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HISTROY

En la Puerta de Brandenburgo en Berlinpronunciando su famoso discurso:“Señor Gorvachev derrumbe estemuro”. Berlin 12 de Junio 1987.

Visit to Berlin on June 12, 1987 whenhe gave his famous speech: “Mr.Gorbachev tear down this wall”.Brandenburg Gate West.

Nancy & Ronald Reagan.

THOUGHTS ONRONALDREAGAN, HIS LEGACY OFFREEDOM

By Dr. Alberto S. Bustamante

In July 1975, I concluded my remarks in thereception room of the U.S. Senate with thesewords: “Very soon, all too soon, your governmentwill need not just extraordinary men – but men ofgreatness. Find them in your souls. Find them inyour hearts. Find them within the breath anddepth of your homeland.” Five years later, I wasoverjoyed when just such a man came to theWhite House. May the soft earth be a cushion inhis present rest.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (JUNE 7, 2004)

Those days in early June 2004, following the deathof our 40th President, were definitely moments of mixedemotions for the American People and the millions allover the world that were able to watch the affection, therespect, the admiration to one of the greatest men of the20th Century.

For many of us he was a father figure, the human face ofpaternalism, he was a symbol, and he re-established inmany of us a solid faith in this country, after years ofweakness and decline in values. When Ronald Reaganarrived in the White House the country was going througha terrible recession. In 1979-1980, the inflation was 12%,the average interest was at 21%, unemployment was at10%, average taxes where 70% for high income familiesand for couples with an average income of $30,000 a yearthey had to pay 37 percent.

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HISTORY

Between 1981 and 1989 the economic growth rose and the inflation wasadjusted at 4.5% annually, the unemployment dropped from 10% annually. Yes,the Regan years increased the Federal debt to $1,400 billion, but considering theincrease in the national property value that with the policy of decreasing taxesfrom 70% to 28%, went from $16 billion to $33 billion. The economy was thrustforward with such momentum that it continued through the Clinton years. Inthe seven days of mourning for President Reagan, we were able to see once morethe greatness of this country, the U.S.A., disregarding the different politicalaffiliations of its citizens, those days were filled with unity, respect andpatriotism, during the farewell to this great hero, some of us wonder if there was

a “providential” timing to Reagan’s death, as itwas for his election in 1980.

The success of the Reaganomics was such that hispolitical enemies never called it Reaganomicsagain. After the extraordinary turn aroundperiod, inflation was lowered, the energy crisiscame to an end and gas prices plummeted. Ajuggernaut of growth took place and the Dowaverage tripled. Kathleen Parker, columnist of theOrlando Sentinel, remarks on what many of ushad noticed about “the reverential tone amongcommentators many of whom must have beenchoking on their own treacle.” Two ironies werepresent, one that these newsreaders, reporters andcommentators couldn’t stand Reagan when hewas President and many are the same people wholoathe George W. Bush today and for the samereasons.

REAGAN A LION, LIKE CHURCHILL

In everything Reagan did, he succeeded, from the time he left his home inDixon, Illinois, in 1932 as a Sports Commentator in radio. In the 1940’s, he wassecond only to Errol Flynn in popularity when working for Warner Brothers.

He always enjoyed his work from a Lifeguard all the way to the Presidency. Asa two-term Governor of California, his popularity and his triumphs were no less.

He used to explain his sense of security, and his optimism accompanied alwaysby courage, to the solid formation of character and values instilled by his mother,Nelle Reagan.

Many historians have put Reagan along with Franklin D. Roosevelt, as the mostconsequential President of the 20th Century, but with the passage of time,similarities between Reagan and Churchill have become more evident and as aman he deserves to be recognized on the same scale of greatness.

Desdepida de Ronald Reagandesde el helicoptero presidencialen su visita a Alemania.

Waving good-bye from thepresidential helicopter after hisvisit to Germany.

El pueblo demoliendoel muro.

The people tearingdown the wall.

Martillazos que deja-ron paso a las gruaspara el derribo delmuro.

Hammerings thatpaved the way forthe cranes to teardown the wall.

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HISTORY

Both men foresaw the end of the cold war, before anyone elsein high office. They both understood that Soviet Communismwas doomed for metaphysical reasons.

William Manchester employed the theme and viewpoint thatChurchill was “The Last Lion”. Reagan like Churchill,transcended his environment as great men do, therebyhandling history to their will. The “Lion at the Gate” statesSteven F. Hayward, Scholar of the American EnterpriseInstitute, working now in his second volume “The Age ofReagan.” “Never more a lion than at his famous moment at theBrandenburg Gate in West Berlin in 1987” when Reagan said,“Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall.”

