My Reply...5 Years Later

Ronald Reagan and the National Day of Mourning

I am only making a comment about this now because it has come up on another board I participate in and I referred to the quote in question. Rather than being a "roach coming out to express my opinion," I was specifically asked for it. Hating hypocrisy, I gave it without sugarcoating or spinning. To my amazement, the local paper picked it up, then some blogs and then some industry-related journals.

The thing I find particularly amusing is how the author of the Conservator Blog (or something similar, apparently now inactive) decided that he knew me well enough to describe my political leanings and acted as though he knew me. Now that's a laugh. No one cites him, so he must therefore cite people he writes about, Sorry Charlie. Or Jack or Brian or who the hell are you anyway?

On a human level, I certainly understand the pain his widow and children must have felt at his passing. No doubt similar to what I felt when my father died in 1986. But I also remember his many unfortunate political gaffes and can now only be described as poorly advised positions. Homelessness is a lifestyle choice. Ketchup, for purposes of school lunches, is now a vegetable. And that is only the beginning. One can only hope that when their relative, a former world figure not known for being an intellectual giant dies, that some people might have opinions and that they will voice those opinions.

Personally, I believe that Reagan would hate the idea that government employees would have a day off because of his passing. Those who think I should have elected to spend the day in genuflection rather than fixing my hard drive don't know me very well. I don't think Reagan would have wanted people of my class to have anything more than what we already got. I wasn't planning for the day and didn't expect it. A reporter asked me what I thought I told him without guile or any desire to "spin" my opinion. That bloggers decided to do it for me afterward was outside my ability to control.

I do think, however, that this experience serves to show why one must be guarded when speaking to reporters for any reason and be careful about what they say. Had I to do it over again, I probably would elect not to make any comment. The many bloggers who thought they had amusing comments to make reagarding my comment would have one less thing to remark upon.