Herrell Thanks Reagan

GUEST OPINION

Thank you, Mr. President

By Scott Herrell

How do you begin to thank someone you have never met for years of life-changing inspiration?

This is the question I faced today as I sat, numb, in front of my keyboard. As memories, thoughts, and emotions wash over me I find myself incapable of expressing them adequately.

I was only 15-years-old when Ronald Wilson Reagan was elected President of the United States. I was 28 when he announced his affliction with Alzheimer’s Disease and bid farewell to public life. How grateful I am that it was during the most formative years of my life that I experienced his influence.

President Reagan led an amazing life. The details of his accomplishments will be recounted time and again in the days and weeks to come. They are the tangible results of his unique combination of vision, ability, and character. Fortunately, we will always have records of these accomplishments.

But the things I learned from Ronald Reagan, and hope to teach my children, are far less tangible.

He was a man completely comfortable with himself. So sure of himself was he that even the most vitriolic criticism, real or contrived, could not sway him. Not in policy direction; not in temperament. He mastered politics by rising above them.

There are so many stories that illustrate his character. He was affable and charming. He was the picture of steadfast principle. He restored pride of country to the hearts of millions. And he did so while always maintaining humility.

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for what you did. But more importantly, at least to this admirer, thank you for who you were.