The Son Also Rises (Q&A with Ron Reagan)

The New York Times Magazine ^ | 06/27/04 | DEBORAH SOLOMON

[Pokey78]

Q-Now that the country is awash in Reagan nostalgia, some observers are predicting that you will enter politics. Would you like to be president of the United States?

I would be unelectable. I'm an atheist. As we all know, that is something people won't accept.

What would you do if Senator Kerry asked you to be his vice president?

I would question his sanity.

Do you ever go to church?

No. I visit my wife's sangha.

So you sometimes practice Buddhism?

I don't claim anything. But my sympathies would be in that direction. I admire the fact that the central core of Buddhist teaching involves mindfulness and loving kindness and compassion.

Your father has been eulogized as a model of genuineness. But did you see any schism between his public and private selves?

In private, you got what you got in public. He treated everyone the same. He was just a very warm man, and he worked hard to impress upon his children the value of kindness. He was biologically incapable of gossip. There was no smallness in him.

Do you think you were a thorn in his side during his presidency?

No.

But you and Patti were constantly getting into trouble. Didn't she later pose nude for Playboy?

I never really talked to Patti about it. She said that she had done it, and what do you say to your sister who poses in the nude? It's not like you are really itching to see photographs of your sister naked. I mean, it's just something that is not too exciting.

How did your father react when you joined the Joffrey Ballet?

That was fine with him. He wanted us to be happy, and if that meant leaving Yale University as a freshman and studying ballet, his first move was to call Gene Kelly and find out where the best place to study would be.

Do you and your wife, Doria, have children?

No. We have three cats. It's like having children, but there is no tuition involved.

Aren't you working in television these days?

I am a correspondent for MSNBC. They hired me primarily to do election coverage for them. We're not rich. Doria's a clinical psychologist. I mow my own lawn.

Doesn't your mom help you out financially?

Of course not. My father felt that children should make their own way.

How do you account for all the glowing obituaries of him?

I think it was a relief for Americans to look at pictures of something besides men on leashes. If you are going to call yourself a Christian -- and I don't -- then you have to ask yourself a fundamental question, and that is: Whom would Jesus torture? Whom would Jesus drag around on a dog's leash? How can Christians tolerate it?
It is unconscionable. It has put our young men and women who are over there, fighting a war that they should not have been asked to fight -- it has put them in greater danger.

Did you vote for Bush in the last election?

No. I did not.

How did your mother feel about being ushered to her seat by President Bush?

Well, he did a better job than Dick Cheney did when he came to the rotunda. I felt so bad. Cheney brought my mother up to the casket, so she could pay her respects. She is in her 80's, and she has glaucoma and has trouble seeing. There were steps, and he left her there. He just stood there, letting her flounder. I don't think he's a mindful human being. That's probably the nicest way I can put it.

How serious is your mother's glaucoma?

I don't know the specifics. She can still see. You may have noticed that she was wearing large glasses at one point.

She seemed very moved by the tributes to your father.

I have to say that flying on Air Force One sort of spoils you for coach on a regular airline. They did all sorts of little things that were very nice for my mother. They put towels with my father's monogram in the bathroom.

Paper towels?

No, cloth! Burgundy terry towels.

Wow. Why can't they run the United States with that kind of efficiency?

That's a good question. One thing that Buddhism teaches you is that every moment is an opportunity to change. And we will have a moment in November to make a big change.

[Vision Thing]

I think aequitas was being sarcastic. At least that's how I took it.

You'll probably see aequitas's post it a different way if you notice his/her/its signup date and previous posts.

[ScottFromSpokane]

Maybe that's why they dont have kids.

[ScottFromSpokane]

Be fair, now. I love "Prufrock."

[beaversmom]

"We have three cats. It's like having children, but there is no tuition involved."

Hate to break it to you Ronnie, cats aren't children!

[Texas Eagle]

You'll probably see aequitas's post it a different way if you notice his/her/its signup date and previous posts.

Right you are, Ken. As a connoisseur of sarcasm, it appears I gave aequinas too much credit for his or her sarcastic prowessness.

Upon further review, I quote what the man with the peg-leg said: "I stand corrected."

[Vision Thing]

I'm not putting down the poem, which I must say is a powerful work of art, but I'm dinging the NYT pressholes who associate their dem heroes with impotent and weak literary characters.

[apackof2]

Reading this left me cold, literally

Ron Jr. comes across as an incredibly disconnected human being,
how sad he choose to reject his and his father's Savior

[demnomo]

Well, at least Ronnie Jr's genes won't be furthered...

[Dick Vomer]

Wow, the only kid that ddin't turn out to be a flake was the adopted kid.

Strong mother figure, absent or detached father, lack of early sexual identification..... momma's boy..... I'm sure that Ronnie Jr. is the apple of his momma's eye.

I think Ronald Reagan was one of the greatest presidents ever. He kept me from having to kill Russians or Chinese by his determination to bankrupt the commies and saved our economy by lowering and simplifying taxes.

