Reagan bashing for beginners
Well, we knew it wouldn’t last forever. They just couldn’t allow for a period of mourning and a decent burial with honors. Liberals have decided to abuse the corpse of a dead president before it ever makes it into the ground.
One of the more feeble attempts is that of Boston Globe columnist Derrick Jackson, who gladly accepts the view of Archbishop Desmond Tutu that any policy but sanctions against the apartheid government of South Africa constituted collaboration with that policy and was therefore “immoral, evil, and totally un-Christian.” Unfortunately for Jackson, his argument only shows the folly of his position.
Jackson huffs that
On the other hand, one could just as easily argue that one could wonder how much longer Mandela would have been imprisoned, and how many more black South Africans would have been died at the hands of that corrupt regime had Reagan adopted the hard-line policy of sanctions demanded by liberals. Much as is found today in Cuba and North Korea, such sanctions could have worsened the situation and caused the government to become that much more oppressive.
And as I recall, we have spent the last dozen years hearing about sanctions against the Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein being the source of untold suffering and death among the common people of that nation, especially the children. I cannot help but believe that had Ronald Reagan agreed to those sanctions, we would be hearing the complaint that Reagan was willing to starve black children to death while white South Africans were well fed.
Please note – I do NOT think any president is above criticism, even those who have headed to whatever eternal realm their deeds have deserved. It’s just that common decency cries out for a time of silence to honor the man, the office, and the country – and to allow the family a time to heal. Would a week have been too much to ask?
One of the more feeble attempts is that of Boston Globe columnist Derrick Jackson, who gladly accepts the view of Archbishop Desmond Tutu that any policy but sanctions against the apartheid government of South Africa constituted collaboration with that policy and was therefore “immoral, evil, and totally un-Christian.” Unfortunately for Jackson, his argument only shows the folly of his position.
Jackson huffs that
“(o)nly a year after Reagan left office, Mandela was released. One can only wonder how much sooner he would have been released and how many lives would have been saved had Reagan not behaved like the white chief of old.”
On the other hand, one could just as easily argue that one could wonder how much longer Mandela would have been imprisoned, and how many more black South Africans would have been died at the hands of that corrupt regime had Reagan adopted the hard-line policy of sanctions demanded by liberals. Much as is found today in Cuba and North Korea, such sanctions could have worsened the situation and caused the government to become that much more oppressive.
And as I recall, we have spent the last dozen years hearing about sanctions against the Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein being the source of untold suffering and death among the common people of that nation, especially the children. I cannot help but believe that had Ronald Reagan agreed to those sanctions, we would be hearing the complaint that Reagan was willing to starve black children to death while white South Africans were well fed.
Please note – I do NOT think any president is above criticism, even those who have headed to whatever eternal realm their deeds have deserved. It’s just that common decency cries out for a time of silence to honor the man, the office, and the country – and to allow the family a time to heal. Would a week have been too much to ask?
posted by Greg at
6/10/2004 04:17:00 PM
