RateItAll: The Opinion Network

Regan brought a renewal of conservative ideas of limited government.

Well,he nurtured my conservative tendencies.I WAS already right wing,he simply made me moreso.

There is no doubt in my mind that Ronald Reagan's policies led me down the road of conservatism. I came of age during his first election and he truly inspired me to learn more about America and the idea that no one needs to be force fed the mentality that you need the government to survive. The view that America is always wrong and everything is always inevitably America's fault (a notion that seems to always lurk in the far left ideology) was crushed during President Reagans tenure, and thankfully has never been given credibility again (by most anyway).

Reagan's ignorant policies was why I became a liberal. He did nothing to improve the conditions of the downtrodden and our cities. He did nothing to stop human rights violations of other countries. Many working Americans lost jobs and were stuck on the streets because of him. Many children couldn't afford a lunch ticket because of him. Diseases like lung cancer increased because he didn't care for the environment and he never passed bills to help our planet. Because of Reagan, that's why the 1980's were a dull period. The 1980's would have been better off had Carter and Mondale ran the nation because at least they cared and they would have done something about it.

Reagan taught me that Conservatism and democracy were the indelible and refulgent light that could shine through evildoers durance vile.

Over-mythologized president given a ridiculous love-fest due to his recent death. He crippled Russia. . .right up there with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. (The Afghanistan War was a real economy-killer) We all knew he was senile 15 years ago. . .

Believe it or not when I was very young my parents were Democrats. My Dad actually explained to me ignorantly one night that the Democrats protect the working man and Republicans only care about the rich. I personally never understood that assertion- it simply didn't seem true to me- ever! I have been addicted to politics since I was very young- I watched the news all the time and the things I valued comported to the things Ronald Reagan espoused. I just simply loved the guy- even when I was quite young. Lower taxes made sense to me: if I worked for it I should be able to keep it. Peace through strength made sense to me as appeasement did very little to ward off the bullies at school. I found his actions during the Cold War logical- I surely didn't trust the communists. I remember developing such an admiration for the man that I was truly shocked when I found out that some people didn't share in my admiration. As I got older I obviously attained a greater grasp of political philosophy and the historical context from which Reagan was working and it only deepened my appreciation for him. Am I conservative because of Ronald Reagan- no. I was a conservative from the day my mom started to instill me with a value structure. I am however a Republican because of Ronald Reagan. He made me believe that my values were so common place, so axiomatic that I found nothing wrong with voicing my beliefs from day one- and I've never stopped. Hey everyone I found the perfect solution for defending any assinine position that floats your boat- it's called the ostrich defense. See: any post by CanadaSucks to see how it works. The first victim of the despotic mind is the truth.

God bless crazy Ronny.

Yes, he transformed me from Daccory into Eschew Obfuscation.