No American political figure of the entire twentieth century had a more baleful effect upon America itself than Ronald Reagan. (Though there are others who can contend with him for the dubious honor of having created the most misery for the world in general). Something like 90% of the American people are far worse off economically than they would have been had Reagan not been elected, and economic policy followed some other, less right-wing-extremist course. But worse than that, perhaps, is the fact that Reagan created an ugly social and cultural climate in America, one that is still with us today: a climate of cynicism, greed, selfishness, bigotry, frat-boy self-congratulatory boorishness, and blame-the-victim disdain for “losers” and the weak, all buttressed by a willfully ignorant, proudly vapid, feel-good-at-all-costs Pollyanna-ism. Hearing all the nauseating encomia for Reagan that are filling the airwaves tonight, it is important to remember that Ronald Reagan, more than any other human being, was the face of evil of the late twentieth century. I only hope that I live long enough to see his foul legacy effaced, as all legacies must be sooner or later.
Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004
No American political figure of the entire twentieth century had a more baleful effect upon America itself than Ronald Reagan. (Though there are others who can contend with him for the dubious honor of having created the most misery for the world in general). Something like 90% of the American people are far worse off economically than they would have been had Reagan not been elected, and economic policy followed some other, less right-wing-extremist course. But worse than that, perhaps, is the fact that Reagan created an ugly social and cultural climate in America, one that is still with us today: a climate of cynicism, greed, selfishness, bigotry, frat-boy self-congratulatory boorishness, and blame-the-victim disdain for “losers” and the weak, all buttressed by a willfully ignorant, proudly vapid, feel-good-at-all-costs Pollyanna-ism. Hearing all the nauseating encomia for Reagan that are filling the airwaves tonight, it is important to remember that Ronald Reagan, more than any other human being, was the face of evil of the late twentieth century. I only hope that I live long enough to see his foul legacy effaced, as all legacies must be sooner or later.