You Don’t Have To Denigrate Other American Heroes To Honor The Gipper

09 Jun, 2004 by John Hawkins

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Quite understandably, there are a number of proposals floating around right now to honor the Gipper. Mitch McConnell wants to have Reagan replace Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill, Dana Rohrabacher wants Dutch on the $20, and there are proposals floating around to have the great communicator split time with FDR on the dime or replace JFK on the 50-cent piece. Rep. Ron Young, R-Painesville even introduced a resolution requesting that Congress add Ron Reagan to Mt. Rushmore.

Now, is the Gipper worthy of those sorts of honors? In my opinion, absolutely. Personally, I’d put Reagan in the #5 slot for US Presidents, only behind Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, & Madison.

That being said, I don’t feel that in honoring Reagan, we should forsake other great Americans of times past. Many conservatives, myself included, detest FDR’s domestic policies, but he did lead us through WW2. JFK was incredibly popular and Andrew Jackson and Alexander Hamilton were enormous figures in American history. And the Presidents on Mt. Rushmore — Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Lincoln? These men DESERVE to have their own monument.

Now some of the other proposals like renaming the space-based missile-defense program or creating a “Ronald Reagan University,” that’s fine. And the already aptly named aircraft carrier “U.S.S. Ronald Reagan”? That’s perfect for the Gipper.

But, in these days and times, when our mediocre public schools barely teach our kids history at all, we should celebrate these figures, not shunt them aside to make room for another hero. Furthermore, while I certainly can’t speak for the Reagans, judging by what Nancy said last year when there was talk about replacing FDR with her husband on the dime, I strongly suspect this is how they’d feel about this subject as well.

Besides, whether Reagan’s name shows up on a building or on our currency, as long as Americans understand the truth, that because of the Gipper things like this became possible, his memory will never die…