Posted on 06/07/2004 1:31:59 PM PDT by Cinnamon Girl
We’re Not Gen-X, We’re Gen-Reagan
This is for everyone who was raised to believe that our young lives would soon end in a nuclear war, of mutually assured destruction, quivering under our school desks with President Reagan to thank for making the pink and gray tile on our classroom floors the last thing we would ever see.
This is for those of us raised in the post-graduate, post-doctorate suburbs where Volkswagens and Volvos taught us that we “can’t hug our children with nuclear arms” and that “war is not healthy for children and other living things.”
This is for the generation that grew up watching “Welcome Back, Kotter,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “Cosby Show” and hundreds of bad impressions of President Reagan as a shellac haired cowboy buffoon who didn’t have a thought in his head, followed by impressions of Dan Quayle as a simple minded bad speller who attacked the beloved “Murphy Brown” for having a baby and no husband, followed (in our adulthood) by monkey-like caricatures of the ignorant and stupid cowboy-war-monger President Bush.
We know who we are. We accept the moniker “Generation X” and we don’t even know what the heck that means. It might have something to do with being jaded and feeling crappy about dolphins in canned tuna, and about the tragic death of Kurt Cobane. It probably refers to a specific group of people who saw every John Hughes “teen” movie and point to “The Breakfast Club” as a virtual documentary. It has never signified the Generation that grew up feeling good about America because of President Ronald Reagan.
Our generation went from an early childhood of Jimmy Carter, a droopy peanut farmer with big teeth and a hostage crisis, to a happy, energetic, powerful and confident Republican president who suddenly made politics interesting.
I remember watching a Carter/Reagan debate by myself one night when my mom was out. There was no doubt in my mind that Ronald Reagan would be president. He was irresistible, and he made America sound like an exciting, attractive place.
I remember collapsing on the couch in the family room, feeling as if I’d been punched in the stomach, the day President Reagan was shot. It was in middle school. There was no discussion of the event by teachers or even the principal. My happiness that he would survive was a quiet and personal event.
While family friends and neighbors continued to wring their hands, and angrily mock what they called “Reagan’s Star Wars fantasy,” I remember him saying “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” He just seemed really gutsy. And my neighbors, who said “Visualize World Peace,” and meant it, seemed passé. Action, not words. That was hot.
In high school, I remember a school assembly before Reagan’s re-election. Nobody in our debate team wanted to be on the pro-Mondale side. Reagan’s second big win was a done deal and everyone knew it. Even before we could convincingly articulate our reasons for supporting President Reagan, and long before we could vote for him, we knew he was great, and that he was helping us.
In college, I waited in a long line of other students at USC to vote for President Reagan’s then Vice President, G.H.W. Bush. When I finally got to a voting booth, inside the small house of a Mexican-American family, I noticed on their mantle, a big framed photograph of President Reagan. That’s right. That is right.
When his second term was over, President Reagan came to speak at USC. Somehow, I managed to get a seat in the fully packed auditorium to see President Reagan in person. The standing ovation, when he took the stage, was 11 minutes long. And he was dazzling, of course. We were all riding the high for a long while afterward.
The first time I went to the Reagan Library, I was most impressed by the big chunk of graffitied Berlin Wall sitting outside, above the valley. I knew what that was about. That was a part of my growing up memories.
Tonight, I plan to go again to the Reagan Library, to pay my respects to the man who had a greater influence on my generation than any other person the media or the pundits bring to mind.
Thank you, President Reagan. G-d Bless you. And G-d Bless America.
That was a great post. I'm feeling a little blue having watched the ceremony this morning. Ronnie is finally free from the misery of Alzheimer's, but Nancy needs our prayers to get through the difficult times ahead for her.
When Ronald Reagan ran for office, I voted for him. It was the first election I was old enough to vote in. I voted to reelect him 4 yrs later.
Reagan changed the direction of this country for the better. He gave this country renewed hope and faith after the dark years.
God bless him.
When my daughter saw it, she laughed and said there was no doubt who I was voting for.
I also have the poster from the 2000 state convention "Bush" in my front bedroom window - it has been there since I came back from that convention.
Did you write this yourself?
If so, will you marry me? *grin*
Seriously, very well written. And yes, I am most definetly part of Gen-Reagan.
Qwinn
We are the generation that was born at th end of the Vietnam war, sat in gas lines with our parents, and even thought we were young, understood life got better with Reagan in office.
Our 7th grade science teacher brought in a TV when Reagan was inagurated. I was so happy about that and the hostages.
We were so young, but understood!
Great writing. Perfect summation.
Someone needs to get this to Rush Limbaugh. He needs to hear this.
And don't forget that Russians love their children too.
God Bless President Reagan.
I think much of Gen-X's collective "problem" is the same as the baby boomers' problem, and that's having lived through nothing but prosperous times. I was reminded of that again this past weekend, due to the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. The Great Depression was largely responsible for shaping the character of the greatest generation.
There are exceptions, of course. Not all Gen-Xers are spoiled, whining brats.
Maybe you need something like one of the signs at a protest march - Give Communism a chance - It only cost i million lives under Stalin" - or something like that. Libs don't think well, so they may not realize you are not supporting them.
Back when MTV was worth watching. Those were the days!
Make that "MOST Gen-Xers are not spoiled, whining brats" and I'll forgive your bias. If an individual you know is spoiled and whiny, then blame the people that raised them.
Amen to that!! I miss the Men At Work vids. Those were funny!
LOL! '
Good sign!
Mostly I just stay out of the city... there aren't even any good restaurants left.....
We are now growing up and realize that we have had it great and need to pass that along.
We all have seen what hard work and determination can provide.
We all need to be remided from time to time.
Bump.
Nice post, but what is the G-d stuff? Just come out and spell it like it should be, God. I've seen others do this too, my question is why?
Gen-Reagan ..... nice phrase.
Gen-Reagan ..... nice phrase.
We'd still have those cool Cold War movies, though-- The Package, FireFox, Spies Like Us, etc.
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