In Loving Memory of Ronald Wilson Reagan: 6 February 1911 - 5 June 2014
 |
| Ronald Wilson Reagan, 40th President of the United States: 6 February 1911 - 5 June 2004 |
My dear friends and patriots, as we each seek to restore the American paradise we lost so many years ago and yet it still seems as if we just basked within its fountains of El Dorado one day ex post facto, I want to take a moment a share with each individual still free of heart to read, to listen and in serving in what society today diagnoses as a mental health malady known as an empath for the nation we love, the path we choose to meander, the sanctity of life we cherish and for which each one of us is so precious that others find this very premium upon it that we place as unenlightened and indignant to learned demagogues speaking indecencies which bleed outside of our aural cavities like molten hot lava erupting from her smoldering magma vents in subterrain to pay tribute to a modern political colossus not just of the American epoch of human liberty and our necessity to preserve the right to simply pledge of what Thomas Jefferson inscribed within the nomenclature of the Declaration of Independence as our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor on this, the tenth anniversary of what once had always been morning in America that had suddenly metastasized as if that silent pillager of the mind robbed a man who always credited the American people with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the final toppling of major communist regimes geopolitically and in the national economic expansion, Ronald Wilson Reagan. To the world, Ronnie, as only his lovely wife Nancy and his staunchest political ally, confidante and ideological bookend in the form of Margaret Thatcher is seen by conservative and yes, many libertarian ideologues alike, as a venerable figure who bordered upon necessitating the processes to beatify him as a patron saint for restoring to a once-proud nation the America it had always known in confidence, in prosperity, but most significantly as his oft-quoted line in reference to Rev. John Winthrop as the puritan town leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, as the shining city upon a hill which he detailed upon the occasion he formally bid his fellow Americans goodbye as the following:
"The past few days when I've been at that window upstairs, I've thought a bit of the shining "city upon a hill." The phrase comes from John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined. What he imagined was important, because he was an early Pilgrim - an early "Freedom Man." He journeyed here on what today we'd call a little wooden boat, and, like the other pilgrims, he was looking for a home that would be free.
I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind, it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind swept, God blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace - a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors, and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here."
And in harmony, she stood tall, that shining city upon a hill, as if we could simply reach out our hands and just touch, to feel Jesus preaching to the willing congregation his landmark Sermon on the Mount, who through our Lord and Savior may we accredit with this concept and for our salvation and the liberty to choose to live as a free people. Yet Reagan would have been horrified that some of his most staunch supporters among the American people would grant him the title of a patron saint because while our sitting president today borders on narcissistic rage and delusionary self-exaltation to the role of one absolutist dictator proclaiming himself the served and not the server, the Gipper was well aware of when he was shot by John Hinckley to simply tell Nancy, "Honey, I forgot to duck."
Indeed, it was Christ who delivered that very profound, landmark verse of so many in that fabled sermon atop of a mount which stands as the standard arbiter by which we all must gauge our faith and whether we are adhering to both ours, but most significantly God's standards of fulfillment of the moral imperative. And as this sermon was recorded in Scripture in the Book of Matthew 5: 1-16, we may derive the formula as to how and why Anglo America was founded and the principles which evolved while lending a great reliance upon these traditions its creed for our manifest destiny based upon our exceptionalism:
5 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
***
John Rolfe, who established the first permanent settlement of Anglo America in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, founded her an untamed wilderness very much the worse for its wear. Most died during the early days of the settlement from malaria and other diseases wrought upon the villagers residing in the marshes of the Chesapeake Bay in what today is referred to as the Old Dominion. Mother Nature did not kill their will to fight to be free, however, nor to live to prosper off the land their sweaty brows and hoes used to till the red clay of her Virginia land to grow tobacco yields to sell abroad, which the Spanish Empire imported from the West Indies and later procured for cultivation by Mr. Rolfe himself in acknowledging his accreditation of earthly sovereignty to Christ's dictum that to be free entails immersing oneself into his or her labor if the individual should wish for prosperity to be borne unto him or her as its fruits for nourishment. In this sense, President Reagan's contention of a free people endowed by our Creator with limitless possibilities for achieving our American Dream can only be prohibitive by our own design, may be assumed to reflect verse 16 of the sermon:
13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Indeed, for better or worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, we are married to this blessed land bequeathed us all by Him so that through our labors may we be betrothed as she feeds upon our seeds so that the ever apropos name of Virginia to designate as a once-virgin land may for all posterity reproduce the necessitated fruits so essential to the propagation of mankind. We are indeed as a historically industrious lot having secured throughout more than 407 years of our history on this continent, the salt of the earth, having never lost what has always been inherent and omnipotent to one and all to learn from it the powers of love and hope through our faith worshipping in humble acknowledgement of how through His grace alone may we ever find salvation amid an eternal peace of mind.
