Remembering Reagan

I was fortunate enough to be not working today and so was able to watch and listen to the entire state funeral. It was beautiful, moving, and impeccably conducted. I can't possibly imagine a better send off for a man of Reagan's immense stature.

Tom from Minnesota e-mails to recount his trip to Washington D.C. to pay his respects to Reagan. It was to keep a promise he made years ago and demonstrates the incredible impact Reagan had on so many people's lives:

Just returned from my trip to DC. What a memorable experience it was and always will be for me. A couple observations that I believe are important to pass along. The crowd on Wednesday was much younger than I had expected. I saw a lot of families with kids, but also many young twenty-something working professionals. It was good to see. I don't know what I was expecting, but since President Reagan was ninety three and basically out of sight for the last ten years with Alzheimers, I guess I thought the crowd would consist of those closer to age or nearer in generation to Reagan's. It did not.

Second, the respect of the crowd was truly awe-inspiring. When the caisson came down to 4th & Constitution (where I was standing, and directly across the street from the Canadian Embassy. Notwithstanding their unwillingness to send over Prime Minister Martin, it was big of them to at least lower the Canadian flag to half mast), everyone shut up and even the littlest of kids dared not to make a sound. As soon as President Reagan's caisson went by us, a single F-15 screamed directly overhead, followed by five groups each of four jets. The final group carried the traditional missing man formation, with the last jet breaking off from the group of four and flying sky high, seemingly to the heavens. For me, this was by far the most moving part of the ceremony. When the missing man ascended out of the four plane alignment, it stirred emotions in me that are difficult to explain. Maybe it's because those jets, and specifically the men that fly them, represent the best of the best that America has to offer. In a way, their grace, strength, and harnessed power are entirely symbolic of the nation they have volunteered to defend. And on this day, they represented the core qualities of the man they flew over to honor.

Finally, it will be interesting to see how history will view President Reagan. It's nauseating to hear the left-wing journalists suddenly fawn over a man they spent eight years denigrating. If they appreciated him then as much as they claim to now they wouldn't believe in the things they do. And newscasts would certainly contain a different perspective on current world affairs. I believe that President Reagan was the most important man of the 20th Century. People will claim that he never had to preside over a war in which hundreds of thousands of lives were lost (i.e. Lincoln with the Civil War and FDR/Truman WWII) but just imagine what could have happened to the world if anyone else but Reagan had been president in the 80's. More than likely, the Soviet Union would still have far reaching influence today, and certainly would have been at par or better with the United States vis a vis superpower status. If you look at American History, we have been blessed to have the right man at the right time leading our country. History has shown that if anyone other than Washington led our country at the time of its formation, it may not have ever formed; if anyone other than Lincoln led our country during the Civil War, the Union may not have held together; and if anyone other than Reagan led during the 80's, one can say with relative certainty that hundreds of millions of people would not enjoy living in freedom today because of him.