REAGAN’S MASTERY OF SYMBOLISM
When he (Ronald Reagan) declared that “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem,” he appealed to his countrymen’s primordial suspicion of authority. When he talked of God’s plan for American freedom, he revived the nation’s self-image as uniquely blessed. When he inveighed against tax rates, he played on Everyman’s resentment against the burdens of the commonweal. Last week Reagan followed what he called the “great tradition of warnings in presidential farewells” by protesting the way history is taught these days. He urged renewed emphasis on American uniqueness to achieve an “informed patriotism.” From Time Magazine, January 23, 1989, “Going Home a Winner,” by Laurence I. Barrett
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