Archive for month: October, 2015

As both a museum and a memorial of sorts, to both Reagan and his time in office, the Reagan Library is filled to the brim with historical information, testimonies, and artifacts. In a place that has such an extensive wealth of history and provides so many opportunities to expand one’s knowledge, it was difficult to choose just a few points of focus.

The first part of the museum that really grabbed my attention was the exhibit featuring Nancy Reagan and her support and love for her husband. She seems to have been an extremely notable first lady, particularly in how she took her role in stride. In this exhibit, one of her quotes was displayed which stated “I threw myself into these various first lady roles- spokeswoman, hostess, manager, and friend…above everything else, the first lady is the president’s wife.” Though the last part of the quote seems simplistic, I believe that it truly encompasses what it means to be an admirable first lady. Being the president’s wife does not just mean that you are committed to your love and your marriage, but it means that you are also committed to your country and to assisting your partner in his work. Nancy Reagan went far beyond that, instigating her own improvements throughout the country such as her “Just Say No” campaign, which sought to keep school kids from turning to drugs and alcohol. She traveled across the country, made television appearances, and visited rehab centers all as a part of this campaign.

Other particularly gripping aspects of the museum include the auditory stimuli given. One in particular the old-fashioned phone on which you could ‘dial in’ to one of Reagan’s speeches. Listening to his famous “Tear Down This Wall” speech through the speakers and hearing his way of describing communism as this huge evil entity was interesting. He even refers to the Berlin wall as a “scar” which every person in Berlin is forced to look upon.

While we were visiting the replicated Oval Office, there was a group of young school-children in the room with us who pointed out that there were jelly beans on the table. At first I had thought nothing of it, but the museum workers pointed out that Reagan had loved jelly beans. This became more apparent throughout the rest of the museum, including an entire portrait of Reagan himself consisting entirely of Jelly Belly jelly beans.

A more emotionally driven aspect of the museum which attracted my attention was the video of the attempted assassination. Since I wasn’t exactly the greatest history student in high school, I hadn’t even known prior to going to the museum that there had been an attempted assassination on Reagan. Seeing the video and hearing the reactions of both the people then as well as the people now who were in the room watching with me was an incredibly interesting experience. Even today, people still feel the fear and the ache of watching a president nearly die before their eyes.

Though my next piece from the museum may be seemingly unremarkable, I found that the section on music and art from the time period was enjoyable and emotionally driven. As somebody who is very in touch with music, it was almost a personal experience to be taken back in time to what they listened to and were entertained by at that point in time, some familiar and some not. Reagan himself said “where there’s liberty, art succeeds.” I understood this as meaning that, since America is a great country, it has incredible things to offer in terms of the arts and in terms of music- aspects of culture which transcend age and time.

I believe that the curator chose to include not only the “Tear Down This Wall” speech, but other huge signs and images against communism in order to portray communism as an incredible evil that the “hero” Reagan sought to defeat. Nowhere in particular can I recall there being any actual description of Communism. In fact, even in the open film-sequence, it was only referred to as an evil that was threatening to take over the world. In all honesty, though I know communism in practice has had major and tragic downfalls, the actual ideology of it isn’t necessarily bad. Rather than choosing to educate on communism though, the museum only seeks to portray it as the evil that those at the time believed it to be.

It was the same exact fear that was meant to be felt as part of the museum that lead to unfair persecution against those who were believed to be Soviets and Communists during the Red Scare. The room surrounding communism was dimly lit with lights which would change unexpectedly, in order to replicate a feeling of a lurking evil and uneasiness. I personally believe that perpetuating stereotypes without providing any concrete pro/con information gives less potency to the library and museum as a whole. In spite of this, though, the overall museum experience was quite enjoyable and I will hopefully be visiting again sometime in the future.

Knowing about presidents was something I did because I had to for all of my history classes. It wasn’t until Friday that I actually had an interest for learning about someone else besides myself and my friends. I went with an open mind ready to learn and that’s exactly what I did. I learned so much not only about Reagan but about history as well. I got an inside to how times were back then. It is so different to read about it in a book than actually see objects that take you back in time. It’s like everything became so real when I read the side comments next to an object or saw pictures. What caught my attention the most was the president then and the first lady’s love stories and the wedding memory section they had. I was surprised that they would let such intimate object be seen by everyone but I’m happy they did because I enjoyed it and it made me feel a connection with the museum. With that said I will be going to more and I’m very happy I was able to go to the Reagan library because it opened a whole new door full of curiosity to something I had never been interested before. After going I called my dad and I couldn’t stop telling how amazed by some things I had seen. I’m planning on taking my siblings for them to experience what I experienced and become more interested in history.