In discussing the purpose of free enterprise via the fledgling practice of mercantilism for the emerging Britannic empire, I now segue my story a few hundred miles to the north in present day Plymouth, Massachusetts. It is here where after a 66 day voyage which akin to the early days of the Jamestown settlement, saw upon the Mayflower death via this sickness so that the sacrifices they chose to set as their course for action and not rhetoric may ever have hope to blossom for future generations. And how apropos again that as one reads first of Christ's account of the shining city upon a hill followed by John Winthrop's interpretation and Ronald Reagan's reverence and modernization in applying Christ unto today's America and its role in the geopolitical climate and in faith's restoration, that venerable chartered ship anchored along the bay where her inhabitants were governed under the first known codified laws of a social contract known as the Mayflower Compact, which inflected through each individual obliged to remain committed to their godly duties that each may see law and order and a more perfect union. Such as the line within our own preamble of the Constitution which implicitly states that we are for all time always in search for a means to maintain and apply our knowledge of history and tradition, but most importantly the teachings of Jesus Christ, a more perfect union, and not any attempt to achieve an absolute model due to mankind's own fallibilities. And upon that initial step of the first foot upon what we know today is Plymouth Rock, how better may such a very seemingly non-ecclesiastical moment in human history be truly considered our gift from God of a settlement whose bedrock as its foundation was the rock along Plymouth's shore, and instilled within each man and woman's breasts their duty to serve as the lighthouse for all to guide their ships as they each sail across a darkened horizon in uncharted waters, amid a tempest's rage when Jesus stated:
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Is it any coincidence as to why Abraham Lincoln delivered the immortal line during a June 16, 1858 debate with Stephen Douglas that a house divided cannot stand? For it was also his reference here to yet another of Jesus' parables from "... a concept familiar to Lincoln's audience as a statement by Jesus recorded in all three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke)" that we as a blessed people may draw from its strength where Honest Abe promulgated in his dicta the verbatim I will provide:
In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached, and passed.
"A house divided against itself cannot stand."I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided.It will become all one thing or all the other.
As the reputable historian of record, Roy P. Basler, contended as true in his compilation titled Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, the echo was clear and resonated after almost exactly 126 years that one is either all or nothing; one does not simply stand in the middle of the road because that person will be ran over from the traffic on both sides. In the very American dichotomy which all choice for liberty must be answered in truth and honesty, we are either all to be enslaved, or we shall take up arms and fight to live freely. There is no half of one and a corresponding figure in diametrical opposition of force to the other. America is God's house for us to do with in justice and acknowledgment of human liberty as we so choose. We cannot live beneath a cloud of smoke adjacent to a mirror unless as Benjamin Franklin once stated, "We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."
As the foundation of the American ethos was predicated initially not upon the addendum of Locke's ideas of Classical Liberalism and the laws of nature but instead only Christianity, the clay beds of mud in Virginia and her brethren along the rocky soils of the harsh New England climatic terrain were still represented by the Trinity to one and all. And as this was also the principle behind President Reagan's conviction that man is not free unless government is limited... that as government expands, liberty contracts. So too may I reflect upon the late president's greatest speech which was an unofficial eulogy to the evil Soviet empire bent upon totalitarian domination of the geopolitical and cultural conscience with the immortal demand for all or nothing in defiance of the failed Cold War policy towards Moscow of Detente that appeased and acquiesced, but never saw America trusting nor believing in herself enough to ever entertain the hope to verify: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
I will post the immortal speech by President Reagan in its entirety courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Foundation's page of filmed speeches immediately below:
Oh, how I long for the time when grownups were in charge!
