[Cinnamon Girl]

How different America would be had we not had the Reagan Years.

[Centurion2000]

We must be the same age, I remember the Challenger blowing up like it was yesterday.

Gen-Reagan ..... nice phrase.

[GraniteStateConservative]

We'd still have those cool Cold War movies, though-- The Package, FireFox, Spies Like Us, etc.

[Eagle of Liberty]

Great post!

I was in the third grade during 1980 and I remember walking to school with three of my friends. We were talking about who we would all vote for and all of us said Reagan. I am really not sure who my parents liked. I just remember that I CHOSE Reagan.

Generation Reagan has a good ring to it!

As far as the vandalism, put the sticker on your car. If your car gets vandalized, call Hannity. He'll pay for it.

[I_Love_My_Husband]

Well?

I loved Laverne & Shirley. Even IF their writers stole from I Love Lucy ;)

And of course, Welcome Back Kotter.

And, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. And Led Zeppelin.

And the Sex Pistols.

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[cmsgop]

I am so a part of this,Very well written.

BTW, Was I the only white kid who loved watching "What's Happening"?

[ElkGroveDan]

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.

I remember that so well too. It happened on my 20th birthday. What an awful, awful day that was. I remember hearing on the news that there was cheering going on in the halls at Cal State Northridge.

That was great piece you wrote. Good work.

[Bobbisox]

I have Bush/Cheney 04 on my Car, my Front Door, my Living Room Window, and my Back Door. Within the next few days, I will have my yard signs at my home facing three different directions (specifically the liberal living across the street). In addition, and I have lapel pins for every outfit I wear to work.

President Bush is the right President for the right time.

"Gen-Reagan" is a good title...I hope you listened to "Rush" today. If not, then great minds think alike.

EAGLES UP FOR REAGAN!

[Conservomax]

I am way to young to remember the carter debates - (I was 2) and I am actually still to young to remember or care about the Mondale ones, however i do remember Reagan being a cultural icon more so than any other president in my lifetime.

[SpottedBeaver]

Thanks for writing this Cinnamon Girl. It brings back a lot of memories.

I was born in California when Reagan was Governor and I was in Jr. High when he was elected President.

I don't live in California anymore, but I sure do miss it. To take part of a quote that Reagan once used... "I didn't leave California. It left me."

[Trinity_Tx]

Thank you, Cinnamon! I love it!

Maybe we could even do our own "ReaGens" bumper stickers, lol.

Bookmarking for follow up. : )

[HungarianGypsy]

I was 7 years old when Reagan was first elected. I didn't know squat about elections or politics. I did notice the nice looking man with the brown hair was the one I wanted to win, rather than that scary looking old man he was running against. LOL! When I was 11, I was really happy that Reagan won a second term. When I was 12, I remember listening to the radio at school reporting about how Reagan was bombing the heck out of Ghaddafi (sp?). I remember a little about Star Wars. I remember Bruce Springsteen complaining about how it was Reagan's fault the farmers were poor. I still have the newspaper article my pen pal from Argentina sent me about President Reagan attending the memorial service for the Challenger astronauts. I remember at 14 writing a letter to President Reagan and getting an answer. I remember the Berlin Wall coming down. I had/have a pen pal in Germany so thought a lot of him when that happened. Especially since my letters were now addressed to Germany instead of West Germany.
That's about all I have.

[xp38]

[weegee]

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.

The term "Generation X" predated our generation (Billy Idol was in a band with that name in 1977 and he was in born in 1955, squarely in the post war Baby Boom).

"Generation X" is the generation that followed the Baby Boom (aka the "Baby Bust" because it is also dwarfed by the next generation, Baby Boomers' kids).

We are Reagan youth and that is not a bad thing (while some on the left may try to draw allusions to Hitler Youth). I would credit Ronald Reagan with the upswing of "young" (under 40) conservativism. We grew up with President Reagan (and Carter before him, with some memories of Ford and Nixon). We saw what a good thing we had. We also saw the way the press treated him.

We are united as a "block" known as "Generation X" by the lack of our numbers. That's it.

We are united as "Reagan youth" by our culture and upbringing. It does more to define us than tv or movies.

It will forever be Reagan's American legacy (the collapse of Soviet communism being his global legacy).

If not for Reagan, the Republican party would probably be the domain of the Rockefeller Republicans. Social conservativism would be out and it is doubtful that the younger generation would have picked that up later. Global socialism is already creeping into the Western World. If the Soviet Union had not collapsed, they would still be an unseen agent in the spread of socialism.

I won't say that America would be under Soviet rule but the US might more resemble some parts of Europe.

[Paul_B]

Great job, CG. Gen-R, indeed. What a blessing you navigated your way through that maze.

[djreece]

Great essay.

We need T-shirts: "Proud member of Generation Reagan!"

[cupcakes]

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
____

LOL, bingo;-)
____

[cupcakes]

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.

____

I should have added an "Amen" to this. I was age 10-18 during the Reagan presidency. He was and is an inspiration and his optimism exemplified what I remember as a teen. It's amazing how kids/teens really look up to and exemplify their generation based on the character in office. We had Reagan and I can remember it wasn't that bad a time to be a teen--I remember things being very optimistic for the most part. Compare that with the likes of a Clintoon and what you can aspire to...

[Rome2000]

I Hate hate

You hate up and down - you hate hanging 'round
You hate here and you hate there - you hate everywhere
You hate this and that - you hate where you're at
You hate near and far - all you hate is all you are!

Why hate the life you live? Hate makes waste - I'm positive
Why waste the life you live? Life's to love - I'm positive

You hate one or two - you hate life and you
You hate A to Z - you hate the world and me

Why hate the life you live and hate yourself on top of it?
Why hate the life you lie? Life's to love - I'm positive

I hate hate! I hate hate! I hate... hate!

Is life a losing war? There's no need to fight no more!
You don't have to lose no more - there's a way to win the war!
Stop loving hate and hating love - when the fighting ends the war is won!
Stop loving hate and hating love - when the fighting ends and all is one!

I hate hate!
-Reagan Youth

[workerbee]

Gen-Reagan.... excellent. How cool it would be if that actually replaced the insipid "Gen-X" label.

I've often thought how lucky I am to have "come of age" during Reagan's presidency. I was 13 in 1980 and just beginning to have an understanding about politics, the world, etc. When I think of the kids who turned 13 in 1992, and think of them looking back at the butthead prez who formed their earliest political ideals and consciousness, I wince. How sad, that they will never really have a connection to the presidency -- to the country -- the way we did through Ronald Reagan. The sad thing is, it took us little more than a decade to go from such greatness in office to such trash. How did that happen?