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
Here is the real legacy of the Reagan presidency:
[1] The blight of homelessness began with him. He opposed all efforts to tackle this problem.
[2] He cut funding on mental health which put wackos back on the street and many murders were committed by these individuals who should have been institutionalized.
[3] He was a rich man’s president. The rich got richer and the poor got poorer. Income disparity and the destruction of the middle class began with him.
[4] The deficit grew at record rates for the sake of an unnecessary military buildup. Although this is credited with the fall of the USSR, it would have imploded on its own.