Ronald Reagan: Just a Normal Human Being

   The Ronald Reagan Library opened my eyes to the world of not only the President but a normal human being as well. The exhibits were all so well put together and the one up at the top is the Presidential plane. This was such an interesting exhibit. I was able to walk through a replica of his plane. I did think the plane was going to be bigger but it really wasnt. I then begin to realize that this was many years ago when technology was not as advanced. It was interesting to see where the president spent his time. It almost seemed like it wasnt as secure as you would want it to be, for the president that is. It was interesting to hear the story of the chocolate cake. Ronald Reagan would invite reporters on to the plane and would cleverly always choose the ones who’s birthdays were on the day. He would always have a chocolate cake and would send it to the reporter and join them. He was a normal human being.

  This exhibit was one of my favorites. In this exhibit, walls, shelves and everything were covered in everything football.  Jerseys from every single NFL  team in the  U.S. and college teams. There were also old high school uniform teams as well as old uniforms for cheerleaders. It surprised me to see some of the NFL team rings as well as the super bowl trophies. There was so much to learn about in this exhibit. I was able to see the way uniforms advanced and came to be what they are now. There was also old fashion footballs, as well as the older head gear. It really made me think about how much things change throughout the years. Everything advances so quickly but so do we. Everything becomes more complicated or much easier for us.

   This exhibit made me very happy in a way. It was an exact replica of the oval office. It was interesting to learn that the president originally had a different office but he told them that he worked too hard to not have this office. One of the things that made me happy about this exhibit was the story behind how they were able to get the actual height of the oval office in the museum. Ronald Reagan himself helped to create this exhibit. When the city was told that the ceiling was too tall so due to restrictions they were not able to  create the exact height of it. Therefore Ronald Reagan himself thought outside of the box and told them that if they couldnt build any higher than they should just dig underneath. That was such a great story because it was an example of the brilliant mind of Ronald Reagan. It was wonderful to see that the portrait of George Washington  was hanging in the center of the room. He was the first president so therefore he holds a great place in the house.

This exhibit was a very informational and visual one. In fact they even had footage of the event itself. This exhibit was specifically about the attempted assassination of our very own President. When we first walked in there was something projected on to the side what looked to be a wall and there were two small screens on it. These two screens played the actual footage of the attempted assassination captured by a news reporter. The president himself as well as two other members of his staff were shot. This to me was such an important moment. Many times in our countries history have the Presidents been shot and killed. Amazingly this one survived. I feel maybe there were bigger reasons as to why he survived.

This exhibit was my absolute favorite. There was something about this that warmed my heart. This exhibit explained how when President Reagan was a child his family placed a penny underneath the tile by their fireplace. The purpose of that was so that they could say truthfully that they were never “penniless”. This warms my heart because it shows that even though he became President they were real people. We have this idea that the Presidents cant make a small mistake just because. In reality they came from the same place we come from. Whether living a middle class lifestyle or living in poverty. Later on Ronald Reagan went back to his old home and discovered that the penny was still beneath the tile. It was one of the greatest things ive heard.

My favorite exhibit had to be the one about the penny. It is such a sincere story with so much emotional background. As I explained before, we have this idea in our head that the President of the United States has to be perfect. He cant make one move without everyone deciding whether or not it was the right one. Everyone criticizes them for the things they do and the decisions they make. In reality, none of us really know what its like to be President. We dont know what its like to live a life where everyone judges the things you do whether its laugh or smile or even blink. We dont know what its like to make big decisions for a country even though we know some people will dislike it.

That brings me back to this exhibit. Something so small so simple with so much meaning. They put a penny under a tile because they were modest enough to know that maybe one day everything they had would be gone. Maybe one day, theyll have nothing left, and times were rough. I feel as if that one small penny gave them so much hope. That even when all their money is gone, they will still never be penniless. That is a real home, with real humans, with real American situations.

We have to take a step back sometimes and understand that the President, just like us, are human too. No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. Its a basic part of human life, and culture. We have to allow a little space and privacy to be held within that area for our Presidents. That is how I feel everyone should understand this exhibit. They should see it as a symbolic action which is very relevant to anyone’s life.

This really was my favorite exhibit because we never really see too much about who the President really is. We never get to see too much about where he comes from and the most emotional parts of his childhood. I think this exhibit proves that. I think the whole museum itself proved that. We need to take  step back and learn to admire who the President was and who he truly is now. We cant judge them solely based off of their term in government. Not everyone is going to agree with their decisions and we all need to grow up and realize that.

Museums, libraries, stories, archives, anything these days can tell you a lot about a certain topic. How much of it is really true though? What we know is what the media wants to expose us to. What we know is the framing of a specific topic. The framing of either just the good or the bad. What we know is what we hear or what we want to believe. I feel this museum truly does cover some of the basic aspects of Ronald Reagan’s life but there was a lot of untold stories.

He was known as one of the greatest Presidents of all time. At least that is what I hear. For the most part, and from what I know as well he was a very great president. Many of the exhibits we saw in the library were personal. Some not as personal as others, but definitely breath taking. Do I feel like they show the whole truth about who he was, definitely not. The museum was framed to show the people the good things in his life. The human things in his life.

I personally believe, great president or not, good person or not there were still some dark sides to Ronald Reagan. Many people have biased opinions on others, whether they know much about them or not. Just like Reagan and what he called “The Evil Empire”. Much of biased opinion there but we really never got to see the facts on that side of him. Showing the people who someone really is means showing them every side of them. The good the bad, the happy, the sad, and everything in between. I dont believe we get the whole truth from museums or media. Its all framed to be what they want it to be.