One Year Later and Ronald Reagan Is Still In Our Hearts and Minds

It hardly seems that a year has passed since the passing of one a the greatest Presidents of the 20th Century. It seems just yesterday that Ronald Wilson Reagan died and everyone got to remember the man for all his amazing accomplishment and a legacy for the ages.

A year has passed since former President Ronald Reagan died, leaving America to ponder both the man and his legacy. But Mr. Reagan has not faded into the historical shadows, and the nation’s heart is still with him.

“I am, as I speak, on my way to my father’s grave,” said Michael Reagan, the president’s elder son, speaking by cell phone, his words punctuated by the sounds of a California highway. “And you know, in the past year I’ve found out anew that people still love my dad — because he loved them.”

The younger Reagan was intent on spending some private time Friday at the hilltop burial site of his father, located on the rolling grounds of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, some 45 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

Few can fault a son seeking some quiet solace beforehand. But today belongs to the public.

Ronald Reagan had a positive vision and a manner in which he communicated to us like no other. He may be gone but he will never be forgotten. I will remember him as the greatest President of my lifetime. Let’s see how President Ronald Reagan wished to be remembered.

Mr. Reagan had some thoughts about how he wanted to be remembered. “Whatever else history says about me when I’m gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears; to your confidence, rather than your doubts,” Mr. Reagan told the nation in 1992. “My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty’s lamp guiding your steps and opportunity’s arm steadying your way.”

Trey Jackson has a great piece and a video tribute to Ronald Wilson Reagan.