Reagan did not ask for a part followed meekly by its parcel; he demanded it all. He achieved this goal two years later; for Ronnie, it was as Margaret Thatcher inscribed in his guest book at his Washington funeral the following verse from Matthew 25:23, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
***
In Memoriam dew Princeps, Homo, Humanvs, Maritvs, Capitvlvm et Vir Maximvs:
On the eve of an uncertain tomorrow as America continues to watch in horror and exasperation its sitting president systematically destroy all the virtues for which Ronald Reagan championed as absolute in his conviction as a man of God and his faith entrusted unto we, the people, I wish to bid to all fare thee well ad tempus of the life as a proud American I once knew so well and loved. Some claim she died at different times; Democrats will say she died when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of George W. Bush to become president in the landmark Bush v. Gore case over the disputed vote total in Florida, or as you each recall, the hanging chads. For conservatives and civil libertarians however, some state she died upon the election of Barack Obama in 2008; in posting regular replies to Bristol Palin, I sadly read the declaration on her t-shirt which stated "The United States of America: 1776 to 2009." God love Miss Palin for her spunk, infectious sense of humor, her unyielding faith in God and an intelligent young lady, but I reject that reference; as a young lady, she has not yet advanced enough in years and the corresponding experience which it can only gain through aging to firmly grasp what she does not truly comprehend about what the greatest achievement of human freedom and liberty in the history of mankind will endure as it will absorb the trends resulting in erosion that as it is natural, so too may it be altered or adapted according upon adjustment to a newly-acquired liberty through struggle in exacting its harsh measure of justice upon those who would attempt to erase our very principles for our foundation. America is very much alive and still kicking stubbornly like a five year old boy (sadly, me) who refused to be still for a streptococcus throat culture, but she is now instead a rabid jackass too proud of its own arrogance and deceit towards those who elected him and instead chooses to dictate his sovereignty over and not that of ours that command him. America is not dead, and she is not scheduled to die from any draconian means of execution; indeed, she has been dealt a blackened right eye and her pride once so proudly upon display now sits on display as damaged goods. She can be restored, and as President Reagan from atop the heavenly skies watches over each of us as we once were his acknowledged driving force behind his successes, we at the least have a true chance to cripple President Obama come November 4's mid-term general elections. The sleeping giant may be lying in repose, but she is still the world's most formidable juggernaut still dreaming that American Dream and patiently biding her time when plans take flight into action. I part with you past midnight on June 6, D-Day's 70 anniversary, a few hours tardy by first reiterating the importance for you to cast your ballots that day and to sweep socialism with your metaphor of a broom out the front door of the Capitol. His reverence in preserving the precious commodity which are the right of man through God's begotten liberty endowed within each soul was never better articulated than with his colloquial anecdotes and idioms he expressed in his Farewell Address to the Nation dated January 11, 1989:
And as President Reagan once so eloquently wrote when he revealed to his beloved Americans free to choose to make of it as each individual wishes for the best the most of its rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (or Locke's property) his diagnosis with Alzheimer's Disease, he bid to all a fond farewell, unafraid of his journey to that undiscovered country that is by God's side at His triclinium in the following terms:
My fellow Americans,
I have recently been told that I am one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer's disease.Upon learning this news, Nancy and I had to decide whether as private citizens we would keep this a private matter or whether we would make this news known in a public way.In the past, Nancy suffered from breast cancer and I had cancer surgeries. We found through our open disclosures we were able to raise public awareness. We were happy that as a result many more people underwent testing. They were treated in early stages and able to return to normal, healthy lives.So now we feel it is important to share it with you. In opening our hearts, we hope this might promote greater awareness of this condition. Perhaps it will encourage a clear understanding of the individuals and families who are affected by it.At the moment, I feel just fine. I intend to live the remainder of the years God gives me on this earth doing the things I have always done. I will continue to share life's journey with my beloved Nancy and my family. I plan to enjoy the great outdoors and stay in touch with my friends and supporters.Unfortunately, as Alzheimer's disease progresses, the family often bears a heavy burden. I only wish there was some way I could spare Nancy from this painful experience. When the time comes, I am confident that with your help she will face it with faith and courage.In closing, let me thank you, the American people, for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your president. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future.I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.Thank you, my friends.Sincerely,Ronald Reagan
***
In reality, however, the Reagan Revolution never died either, because it was as American as apple pie. And if you were to still ask someone alive and old enough to grasp the events of our world during the 1980s, well, I believe you might find someone perhaps less articulate than the Gipper state the following:
That's how I saw it, and see it still. How Stands the City?
And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure and happier than it was eight years ago. But more than that: after 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm.
And she's 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.
We've done our part. And as I "walk off into the city streets," a final word to the men and women of the Reagan Revolution - the men and women across America who for eight years did the work that brought America back:
My friends, we did it. We weren't just marking time, we made a difference. We made the city stronger - we made the city freer - and we left her in good hands.
All in all, not bad. Not bad at all.
And so, goodbye.
God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.
And so long as we continue to place our faith in God we trust, if families with young children as well adolescents can still freely gather at the dinner table to engage in crucial discourses so imperative for the healthy nourishment of family values and each member's mutual love for the others ensuring a bright future for that city President Reagan spoke so fondly in his reverence will survive to one day again light the candles to guide her perilous plight sailing across twilight of a morning always worthy to recollect at its darkest hours until our ship sails clear past the tumult of her tempest's raging waves, when the ocean succumbs of the maleficence of a false prophet's evil nature. For as long as we may freely call ourselves Americans, Jesus' truest pronouncement for our eternal rendezvous with destiny will lift us from the pits of a thousand years of darkness:
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
No comments:
Post a Comment