Reagan

When I was a child, I feared humanity might not survive the millennium. Ronald Reagan was planning how to win a nuclear war. My local newspaper described what would happen to us across the Hudson if New York City got nuked. On my radio, Sting sang:

♫ Mr. Reagan says we will protect you
I don’t subscribe to this point of view
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too

Reagan’s mind has been lost to Alzheimer’s Disease for a decade, but yesterday his body caught up. Despite having to hear conservatives eulogize his awful administration, my world is a little bit brighter knowing I have outlived him. It’s 2004 and we’re not a radioactive cinder after all.
He was a glib liar who shielded himself from being told inconvenient facts to preserve deniability. He drove our nation into a trillion‐dollar deficit by cutting taxes for the rich and spending like there’s no tomorrow. A millennialist who believed he lived in the end times, he attacked the separation of church and state, pandered to Christian fundamentalists, and invited them into the White House. He tried to overturn clean‐air standards, and to open wildlife refuges to clearcutting and oil drilling. He slashed funding for social programs like health, education, and welfare, while giving billions in sweetheart deals to defense contractors. He sank millions into a Star Wars missile defense despite experts saying it was scientifically unfeasible. He rushed our nation into an unwarranted and unnecessary war.

Thank goodness that’s all over. Hey, wait a minute…