I am not a fan of the late President Ronald Reagan. In my opinion he created the current divide between the mega rich and the rest of us. His tax cuts aimed at the wealthy based on trickle-down theory have created our new mega billionaires and their inappropriate influence on the US government. His elimination of programs aimed at reducing poverty was based on a mistaken belief that everyone has an equal opportunity in America. Not surprisingly, there is a larger group of people below the poverty level. His tax cuts and increased military budget fed the current budget crises.
Probably one of his greatest mistakes in his tenure was the Iran contra scandal. This was a political scandal in the United States that centered on arms trafficking to Iran between 1981 and 1986. The administration used the proceeds of the arms sale to fund the Contras, an anti-Sandinista rebel group in Nicaragua. Under a series of laws passed by Congress and signed by Ronald Reagan, funding of the Contras was prohibited, but the Reagan administration continued funding them secretly using non-appropriated funds.
The administration’s justification for the arms shipments was that they were part of an attempt to free seven U.S. hostages being held in Lebanon by Hezbollah. Some within the Reagan administration hoped the sales would influence Iran to get Hezbollah to release the hostages. Yet Reagan was adamant that that US would never negotiate with terrorists and denied that his administration sold arms to release the hostages.
Several commissions investigated this scandal and found no evidence that President Reagan knew of the extent of the programs.
Nevertheless, when the enormity of it came to light, Reagan apologized to the American people. That’s right he gave a speech on television and apologized to us.
This goes back to a time when we could disagree without division. Reagan’s integrity made it possible. So, while I did not agree with his policies, I admired that he apologized for his administration’s behavior and agreed that arms for hostages was against our principles. Not even critics could challenge Reagan’s moral compass.
It makes it even more evident what we have lost.