punditman says...What's with all this Ronald Reagan post mortem worship? It's been going on for years but I guess a commemorative 100th birthday gives the media another excuse for celebrity worship, even for the deceased. For those who recall his presidency without rose coloured glasses, he certainly didn't enjoy the omnipotent popularity that he's now afforded. Of course there were and always are those who are naively insulated from the powers that be. The 1980s song by Timbuk 3, The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades, apparently had many at the time believing it was an upbeat ditty instead of a sarcastic anti-nuke song.
It's amazing where hindsight and willful blindness will take you. He didn't screw up as badly as Bush II so he gets God-like status? His crimes were more hidden than others so everyone should ignore them? Punditman wrote about Reagan's actual legacy and how it has seeped into Canadian culture here.
In this piece, Gerry Caplan similarly sums up the Gipper's accomplishments and the price paid for those on the receiving end. Do all Americans really think Ronald Reagan was a demigod? Do they? Do Canadians? Punditman ponders.
