Post by ErinB on Jun 13, 2004 10:13:38 GMT -5
www.commondreams.org/views04/0611-13.htm
Growing Up Reagan
by Alison Ninio
You may be excused for thinking you suffer from Alzheimer's if you watched both the Reagan funeral ceremony and "Angels in America" on the ABC (Australia). After the state procession, you were likely convinced that Ronald Reagan is one of the greatest world leaders of the twentieth century; after the movie, you forgot that thought and now passionately believe that Reagan caused the AIDS epidemic and endorsed homophobia. Having grown up in the United States during the Reagan Revolution, my memories suffer from the same confusion.
My first political memories are of the yellow ribbons tied around trees in support of the hostages in Iran in 1980 and waiting on eternal lines for gas on "even" (mom's car) and "odd" (dad's car) days. That same year, my fourth grade class held a presidential election. The candidates were Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and John Anderson. As nine-year olds, we had fuzzy knowledge of party affiliation, perhaps knowing that our parents voted Democratic or Republican and little else. We did not know how strange it was to have an independent (taken seriously!) on the ballot. I remember that my "boyfriend" (the one whose initials appear on my autograph book in a heart) voted for Anderson. For some reason, I found that cool. I voted for Carter, as did the majority of my class. Our parents must not have taken our advice at the voting booth, as our state of Connecticut went 48% for Reagan, 38% for Carter and 12% for Anderson.
Out with the peanuts and in with the jellybeans. No more embarrassing brothers named Billy, no more children in the White House. Bring on Grandpa Ron and make room in the White House closets for an era of "Dynasty"-inspired gowns. My teenage years coincided with the Reagan/Bush years. From a 10-year old to a 22-year old, the only White House I knew was one dominated by the Republicans. And the only political world I knew was framed by the conflict between the US and the USSR, good v evil, capitalism v communism/socialism.
Reading now about the "achievements" of the Reagan Era, I realize I slept through the 1980s. The big picture of what Reagan accomplished--increased homelessness, nuclear re-armament, welfare for the Savings and Loan industry, to mention just a few--escaped me. I was a victim of the Reagan Revolution, tricked into thinking my country defined the moral high ground. What I remember about those years mixes the personal with the political. I remember the assassination attempt and the novelty of watching television in the middle of the school day. The previous year, we saw John Lennon gunned down, dashing our hopes of the Beatles ever reuniting. I have no memory of James Brady fighting--and inevitably losing--the battle for stricter gun control legislation.
I vividly recall the crash of the space shuttle in 1986, the crew include a school teacher and the loss of her life seemed to touch everyone. I remember the made-for-TV movie "The Day After" that depicted a nuclear attack in America, and I remember that everyone watched this movie; perhaps its success helped to loosen the voters up to support weapons programs with names like "Star Wars", "SDI", "Stealth Bombers" and "Missile Defense System".
It was a tense time for the Olympics, with the US boycott of the summer games in Moscow in 1980 and WWIII on ice with the US hockey team meeting and defeating the Soviet Union hockey team in the winter of 1980.
I participated in "Hands Across America" in 1986, an event to raise money for homelessness, but I certainly did not appreciate that Reagan's policies may have been the reason people were homeless in the first place. I watched the music video for "We are the World" over and over again (and still remember the words), but I did not grasp why the top musicians of the time felt compelled to come together and sing a song in support of Africa.
I read Ayn Rand's book Atlas Shrugged and saw nothing revelational, as she merely described the world in which I lived. I remember "junk bonds" and Michael Milken, but none of it seemed to put a stain on the go-go 80s and the cult of making money. I now wonder whether the high teenage suicide rate at the time was somehow connected in some small way to the dismal idea of a future in stocks and bonds. I watched air traffic controllers go on strike and disrupt travel, but I do not recall how Reagan destroyed the union and ignored workers' rights. The First Lady gave us the "Just Say No" campaign against drugs, and we all applauded. I remember the "Where's the beef" lady (which is not political but somehow seems relevant). My brother graduated from university in 1985 and I wondered what the students sitting under anti-apartheid shanty towns were protesting.
I now know that I grew up in a sheltered, privileged world. While my parents always voted Democrat, we were not politicized. We never discussed the "why" behind world events. It was only after (or at the tail-end) of the Reagan years, that I realized my liberal mom was considered conservative by her cousins--most of whom had embraced leftist values and eschewed the corporate world--they were academics or worked for a union or ran a non-profit group. Knowing the truth of Reagan's achievements, it shocks me to hear the bi-partisan, multi-national tributes praising the man who in no small part created the problems that the world now confronts--increased economic inequality, unjustified interventions by the American military, soaring deficits, rampant terrorism. Reagan started it, Clinton could not curb it and Bush Jr now embraces it. There is talk of placing Reagan on the dime, I hope I don't live to see Bush Jr on the five dollar bill.
