By Aaron Marcus, Rutgers University (Chairman, Young Americans for Freedom Chapter)
Published by the Daily Targum
Through the generosity of Young America’s Foundation program, I had the privilege of spending this past weekend at the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara, Calif. Nicknamed the “Western White House,” Rancho del Cielo or “Ranch in the Heaven,” was the most prized possession of the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan. Edmund Morris, Reagan’s biographer, said that to understand Reagan, one must go to his ranch, as that is where you will “find his soul.” I urge everyone — conservative, liberal, apathetic or somewhere in between — to visit this priceless and beautiful piece of American history and grasp the essence of Ronald Reagan.
It has become somewhat of a cliché to say that America is missing Reagan, but for years I never truly understood what that meant. Today, I can proudly say I do. Our country is missing Reagan, and not only because his policies helped turn a great recession into the greatest span of economic growth in the history of the United States. America is missing Reagan because in him, we had a leader who instilled confidence and courage in the United States. Reagan was a man who, if left alone in a room with anybody, regardless of political persuasion, would make that person the center of the universe. Michael Reagan, Ronald’s eldest son, recalled last weekend a conversation he had with actor Alec Baldwin. Baldwin, not fan of conservatives — or Ronald Reagan for that matter — told Michael that he misses the 40th president because he had a soul, something absent from today’s average leader.
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