He might not have been the "best" father but we all fall short in that respect. Ron and Nancy might have spoiled Patty and Ronnie.... and that's why they turned out to be such freakazoids. The adopted son may have had a little tougher time but turned out to love Ronald Reagan and is a credit to the old man.

The Ronnie Jr. reminds me of the son of Longshanks in Braveheart...

[luvbach1]

By the way, he is not a Jr.

[Texas Eagle]

For the record, his name is not Ron, Jr.

President Reagan's full name was Ronald Wilson Reagan. The ballerina's name is Ronald Prescott Reagan.

Technically that makes him not a Junior.

Carry on.

[Vision Thing]

I can see junior being the same as Longshank's son, but based on the rest of your post, I sense you don't want to equate President Reagan with Longshank himself.

[maggief]

"How do you account for all the glowing obituaries of him?

I think it was a relief for Americans to look at pictures of something besides men on leashes. If you are going to call yourself a Christian -- and I don't -- then you have to ask yourself a fundamental question, and that is: Whom would Jesus torture? Whom would Jesus drag around on a dog's leash? How can Christians tolerate it?
It is unconscionable. It has put our young men and women who are over there, fighting a war that they should not have been asked to fight -- it has put them in greater danger."

This is how he responds to the "glowing obituaries of him" ... his own father ... I'm disgusted.

[DumpsterDiver]

Reading this left me cold,

I know what you mean. I did like what Ron said here:

Interviewer: Your father has been eulogized as a model of genuineness. But did you see any schism between his public and private selves?

Ron: In private, you got what you got in public. He treated everyone the same. He was just a very warm man, and he worked hard to impress upon his children the value of kindness. He was biologically incapable of gossip. There was no smallness in him.

It sounded to me like the interviewer was hoping to get some inside dirt about Reagan but didn't.

[Yeti]

Ugh, why are these people in charge of anything?

"Bong-o!"

[lonestar]

What is a sangha?

[LowCountryJoe]

Two prayers for Ron Jr.:

Lord, please work through the Holy Spirit and help Ron develop a relationship with You.

Lord, please help Ron overcome his hatred for those that know how to use their wisdom to fully comprehend the issues of the day...Maybe Lord, You can help Peter Pan get back into his tights in order to provide the necessary diversion from his hatred.

[LowCountryJoe]

After further reading of the thread please allow me to strike Ron Jr. and insert Ron Prescott.

[NavySEAL F-16]

No, he's a troll! He's gone!

[Redmen4ever]

Some people claim to be spiritual, but not religious. Among these people are western intellectuals who claim to be Bhuddists. Apparently, for these Bhuddists, Bhuddism is a philosophy with spiritual traditions, and good teachings, but no God.

I am not sure people who are raised Bhuddists by Bhuddists would agree with this interpretation of Bhuddism. I think real Bhuddists accept that there is a spiritual world, of which we are a part, that there are good and bad spiritual beings, and that there is a transcendent right and wrong. This is way different from atheism (as I understand atheism).

Having listened to Ronnie Jr. on the Larry King Live show, and read this interview, he comes across as a shallow man who confuses being flippant with being profound.

It would seem to me that, if you are an atheist, you would want to really experience this one opportunity to live very deeply. As a beer commercial once put, when you only go around once in life, you want to grab all the gusto you can. How can having cats compare with having children! Mind you, I have a cat, and have had cats, and I appreciate my cats' personalities. But having children is awesome. And, yes, children are expensive.

I notice that Ronnie Jr. wants to hold Christians to a standard. It's o.k., I suppose, for Saddam to rape, torture, murder, commit genocide and invade other countries because that's consistent with his Ba'athist belief system, and who are we to judge the freely-chosen values of others? But, for Christians to abuse prisoners is baa-ad.

Give me a break!

The military arrested the persons involved, and we have an independent investigation underway to determine if others were involved, and if there are problems of policy involved.

I think Ronnie Jr. should not be judgmental of Christians. Prejudice against people because of their religious beliefs is intolerant. And, tolerance is a value to which he ascribes.

There is another, more subtle shortcoming which Ronnie Jr. should deal with. Christians would not be surprised that, in addition to truly evil people like Saddam being out there, that good people sometimes do bad things, and need to be held accountable. We do not hate our service personnel who did bad things at Abu Graib prison. In fact, we wonder if better military discipline would have enabled them to stay straight. Nevertheless, we do have to hold them accountable for what they did.

But, Ronnie Jr. acts as though sins, I mean "innappropriate behavior" on the part of Christians is unforgivable, while he is pure as the driven snow.

This is an aspect of the Christian faith (and I would guess true Bhuddism) that I really like. It enables me to do good, as I am able, accepting that I'm not perfect, and likewise to love others, whom I know are not perfect either. Forgiveness is the ultimate form of tolerance.

Speaking of Bhuddism, I was touched by the funeral for an American servieman of Thai heritage. The prayers spoken for his immortal soul and for the comfort of those who loved him did not sound like atheism to me.

And, I would like to point out that Thailand, which is a majority Bhuddist nation, is a member of the coalition of the willing.