Don't Even Say It! - Niedermeyer's Dead Horse

I've spent the last hour or so strolling through memory lane, looking for the optimism that has escaped me lately. Generally, I'm feeling good about my life, but I'm not feeling good about US, collectively.

So, off to You Tube I went and I landed, naturally, at a slew of Reagan videos: Just what I needed to drift back to the days when our countrymen felt safe in the hands of a competent, secure, genuinely confident leader.

The first video I landed on addressed the PATCO strike. In it, President Reagan, Drew Lewis, and William French Smith spoke as a united chorus, and in no uncertain terms, to the illegality of the strike. When asked by a reporter about resorting to "lesser action" against the striking ATCs, Reagan seemed, for a fraction of a second, caught off guard by the notion that the full weight of the law should not be brought to bear.

*Sidenote: Why do Lewis and Smith sound like the cast of Dragnet?

Next I watched Reagan's remarks regarding the "crime against humanity" that was the "massacre" of 269 innocent men, women, and children. There was no soft language here in describing the murder by the Soviet Union of all aboard KAL flight 007. There was no second-guessing as to whether our own plane might have triggered a legitimate alert. There was no self-loathing on display nor an eagerness to forgive.

The Washington Post, unsurprisingly, in 2014, dredged up this speech in an attempt to justify Obama's own weak-wristed response to Putin.

Sure! Reagan sounded tough, but did he stop grain exports to the Soviets?!

It's as if because Reagan didn't do everything, Obama is excused from doing anything, including speaking to the nation in clear and precise language about the atrocity and by whom it was committed. As you might expect, George Will makes an appearance in that article.

Still, you listen to this and say that this was not a man who was born to lead.

In 74 days I will have to go to the precinct and cast a ballot for one of the many assholes who's presently running for office. For some of you the *pull the band-aid off* moment will come even sooner.

Not one of the candidates running for the most important office in the world, at a most crucial time in our history, inspires me in the least. I am flabbergasted by those who are utterly committed to one candidate or another and who are loud and proud in their support of him or her.

Really?!

*tilts head to the side*

Nonetheless, I am impressed by your ability to commit and perhaps I am the wuss for only, kinda sorta, liking a candidate that has little chance at winning the nomination. Still....

Still!

Do NOT attempt to persuade me that any one of them is next next Reagan. Don't try to draw parallels to his leadership style, his manner of speaking, his background, or his sense of humor.

Just. Don't.

Soon enough we will be forced to make a choice and it will be hard enough without the constant reminders of exactly who we AREN'T voting for.

Your thoughts?

posted by Open Blogger at 05:55 PM

| Access Comments