Years ago, author Claude Bristol wrote a book entitled The Magic of
Believing. It was a book that has inspired many people throughout
the 50 plus years since it was written, from all walks of life, from
salespeople to performers, and from housewives to politicians. The
book was about achieving goals through mental visualization, and using
faith as a means of drawing the people, circumstances and opportunities
together to make it happen.
Claude Bristol explained that he
didn’t invent this idea, and in fact many people had used the same
principles throughout the course of history to achieve much. I don’t
know whether or not former President Ronald Reagan ever read The Magic
of Believing, but he certainly understood the concept. Ronald Reagan
understood that there is magic in believing, and while the Gipper
may have passed away this weekend at age 93, his spirit of optimism
and faith in the American people remain as his legacy.
Ronald
Reagan understood that in 1980, what our nation needed more than anything
was a good healthy dose of collective self-confidence. The 70’s had
exacted a heavy toll on our national psyche, with withdrawal and defeat
in VietNam after our government had pursued a no-win policy, long
lines at gasoline stations due to oil embargos, the resignation of
an American president due to scandals, and an economy that by the
end of the decade had seen double digit interest rates, unemployment
and inflation. To top it off, Reagan’s predecessor seemed to blame
the American people, claiming we were in a “malaise”.
Ronald
Reagan understood that America was great, not because of its government,
but because of its people; and he knew that to get the country moving
again, people only needed to believe in themselves again. When he
spoke, that unyielding belief in what was good about America came
through to us loud and clear. Reagan’s inspiration helped lift us
out of the “malaise” so that we could once again dare to dream. We
got back to work, and saw prosperity return in the form of the longest
period of expansion ever in our history.
There are so many things
to remember about our 40th president – his vision, courage and humor;
from his famous “I hope you’re all Republicans” line, quipped to the
doctors getting ready to operate on him after the attempted assassination
in 1981 by John Hinckley, to the dramatic speech at the Berlin Wall
in 1987 when he exhorted the Soviet General-Secretary, “Mr. Gorbachev,
tear down this wall!”
When President Reagan gave his farewell
speech, he left office the same way he entered it – by demonstrating
that belief in America and its people. He spoke of America being a
“shining city on a hill”. There is magic in believing, and no one
understood it better than the Gipper.
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