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Introduction: Assessing the Reagan Era
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23345 |
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SPECIAL SECTION
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1 / 1987 |
682 Words |
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On January 27,1981, in one of his first acts as president, Ronald Reagan received the recently released hostages from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran at the White House. There he promised "swift and effective retribution" against all terrorists. The event was a dramatic symbol of a new mood of confidence spreading through America which brought Ronald Reagan to office as its spokesman.
The holding of the U.S. Embassy staff hostage in Iran cast a pall over the final year of the Carter presidency. A powerful nation that had grown withdrawn and indecisive in the wake of the Vietnam War found itself incapable of responding to a weak but fanatical foe. The attempt at a decisive resolution had ended with the debacle of the helicopter rescue force in the Iranian desert. Even after he had lost the election, Jimmy Carter dearly wished to salvage some pride by having the hostages return before he left office. Even this was denied him. It was somehow more appropriate that their release should mark the beginning of the Reagan era.
One-and-a-half presidential terms later the administration is mired in a crisis that also involves hostages and Iran—and a policy that appears the opposite of the "swift and effective retribution" promised six years earlier. What has happened to the Reagan revolution?
The Reagan presidency marked a significant break with the past. Americans wanted once again to feel pride in their country and Reagan expressed that. The landing of U.S. troops in Grenada was the first time since Vietnam that military force had been used to stop the spread of communism. Initial political criticism of the action was quieted by overwhelming popular support. This mood found expression in a whole series of films like Rambo and produced bilateral support for military action against Libya.
In other areas of foreign policy there were less dramatic but equally real changes. El Salvador was an issue in 1981. Today the administration has won the support needed for it to maintain itself successfully against Marxist guerrillas. As for Nicaragua, a Congress that previously would not supply food, clothes, and medical supplies to the Contras has been persuaded to grant military aid. This, though, is one of a number of areas that hangs in a delicate balance, more so with the present crisis.
In other spheres, the Reagan era has been equally distinctive. New approaches to economic policy, radically different from those of the 1970s, have been pursued. The mid-1980s has been a period of economic revival for America. The cultural mood too is different. Tom Wolfe, in his essay, draws the picture of contemporary students indifferently discounting the political views of their professors who were the radical students of the 1960s.
Beyond national pride, military strength, and economic prosperity the period has witnessed growing concern over the moral foundations of national character, a topic addressed by Secretary Bennett. Abortion, pornography, and prayer in schools are hotly debated and serious attention has been given to the crisis of the American family, the state of education, and the drug epidemic. In none of these areas, though, has a conclusion been reached. Conservative values are far from having prevailed. In politics, the swing to conservatism has not converted the many intellectuals described by Tom Wolfe, who are still loath to breathe a bad word about
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