Ronald Reagan had many fine qualities and he had many shortcomings. He's not the simple, folksy figure that he's often portrayed as. Eugene Jarecki More Quotes by Eugene Jarecki More Quotes From Eugene Jarecki Reagan is held up to us as an example of never raising taxes. Correction: Reagan raised taxes six of his eight years as president. Why? He was a pragmatist, not doctrinaire. He saw problems emerging, and when his policies faltered he changed his views. Flexibility, not rigidity. Eugene Jarecki eight views years The whole idea of a democracy is that we ourselves, the people, are supposed to make a path of our politics, and it is we who with our feet and our vote and our labors and our vigilance are supposed to shape our country. Eugene Jarecki feet country ideas It is only education and understanding of the past that teaches us not to repeat history. Eugene Jarecki teach understanding past What was happening was the war on drugs. That was the primary culprit I could see that was getting in the way of black progress. Eugene Jarecki black drug war Like most Americans, I live in the line of fire of a shooting match that is going on over Reagan's legacy. It's between shrill and extremist voices who alternately conceive of him either as an icon of all that's great and good or a representative of everything that's gone wrong with this country. And obviously neither is the case. He is just a man. Eugene Jarecki fire men country Ronald Reagan felt very great regret about the deficits to which he contributed on his watch. Eugene Jarecki deficit regret watches I don't think Reagan is primarily funny, and I don't think he's primarily marvelous; he's complicated. Eugene Jarecki marvelous complicated thinking If we went back to the imprisonment rate we had in the early '70s, something like four out of five people employed in the prison industry would lose their jobs. That's what you're up against. Eugene Jarecki four jobs people To say that Reagan teaches us that we should be against amnesty for illegal immigrants is to contradict what Reagan himself stood for - that he was in favor of amnesty. Eugene Jarecki amnesty favors should We come out of Jewish-refugee, Holocaust stock, which means that our predecessors fled and we learned that systems of power are vulnerable to corruption and can treat the defenseless in a destructive fashion. Eugene Jarecki holocaust fashion mean Frank Capra made a series of films during World War II called 'Why We Fight' that explored America's reasons for entering the war. Today, with our troops engaged in Iraq and elsewhere for reasons far less clear, I think it's crucial to ask the questions: 'Why are we doing what we are doing? What is it doing to others? And what is it doing to us?' Eugene Jarecki fighting war thinking It was widespread that the politics of Tea Party people would be foreign to Ronald Reagan and they would be seen by him as frivolous and uninformed. Eugene Jarecki party tea people You can't have a discussion about politics without mentioning Ronald Reagan. Eugene Jarecki discussion I have criticisms of Ronald Reagan, but he lives in another universe from the kind of political theater that is represented by people, like Sarah Palin, who aren't really public servants. Eugene Jarecki political criticism people I mean, like a lot of kids growing up in the early seventies, I was fed Dr. Kissinger with my Fruit Loops. He was the Dr. Ruth of American foreign policy, and the model statesman. Eugene Jarecki growing-up mean kids If you watch the evening news, Dr. Kissinger is very often brought on to sort of be the statesman of his age and to reflect dispassionately on world events. And so a film challenging his legacy, a film that assesses charges that are quite grave against him, is something that is touchy for the media to show. Eugene Jarecki media age challenges It was natural to see the struggle for dignity for black people in America as a sister struggle of the Jewish struggle. So growing up, it was always a part of my breakfast cereal to think of myself as someone who was part of a larger struggle. Eugene Jarecki growing-up struggle thinking My father left Nazi Germany a year after Dr. Kissinger, and so in my household he was very much an icon. He was a kind of immigrant success story, a refugee success story. Eugene Jarecki icons father years Reagan has very significant things to teach us - positive lessons and quite negative lessons. Eugene Jarecki significant-things lessons negative Ronald Reagan, whatever his pros and cons were, was a public servant in the end. Eugene Jarecki pros-and-cons servant ends
