 |
|
|
QUOTE: If you don't know whether a body is
alive or dead, you would never bury it. I think this consideration itself
should be enough for all of us to insist on protecting the unborn. [Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation (1983)]
AUTHOR: Ronald Wilson
Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United
States (1981–1989), the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975), and prior to
that, a radio, film and television actor. Reagan was born in Tampico in
Whiteside County, Illinois, reared in Dixon in Lee County, Illinois, and
educated at Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois, with a Bachelor of Arts degree
in economics and sociology. Upon his graduation, Reagan first moved to Iowa to
work as a radio broadcaster and then in 1937 to Los Angeles, California. He
began a career as an actor, first in films and later television, appearing in
over 50 movie productions and earning enough success to become a famous,
publicly recognized figure. Some of his most notable roles are in Knute Rockne,
All American and Kings Row. Reagan served as president of the Screen Actors
Guild, and later spokesman for General Electric; his start in politics occurred
during his work for GE. Originally a member of the Democratic Party, he
switched to the Republican Party in 1962. After delivering a rousing speech in
support of Barry Goldwater's presidential candidacy in 1964, he was persuaded
to seek the California governorship, winning two years later and again in 1970.
He was defeated in his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968
as well as 1976, but won both the nomination and election, defeating incumbent
Jimmy Carter in 1980. As president, Reagan implemented sweeping new political
and economic initiatives. His supply-side economic policies, dubbed
"Reaganomics", advocated reducing tax rates to spur economic growth,
controlling the money supply to reduce inflation, deregulation of the economy,
and reducing government spending. In his first term he survived an assassination
attempt, took a hard line against labor unions, and ordered an invasion of
Grenada. He was reelected in a landslide in 1984, proclaiming that it was
"Morning in America". His second term was primarily marked by foreign
matters, such as the ending of the Cold War, the 1986 bombing of Libya, and the
revelation of the Iran-Contra affair. Publicly describing the Soviet Union as
an "evil empire", he supported anti-communist movements worldwide and
spent his first term forgoing the strategy of détente by ordering a massive
military buildup in an arms race with the USSR. Reagan negotiated with General
Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev,
culminating in the INF Treaty and the decrease of both countries' nuclear
arsenals. Reagan left office in 1989. In 1994, the former president disclosed
that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease earlier in the year; he
died ten years later at the age of 93. Although a polarizing figure to some on
the American left, he often ranks highly in public opinion polls of U.S.
Presidents. Moreover, as a popular conservative icon, he is credited for
generating an ideological renaissance on the American political right.
No comments:
Post a Comment