are allies of the Communist Party.
It takes superhuman courage for politicians to challenge the Western leftist public opinion that was absolutely dominant at that time. Countless politicians do not dare to offend leftist public opinion for the sake of votes.
But Reagan refused to give in to leftist public opinion and insisted on putting conservative ideas into practice. His famous saying was: “Don’t listen to them.” But he won big! During his re-election campaign, he won the electoral votes of 49 out of 50 states, becoming the president with the largest electoral margin in American history. This record is difficult to beat because it would require winning all 50 states, which is almost impossible.
The third aspect of Reagan’s courage is that even though he was called a “radical”, he did not compromise with the eclectic and wavering factions within his party, but insisted on pursuing his ideas to the end.
It is not easy not to bow to the left, and sometimes it is even harder not to bow to the compromising faction of the party. Obstacles from within are the most likely to cause lameness.
But after taking office, Reagan proposed the largest tax cut bill in American history, cutting the top personal income tax rate by 42 percentage points. However, the U.S. economy did not recover immediately, and instead fell into recession the next year. In the end, his cabinet members couldn’t stand it any longer and wanted to back down, and even his main aides felt they couldn’t continue. But Reagan persisted and would not waver. In the end, the tax cut policy had a miraculous effect, promoting the recovery and strong development of the US economy, not only suppressing inflation, but also creating 19 million jobs in the United States.
The three major goals of Reagan’s domestic policy were: tax reduction, economic recovery, and balanced budget. When he left office, he achieved both of the first two items, but left a huge deficit because he always insisted on building a strong national defense and building modern military power. Although the deficit issue is still criticized by the left and was questioned by people in his own party at the time, Reagan defied all opinions and firmly believed that only through strength can we win peace, curb the expansion of the Soviet Union, and protect freedom.
Under the Reagan administration, the United States continued to increase military spending and built the most powerful military in the world. David Frum, a speechwriter for former President George W. Bush, said that looking back, Reagan won the Cold War with the backing of strong military power. The deficit was only a small price to pay and was a “cost” of the war. worth. The most powerful military power in the world is the United States, which is the guarantee of the free world. Otherwise the world would be unimaginable!
In March 1987, Trump met with President Ronald Reagan at the White House. (Image source: Public domain)
The fourth aspect of Reagan’s courage is that he does not pursue fashion, do not cater to the polls, and do not follow the trend. Instead, he only looks for ideas that are beneficial to the people and the country. Even if he goes against the current, he never seeks to increase his own ” Popularity” and abandoning principles show the courage of a “great man”.
Peggy Noonan, another Reagan speechwriter, wrote: “There were many times in Reagan’s life when public opinion was in one direction, but he swam against the tide and swam in another direction. He served for He paid all kinds of costs, even the leaders of his own party said he was fanatical and radical, but he did not complain, he seemed to have a rope in his mouth, pulling forward, and finally the whole country followed him and reached the safe coast.”
A year after Reagan left office, the Berlin Wall fell. Two years later, the sickle and ax flag fell from Moscow’s Red Square, and the Soviet empire collapsed. In 1991, in the Persian Gulf, the United States used the powerful military power built during the Reagan administration to overwhelmingly win the first war after the Vietnam War. Subsequently, all the communist regimes in Europe fell one after another, and the communism predicted by Reagan was swept into the dustbin of history and became a reality.
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who worked side by side with Reagan to resist communism, commented: “President Reagan relied on a strong pillar of faith. At a moment when freedom was retreating, he set sail to expand freedom around the world, and he succeeded!” “Driven by his love for America, he lifted up the world.”
Editor in charge: Fu Longshan Source: China Column
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