Alison Ninio is a lawyer working in Sydney. She is a citizen of both Australia and the United States. alison@ninio.com
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Growing Up Reagan
by Alison Ninio
You may be excused for thinking you suffer from Alzheimer's if you watched both the Reagan funeral ceremony and "Angels in America" on the ABC (Australia). After the state procession, you were likely convinced that Ronald Reagan is one of the greatest world leaders of the twentieth century; after the movie, you forgot that thought and now passionately believe that Reagan caused the AIDS epidemic and endorsed homophobia. Having grown up in the United States during the Reagan Revolution, my memories suffer from the same confusion.
My first political memories are of the yellow ribbons tied around trees in support of the hostages in Iran in 1980 and waiting on eternal lines for gas on "even" (mom's car) and "odd" (dad's car) days. That same year, my fourth grade class held a presidential election. The candidates were Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and John Anderson. As nine-year olds, we had fuzzy knowledge of party affiliation, perhaps knowing that our parents voted Democratic or Republican and little else. We did not know how strange it was to have an independent (taken seriously!) on the ballot. I remember that my "boyfriend" (the one whose initials appear on my autograph book in a heart) voted for Anderson. For some reason, I found that cool. I voted for Carter, as did the majority of my class. Our parents must not have taken our advice at the voting booth, as our state of Connecticut went 48% for Reagan, 38% for Carter and 12% for Anderson.
Out with the peanuts and in with the jellybeans. No more embarrassing brothers named Billy, no more children in the White House. Bring on Grandpa Ron and make room in the White House closets for an era of "Dynasty"-inspired gowns. My teenage years coincided with the Reagan/Bush years. From a 10-year old to a 22-year old, the only White House I knew was one dominated by the Republicans. And the only political world I knew was framed by the conflict between the US and the USSR, good v evil, capitalism v communism/socialism.
Reading now about the "achievements" of the Reagan Era, I realize I slept through the 1980s. The big picture of what Reagan accomplished--increased homelessness, nuclear re-armament, welfare for the Savings and Loan industry, to mention just a few--escaped me. I was a victim of the Reagan Revolution, tricked into thinking my country defined the moral high ground. What I remember about those years mixes the personal with the political. I remember the assassination attempt and the novelty of watching television in the middle of the school day. The previous year, we saw John Lennon gunned down, dashing our hopes of the Beatles ever reuniting. I have no memory of James Brady fighting--and inevitably losing--the battle for stricter gun control legislation.
I vividly recall the crash of the space shuttle in 1986, the crew include a school teacher and the loss of her life seemed to touch everyone. I remember the made-for-TV movie "The Day After" that depicted a nuclear attack in America, and I remember that everyone watched this movie; perhaps its success helped to loosen the voters up to support weapons programs with names like "Star Wars", "SDI", "Stealth Bombers" and "Missile Defense System".
It was a tense time for the Olympics, with the US boycott of the summer games in Moscow in 1980 and WWIII on ice with the US hockey team meeting and defeating the Soviet Union hockey team in the winter of 1980.
I participated in "Hands Across America" in 1986, an event to raise money for homelessness, but I certainly did not appreciate that Reagan's policies may have been the reason people were homeless in the first place. I watched the music video for "We are the World" over and over again (and still remember the words), but I did not grasp why the top musicians of the time felt compelled to come together and sing a song in support of Africa.
I read Ayn Rand's book Atlas Shrugged and saw nothing revelational, as she merely described the world in which I lived. I remember "junk bonds" and Michael Milken, but none of it seemed to put a stain on the go-go 80s and the cult of making money. I now wonder whether the high teenage suicide rate at the time was somehow connected in some small way to the dismal idea of a future in stocks and bonds. I watched air traffic controllers go on strike and disrupt travel, but I do not recall how Reagan destroyed the union and ignored workers' rights. The First Lady gave us the "Just Say No" campaign against drugs, and we all applauded. I remember the "Where's the beef" lady (which is not political but somehow seems relevant). My brother graduated from university in 1985 and I wondered what the students sitting under anti-apartheid shanty towns were protesting.
I now know that I grew up in a sheltered, privileged world. While my parents always voted Democrat, we were not politicized. We never discussed the "why" behind world events. It was only after (or at the tail-end) of the Reagan years, that I realized my liberal mom was considered conservative by her cousins--most of whom had embraced leftist values and eschewed the corporate world--they were academics or worked for a union or ran a non-profit group. Knowing the truth of Reagan's achievements, it shocks me to hear the bi-partisan, multi-national tributes praising the man who in no small part created the problems that the world now confronts--increased economic inequality, unjustified interventions by the American military, soaring deficits, rampant terrorism. Reagan started it, Clinton could not curb it and Bush Jr now embraces it. There is talk of placing Reagan on the dime, I hope I don't live to see Bush Jr on the five dollar bill.
Alison Ninio is a lawyer working in Sydney. She is a citizen of both Australia and the United States. alison@ninio.com
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