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Nancy’s legacy
The recent passing of former First Lady Nancy Davis Reagan brings to mind some of the positive attributes of the Reagan era of the 1980s.
The Reagan era was one where the United States turned a corner and moved toward shedding the negative aftertaste of a Vietnam conflict that introduced returning military personnel to an angry and sometimes hostile America. The Reagan era was one characterized by healthier relations with the Soviet Union, which led to the end of the Cold War.
Mrs. Reagan also defined what constituted the Reagan era because she established the anti-drug campaign of “Just Say No” to counter the heavy LSD drug culture and recreational drug use environment rampant throughout the country. It was Nancy Reagan who attempted to bring more decorum to the White House that was started by Mrs. Kennedy and it was Nancy Reagan who led efforts to raise money for people with Alzheimer’s disease and breast cancer. It was also Nancy Reagan who proved that entering into and maintaining a strong marriage was not an impossibility.
As clips of Nancy Reagan’s life play side-by-side with daily Trump-isms and the unprecedented negativity of the current GOP presidential election cycle, it makes me wonder just what direction the United States is moving toward and just how divorced the GOP has become from the era of the “great communicator” and his First Lady.
Jesse Perez
Via email