The picture above was one of the ones that impressed me as soon as I walked in because as a president I would have never thought that he was an actor. I had always known that acting was not a career but more like a hobby. It was interesting that Reagan committed to it from High school to College. Those stages of my life have been the ones I have taken more serious than any other stage in life only because those are the ones I feel are shaping my life. If I would have been acting I know for sure my parents wouldn’t have been happy. My parents would have just seen it as me throwing my life away and that’s one of the things I was most excited to tell my dad. I told him the president of the United States of America at one point was an actor and not at a young age. I thought he was going to laugh and be surprised but like always the smartness of my dad surprised me and instead he said yes because that you are meant to be you will be either sooner or later and Reagan was a really smart man. I thought to myself that is really true. ” What you are meant to be in life you will be either sooner or later”

Athletes usually practice to be famous one day for the sport they practice not to be the president, that’s exactly what I thought to myself when I read this. Also the fact that he was not planning to become president but an actor. I usually think people who become very important are those who keep their noses in books all throughout High School. Although by the looks of it Reagan proved me wrong. It seemed like he was the jock everyone liked and knew or so that’s how I picture it in my head. The most important thing I took out of this was the fact that he was so involved in many things and was still able to have the grades to become president. I admire that because as a student when I was in High school I thought six classes was to much to handle especially with cheer. I could only imagine the amount of stress he had with being president of the drama club as well as being involved in yearbook. My props to you Reagan!

I thought it was so fascinating to see the yearbooks Reagan designed. I have yearbooks and I knew the people who designed them and I would never think they would become president one day. Not only was it nice to see the yearbooks a president had designed but it was also interesting to compare them to the ones I have of my senior year. They are nothing alike. The ones in the picture seem more serious to me although they are still nice. My yearbooks look like a children’s book compared to these. I would have liked to have seen them from inside to see him maybe acting or simply be a normal teenager like me now. Not only would I be interested in seeing Reagan but maybe his friends and how girls my age dressed like back then. Just by looking at the cover of the yearbook I had so many questions what if I looked in it and looked through every page. I probably would not be able to stop thinking of questions to ask. It would be one of those things that would take me back in time just by looking at pictures. I could not help it to think the black and white picture on tip did not look like him. That’s when he was a teenager in High school. Maybe looking through the yearbook would have helped me see more of how he was as a teenager which is something I would have been interested in finding out. I already knew by him previously being an actor that he was outgoing and loved being on stage but what else was he into? anything I’m into now maybe?

From what I know the world in Hollywood is really aggressive and competitive. Yet Ronald Reagan in his first 18 months had 13 films already that’s very impressive to me. I would have thought as being as smart as he is that it would not be hard to get what he wanted but like it says in the comment ” He lobbied hard for the part of…….”. It is also pretty admiring that he was noble enough to buy his parents a ranch and house. People who get to become something re usually those who I believe become less humble but from what I see Reagan was humble and it shows a lot of his personality.

Overall like I said before I enjoyed myself at the Reagan library it was definitely a new experience that I enjoyed. I would go back and walk through it again just to learn more about the small details.

          I’ve always had some kind of connection with Ronald Reagan. In the second grade, my class was given a project to research a president that was assigned to us, write a one-paragraph report on that president, and present our report to the class. I was assigned Ronald Reagan. At first, I was little unsure of what to do. I wasn’t even sure who he was, what he did, or even what time period he was from. With help from my parents, I learned all the good things he did and grew to really like him for all he did and who he was. I even included his famous words at the Berlin Wall, “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!” in my speech. (Though I had to practice with my dad on how to pronounce Gorbachev for a few days.) I ended up getting an A on that project. But, since then, I’ve always looked up to Reagan. So, when it was announced that we would be going to the Reagan library for class, I was really excited. I had been to both the Nixon and the Reagan libraries in middle school and really enjoyed my time back then. I was looking forward to going back and exploring the life of one of my favorite presidents in US history. In the library, I was fascinated at every little thing that stood the test of time. But what really fascinated me was the following five things.

          The first thing that I really loved was something you see towards the beginning, around the time that Reagan won the presidency. Reagan kept two plaques on his desk that gave him encouragement when he was negotiating. One plaque reads, “There’s no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he does not mind who gets the credit.” The other reads, “It CAN be done.” The two plaques echoes Reagan’s belief that in America, anything is possible and is only limited by one’s dreams. When I say this, I felt very inspired. Reagan knew that the road ahead would be tough. However, he didn’t let the fear of failure bring him down.

The second thing I really loved was the entire exhibit of the assassination attempt. On March 30, 1981, John Hinckley, Jr. shot at President Reagan, attempting to kill him. The entire shooting lasted about 2 seconds. Secret Service acted fast, tackled the shooter, and got the president out and saved his life. Four people were shot, including the president, who was shot in the chest and the forearm. In the exhibit at the library, they have the suit the president was wearing when he was shot, all cut up and labeled where the bullets were. They also had the x-ray of Reagan’s chest where the bullet was. They even had a quote on the wall from Reagan after the shooting. He said, “Whatever happens now, I owe my life to God and will try to serve Him in every way I can.” I really connected with this because in the light of tragedy, he turned to God. Because I was raised in a very Catholic family and have turned to God my whole life, it was refreshing to me that a president would openly include religion in his life.

