Visit to Reagan library renews faith in America

The following piece appeared in the Deseret News on Oct. 20, 1998, after John Robinson, now the paper's world/national editor, visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Even entering a replica of the Oval Office fills one with feelings of patriotism and tradition.

And then the voice of the 40th president of the United States puts them into words:

"While every president puts his own stamp on the Oval Office, the cumulative weight of so much history is inescapable. One feels surrounded by illustrious predecessors, so much so, in fact, that out of respect for this office and the events which have transpired in it, I almost never removed my suit coat."

Welcome to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Nestled in the foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains on the outskirts of Simi Valley, Calif., the Reagan Library is a tribute to both Ronald Wilson Reagan and to the optimistic America he guided as the nation's commander in chief from 1981 to 1989.

Reagan is one of our most revered presidents.

Why?

Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville is often quoted as saying, "America is great because she is good." It has also been said of Reagan that he is great because he is good.

Critics would argue Reagan was nothing more than homespun Americana, and they might be right. His strength emanated from those homespun Americana core values.

Reagan wasn't a Rhodes scholar, but his vision of America attracted a large following, so massive that it became known as the Reagan Revolution.

One of those to hop aboard the Reagan Express was speechwriter Peggy Noonan, who after leaving Washington wrote a book, appropriately titled "What I Saw at the Revolution."

Here's why she left CBS News to sign on: "Every generation gets a president. My grandmother's was FDR. . . . For me and for the young people I worked with in the White House, it was Reagan. We came to Washington because of him. He moved us. We loved him."

Reagan moved a lot of people -- and not just Americans. This was a time of major players throughout the world -- Reagan, Thatcher, Gorbachev, Sadat -- not the kind we have masquerading as leaders in many parts of the globe today.

Reminders of those monumental times are interwoven throughout the Reagan Library.

There's Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate by the Berlin Wall. It's June 1987:

"General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open up this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

Two years later, when the Soviet empire was crumbling, Gorbachev figuratively did just that while free Berliners from East and West literally tore down the hated monument to tyranny. Appropriately, there's a slab of the Berlin Wall on the grounds of the Reagan Library.

The scene shifts to France for ceremonies marking the 40th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Reagan is standing before a group of American Rangers, survivors of that terrible yet heroic day -- June 6, 1944. Their mission: Climb a sheer 100-foot cliff at Pointe du Hoc, take out enemy guns and gain a critical foothold in the early hours of the invasion.

"Forty years ago as I speak they were fighting to hold these cliffs. . . . Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After a day of fighting only 90 could still bear arms.

"These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war."

The survivors were clearly moved by his words as were those viewing the video.

In audio and video clips Reagan describes his life -- beginning with his childhood in Illinois, followed by his acting career, his years as governor of California, and finally, his two terms as president.

By his side through most of those years was his wife, Nancy. Of her he said:

"If ever God gave me evidence that he had a plan for me, it was the night he brought Nancy into my life."

For a minimal fee -- $4 -- visitors to the Reagan Library can bask in the warmth of his legacy and have their faith in America renewed.

At the conclusion of the main 22-minute video illustrating his presidency, Reagan says the thing that pleased him most about his tenure was that "we made America stand tall again."

You did indeed, Mr. President, you did indeed.

E-mail: jrob@desnews.com

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