Most of his staff at that moment including the new SecurityAdvisor, Mr. Colin Powell, tried to stop Reagan, but this lion’sroar would not be muted. Reagan like Churchill and mostextraordinary men have what Leo Strauss wrote of Churchill “thatmegalofuxia (greatness of soul) exists today exactly as it did in the FifthCentury B.C.” Reagan had the insight and political will to say it could bedone, the courage to try to make it happen and the fortitude to stick it outwhen the going was rough.

En Korea Noviembre 1983.In South Korea November 1983.

THE SECRET OF HIS SUCCESS

(Special remarks by fellow workers and prominent friends)

- “Reagan was in many respects an ordinary man. Yet the 1980’s were anextraordinary period in World History. Reagan however, knew that we live ina representative democracy, where the American people choose leaders and itis the leader’s job to lead. In other words, Reagan typically did something,then told us why he did it and asked for our support. The indifference to theintimidation of elites, gave Reagan enormous freedom to go where hisconvictions lead him. He was willing to go against the polls and take on theelites, these were the crucial elements of his success.”

Mr. Dinesh D’Souza, Author of “How an Ordinary Man Became anExtraordinary Leader.”

-“I never once remember Ronald Reagan losing his temper with those whoserved him, even when they disappointed him. He never expressed hardfeelings or hate, even towards John Hinckley, the man who shot him in 1981.”

Edwin Meese III. Fellow in Public Policy at the Heritage Foundation.Served several posts during the Reagan Presidency including AttorneyGeneral (1985-1988).

-“For the last three years we have been digging into his papers and what weare finding is dramatic. We never knew how good he was. We found hundreds

Fotografia de Ronald Reaganen Nov. Del 1979.

Reagan in November1979.

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of hand written documents, 680of them that he had writteneveryday. And then there arethese letters. So far, we havefound 6,500 letters, incredibleones. How the hell did he do it?The only answer is he worked allthe time.”

Martin Anderson, Author of “ALife in Letters.”

-This huge budget deficit, LouCannon has remarked, now looklike the wartime deficits of thefinal campaign of the cold war,and therefore, as a bargain.”

Steven Hayward from TheMiami Herald.

-“Reagan created a sense of beliefin ourselves again.” “When hegave speeches people listened.”

Senator, Connie Mack of Florida.

-“We know, as he always said, that America’s best days are ahead of us, but with Ronald Reaganpassing some very fine days are behind us and that is worth our tears.”

President George W. Bush at his funeral.

-“He won the cold war not only without firing a shotbut also by inviting enemies out of their fortress andturning them into friends. President Reagan resistedSoviet expansion and pressed down on Soviet weaknessat every point until the day came when communismbegan to collapse beneath the combined weight ofthese pressures and its own failures. When a man ofgood will did emerge from the ruins, President Reaganstepped forward to shake his hand and to offer sincerecooperation. Nothing was more typical of RonaldReagan that large magnanimity and nothing was moreAmerican.”

Margaret Thatcher.

-“It is “not serious” to suggest that Ronald Reagan won the cold war, and that really “we” wonall of us, when the cold war ended.”

Gorbachev statement to the Washington Post.

-“Both President Reagan and John Paul II were convinced that communism was not simply a

HISTORY

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HISTORY

matter of stupid economics, it was a moral evil, an affront tohuman dignity, and a danger to mankind’s dramatic quest forfreedom.”

George Weigel, Author of the biography of Pope John PaulII.

-“During one of his speeches, some hippies carried a sign thatsaid “make love not war.” Observing it Reagan did not ignoreit, he chuckled: “They do not look like they could do either.”

In his own words:

-“The ability to inspire the greatest leaders is not bydoing the greatest things but by making people do thegreatest things.”

-“We make a living not on what we get, but on what wegive.”

-“What an idealist excels in his life is rectitude.”

REAGAN: LATIN AMERICA AND CUBA

On January 1981, Reagan inherited in Latin America asituation not any better than the economic situation in theUnited States, that same year. The majority of thepopulation lived in Latin America under a militarydictatorship. In 1979, Granada and Nicaragua had falleninto the hands of Marxists regimes that provided support tosubversive neighboring countries.

January 10th, 1981 the Guerrilla arm in El Salvadorlaunched an offensive to take over the capital. Castro was atthe apogee of his global reach and in Cuba the U.S.S.R. hada strong military presence.