The next thing I really loved was the map of Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign. The “Just Say No” campaign was an advertising campaign, part of the U.S. “War on Drugs”, prevalent during the 1980s and early 1990s, to discourage children from engaging in illegal recreational drug use by offering various ways of saying no. Eventually, the scope of the campaign expanded to cover violence and premarital sex as well as drug use. The map showed campaign stops across the country and spanned over many years. I was really inspired to see the First Lady getting involved with the country. I always like seeing powerful women making a difference in the community.

Another thing I really enjoyed was the condolence letters sent to Nancy Reagan when Ronald died in 2004. Support was pouring from across the country and even around the world. In one of the condolence books, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wrote, “To Ronnie, Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” With the many notes in the condolence books that were spread across the country, Nancy Reagan also received letters from world leaders, dear friends, and even complete strangers. The letters testified to the great respect and admiration so many people felt for Ronald Reagan and their sorrow at her loss. For the whole country and world leaders to come together to mourn the loss of Reagan really warms my heart and gives me hope for the world. For a moment, the world wasn’t divided. They were together to celebrate the life of one man.

The last thing that I loved was actual outside the library as you walk out of the museum. Standing by itself is a portion of the Berlin Wall. Every time I see it, it gives me chills. This portion of the wall stands tall and proud. On one side, you can see pretty decorations of flowers and butterflies, symbols of hope. On the other side, nothing but an “E.” This wall has been through so much, tells so many stories, and is our history.

History never ceases to amaze me. Seeing the way we dealt with situations not too different from ones we have now shows me the full circle we go through. Battles fought, lives lost, treaties written, speeches given. It’s all the same. What’s different is the time and the people.

On Friday September 25, 2015 I was fortunate enough to go on a class fieldtrip to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library with my University 198 – intro to interdisciplinary research class. When finding out that we would be taking a trip to the library I was excited to not see anything about the Ronald Reagan but to see the baseball exhibit that is within the library. Sadly we had missed that exhibit by two weeks and so I was really bummed out by they’re being no baseball involved in this fieldtrip. Bummed out and all I still went to the Library I didn’t really know what to expect when going to the Museum because he wasn’t really talked about in most if not all the history classes I had taken. Going into the Museum I was excited by the free Wi-Fi and interactive portions of the exhibits.

Going through this whole portions I felt that the displays where pretty credible they showed the different types of backgrounds that Ronald went through. At times I felt that some portions where very dry and didn’t provide enough information on certain portions like when Regan was purposing to boycott the Olympics.

In the beginning of the tour we were shown the younger years of Ronald Regan. Displayed where his families background and how he was just an ordinary kid. Moving through to his teenage years we discovered that he was an all-star athlete through High School and College. Ronald was shown looking his best and always made sure to stand out. Displayed where some of his achievements through sports showing his letterman and other uniforms. This photo I selected was because at this time era playing football or let alone any sport meant that you were “all American” so this was just a little preparation of all the best all American president mementos to show later on in the museum.

Walking through the exhibit I was in for a major surprise. The aspiration of our former president was to become an actor and model it was something I would have never expected. Ronald Reagan was not only a movie actor but also a
cigarette model. I had found this pretty ironic because typically most politicians avoid the big screen or attention through the media until election time. The curator selected this because it shows how the start of his presidency started with a simple move to Hollywood.

Continuing through the exhibit we were in a group like setting that was very quiet. The lights were dim and a video had begun to play and it was a very heavy video to take in and watch. The photo shown was a very memorable moment shown where we no longer see the president almost as if he disappeared but we are clearly able to see a crowd of secret service men and policemen pile on the man who shot at Regan. After going through this experience our president was looked at as a hero for being one of the bravest presidents to go back out. Personally I felt amazed because after the video we had seen we were able to see how quickly he was able to recover and reassure the American people that he is okay.

In a lighter spirit as I finished that portion I was able to see the different types of white house celebrations that went on during Reagan’s terms. This egg roll

explained a lot to me because it is a tradition that still continues in the white house today. These traditions may not seem like much but it is often a time where both the president and first lady can be interactive on a personal level of a few children and adults. Seeing this portion made me feel elated presidents do have time to spend with their families and keep some of there traditions and often share them along with others who wish to part take in celebrations like this.

Being a president of the United States has a greater role than just being a leader. It is about being able to relate to everybody in the United States in anyway possible. Walking through the Library, I couldn’t help but think how much of Ronald Reagan’s personal life still remained during his presidency. Giving credit to the curators for selecting best possible mementos on Reagan’s presidency, I

was always on my toes. What caught my eye was Ronald’s love for jellybeans. The Love for Jellybeans was something I believe was closely thought out. It was a “pull factor” used to make him look very relatable. The Jellybeans where strategically placed throughout the museum in the oval office, Air force one, and even during his precedential meetings there was always jellybeans in the photo or display. This pull made it feel a bit more personal to me.