Ronald W. Reagan

Ronald Reagan during his tenure as the President

Were you to ask me a decade ago what made a hero, I would promptly answer with a list of qualities befitting Superman, Batman, Spiderman or some other superpowered demigod. I would tell you that a hero needed special powers; needed to beat up the bad guys and fly, and that they needed to be better than every other person in the world, both physically and mentally. However, were you to ask me today, I would say a hero needs leadership, compassion, drive and understanding. They needed to do what was right, for themselves and for the people, always sacrificing their own well-being if the two ever came into dispute. I would tell you that a hero needs to make a difference in somebody’s life. That, when faced with this very question, is why I chose Ronald Reagan as my role model and hero.

Could you imagine walking into a formerly all-white school in the 1960’s, when you were African American? Many were faced with this challenge of guts and will, and many had to endure taunts, threats, screams and attacks from their fellow students. It was a white school, an African American had no right to be there. At least, that’s what the majority students thought. Now, let’s apply this sense of taboo (to a lesser degree, however) to the 1980 presidential election. While many of the previous presidents had been lawyers and Generals, America finally had a new occupation gunning for the title of president, an actor. Certainly, he knew what he was talking about, he knew his stuff. But think, do any of you believe Johnny Depp or Jamie Foxx could become a U.S. president? How about Adam Sandler? Jamie Lee Curtis? More than likely, no, you wouldn’t expect them to lead an entire country. But Ronald Reagan, a movie veteran of over 50 cinematic works, did it. He became our 40th president, promising a new future, an end to hostilities with the USSR, and a hope for peace. He was shot by John Hinkley Jr. merely weeks after becoming elected, and he was resilient enough to retain consciousness, even cracking jokes before having the bullet removed. He was not only mentally tough, but physically as well.

A picture of Ronald Reagan during his presidency

Reagan was elected when there were two problems on people’s minds, the Cold War, and the Economy. He saved us from both. Through his tough, aggressive policies, he was able to pull the country out of the time of high unemployment and high inflation. Although he started out weakening our economy, he used a changing global market to go on the rebound. By the time his term in office was over, he left the economy much better than the one he had inherited. He dealt with the looming threat that was the USSR, and, using strong politics, he was able to persuade Gorbachev to stop the Arms race. Ronald Reagan was the one man capable of pulling the US away from the dark times of the Arms Race, and he did it flawlessly. Even with such scandals such as the Iran-Contra affair, he managed to step forward in the face of the critics and do his job. He laughed in the face of pressure and saved the country.

However, several years after leaving office, Ronald Reagan made an announcement to the world: He had become diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. It would seem that the mighty Ronald Reagan had fallen. However, he lived for another ten years, in the face of everything that stood against him. He became frail, and he could no longer even remember he had, at one point, been President. He died in 2004, to the dismay of people all over the world.

But the memory and spirit of Reagan still live on. The “Reagan Conservatives” have become the core of the entire Republican Party, and many still consider Reagan to be one of the greatest leaders in the history of our nation. A hero doesn’t simply dream, they act. A hero is remembered. Ronald Reagan is a hero, and never let anyone tell you otherwise.