Reagan started an immediate counter offensive in Nicaragua,Afganistan, Angola and Cambodia. In 1983, he proved hiswillingness to use U.S. military forces to advance liberty.The 800 troops of Castro and mid-east terrorists in Granadahad to leave. We know now that the invasion of Granada started the decline of Sovietexpansionism.

The last Carter budget for Latin America was $400 million, Reagan increased it to $1.5billion in just four years. Reagan helped defeat the violent extremes in El Salvador byactively supporting the reformist government led by Napoleón Duarte.

When Reagan left the White House eight years later, the situation was drasticallyimproved and would continue to improve in the next few years. In those years most ofLatin America with the exception of Cuba was in democratic hands. Castro had beenforced to retreat from most of his foreign adventures and soon he would be morally andfinancially bankrupt.

Sarita de la Vega,Maggie y AlbertoBustamante en laterraza de labibliotecapresidencial de LosAngeles 2005.

Sarita de la Vega,Maggie, andAlbertoBustamante in theterrace of thepresidentiallibrary in LosAngeles, 2005.

MaggieBustamante yAurelio de laVega en el patiode la bibliotecapresidencial. Alfondo unasección del murode Berlin.

MaggieBustamante &Aurelio de laVega in thepresidentiallibrary’sbackyard.Behind them,a section ofthe Berlin Wall

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HISTORY

Reagan was the first President, that in a personal manner stood by the dissidents inside Cuba intheir demand for human rights. Radio and TV Martí were created in 1985, that changedcompletely the struggle for the survival of freedom of the Cuban people.

Armando Valladares was made Ambassador of the U.S.A. for the human rights in the UnitedNations, and in 1988 he presented strong documentation on abuses and lack of human rights inCuba, and for the first time the United Nations condemned the Cuban CommunistGovernment.

A LEGACY OF FREEDOM

On January 2004, we celebrated the 151st Anniversary of José Martí’s Birthdaywith the Patronato José Martí in Los Angeles, where we spent a few days withour good friends, Aurelio and Sara de la Vega. With them we visited theReagan Library, where in every corner you can see his legacy of freedom.

Reagan kept in his desk a sign that reads: “IT CAN BE DONE.”

Watching his funeral that evening in June 2004, that beautiful sunset at hislibrary was very emotional indeed. As a Cuban-American, I am eternallygrateful to Ronald Reagan and most of our fellow Cubans feel the same way,because most of us share his philosophy and we have been for half a century,working for those same values and principles.

Cubans irk liberals, exactly like George W. Bush now and Ronald Reagan, then. Liberals harbora latent sympathy for Mr. Castro and for communism. Also we are very judgmental, we thinkAmerica is a great place to live, we think capitalism with free enterprise, is much better thansocialism and by a wide margin we vote Republican, but not because of anti-communism feelings,we do so because of what Republicans more than Democrats stand for, which is the real meaningof liberty.

Liberals are all to willing to trade “liberty” for the promise of “security.” Cuban-Americans haveseen the socialism that Liberals dream about and we say first hand, NO THANK YOU! RonaldReagan believed and history shows now, that standing up to aggressors matching and exceedingtheir military might, would lead to their downfall. This was un-welcomed by many of ourgeneration that believed in peaceful co-existence and non-aggressive diplomacy despite theaggressive action of our adversaries and enemies.

In the present crisis of the war against terrorism most Liberals have the same attitude of peacefulco-existence and non-aggressive diplomacy, that prolonged the cold war.

The legacy of Ronald Reagan grows stronger everyday as more and more historians and citizensrecognize that Reagan changed the world, removed an “Evil Empire” without World War III andensured America’s strength and place in the world long after he left office.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dear Americans: by Ralph Weber, Doubleday, November 2003.

Dutch, A memoir of Ronald Reagan by Edmond Morris, Random House. New York, 1999.

Educating for Liberty, Best of Imprimis, Hillsdale College 1972-2002.

National Reviews: June 2004, August 1992, January 1991,

December 1983, November 1980 and November 1967.

One of Freedom’s Finest Hours, Hillsdale College, 2002.

Reagan, A Life in Letters; Free Press by Kiron K. Skinner, Annelise Anderson, Martin Anderson, 2003.

Dr. Bustamanteis a retired OB-GYN physicianin Orlando.Founder ofCuban CultureHeritage

Chairman ofBoard ofDirector andExecutive Editorof HerenciaMagazine. Apassionate co-llector of chro-molithography,e illustratedbooks and mapsof Cuba and theCaribbean.