The Gipper....in Honor of the Birthday of the President

SELF EVIDENT TRUTHS 


Vol. 1                          Issue 25
      

THE ENDURING LEGACY OF FREEDOM*

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.      
                             Ronald Wilson Reagan

In 2002, the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education voted to name a new high school after the 40^th President of the United States. The Ronald Wilson Reagan High School will open in August of 2005 near Pfafftown, North Carolina.

At  the public hearing held to consider the naming of schools, a local historian gave the Board a much-needed lesson on the life and contributions of a local African American for whom another high school was named. As we considered the enormous contributions made by Simon Green Atkins, it became apparent that our collective apathy toward history has a way of dulling our senses toward true American heroes.  

In any assessment of history, one such hero is Ronald Wilson Reagan. His contributions to our country and our world require no lengthy explanation. He restored our nation to economic and political health, and successfully confronted the menace of communism abroad and public malaise at home. Still, honoring his accomplishments by naming a high school in Pfafftown, N.C., paled in comparison to honors already bestowed upon him by this nation and by countries around the world.

The naming was not without controversy.  In letters to the Winston-Salem Journal, some in the community complained that the school was named after President Reagan because of the party affiliation of the Board of Education. Others complained that President Reagan had little significant connection to our community. One irate citizen told me that Reagan was just a worn out actor turned politician, and not worthy of such a high honor.

The critics did not understand Ronald Reagan nor did they understand that the new high school was named for the children of Forsyth County. Ronald Reagan embodied what it means to be an American; why it is important to pledge allegiance to one nation under God and to stand at attention when the National Anthem is played; why we pause on Memorial Day and honor those who gave their lives defending our nation; why we pray for our neighbors and show compassion to our enemies; why we should have the courage to stand resolute against injustice and to believe that our nation really is that shining city on a hill, a beacon to all who love and cherish freedom.

Peggy Noonan authored a wonderful book on President Reagan entitled When Character was King. She concludes the book with an epilogue reciting a story of a little boy visiting the White House. She opines, “The little bodies of children are the repositories of the greatness of a future age. And they must be encouraged, must eat from the tales of those who’ve gone before, and brandished their swords, and slayed dragons.”

Behind each name on the facade of school buildings throughout Forsyth County is a story of an American hero. These men and women have neither brandished swords nor slain dragons, but I am sure that they were heroes nonetheless, whose life stories would serve as encouragement to children of another age.

Most will know of John F. Kennedy and Thomas Jefferson. Others may be able to say something of Richard J. Reynolds or John C. Whitaker. If they are observant, Marvin Ward or Julian Gibson may still walk in their midst. Still, the stories of Lafayette Cook or John Ashley may be hard to find.  Few in our community can distinguish John W. Moore from David Petree, or Prince Ibraham from Rowland Latham.  Only those who read the historical marker on Fourth Street can tell you that Robert B. Glenn is the only Forsyth County native to be elected governor of North Carolina

What story will the name Ronald Wilson Reagan evoke?  I believe it is the collective story of the American Dream, and I believe the words of President Reagan say it best: “The dreams of people may differ, but everyone wants their dream to come true.  Not everybody aspires to be a bank president or a nuclear scientist, but everybody wants to do something with one’s life that will give him or her pride and a sense of accomplishment. And America, above all places, gives us the freedom to do that, the freedom to reach out and make our dreams come true.”

Like few others Reagan understood both the cost and the responsibility for a nation graced with freedom. He understood that freedom is a gift from an Almighty God to all humanity. It is our birthright as a nation, a precious legacy passed from one generation to the next. All Americans should see our nation through the eyes of Ronald Reagan.

“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, windswept, 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. That's how I saw it, and see it still.  And how stands the city on this winter night?"

"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."

A cruel illness silenced the Great Communicator long before he drew his last breath. Still his spirit remains. For the genius of Ronald Reagan was not embodied within his graceful style and gentle humor. He was a man of great ideas but these ideas were not his own. Personal freedom and individual responsibility, limited government and strong national defense have been the cornerstones of our Republic for over 200 years. He connected with people as he reflected like a mirror the very essence of our own American spirit. He appealed to our best dreams with encouragement and tempered our worst fears with optimism reminding us that our best days as Americans are but one horizon away.

As Ronald Wilson Reagan enters into the shining city of the Lord, may he be content with the knowledge that the sons and daughters of this great nation will keep the fires of freedom burning in our hearts and throughout this land. That this one nation conceived in liberty and blessed by Almighty God shall not perish from the earth. 

Well done thy good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord.

*originally published on the occasion of the death of the President