Dutch Remembers Dutch

In 1981 I was writing a paper for a class I had in high school. I was discussing the economic policies of then President Ronald Reagan. Basically I was comparing them to the economic policies of Margaret Thatcher, who had had a jumpstart in reshaping the UK in her own free market image. They had brought disaster to the British Economy, I argued, and doubtless the similar doings would do the same in the US.

As I sat there typing away, watching whatever on television, the news came on that Reagan had been shot.

I took a deep breath, and completely changed my thesis. Away with the welfare state! Get government out of the way of individual initiative!

I protested against Reagan's Central American polices. His failure to recognize the threat posed by the AIDS epidemic and to take action has given me an anger that is with me today. I volunteered with Walter Mondale's campaign in 1984.

And yet, and yet...

What a great man he was. What a truly great man. What strikes me most is his deep-seated and unwavering belief in the goodness and decency of people, his conviction that we are all abundantly blessed, and our measure is taken by the stewardship of those blessings. Living according to those principles is a great challenge for any man--sooooo much evidence to the contrary, don'cha know--and Ronald Reagan met that challenge with a palpable joy.

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