jon barton

Review of Ronald Reagan Presidential Lib...

Visit this place and be reminded of a time when th...

Visit this place and be reminded of a time when the office of the President of the United States was an office that was respected, revered, and was a place of integrity, discipline, and honor... Be you Republican, Democrat, or independent, this amazing place allows you to experience a masterfully curated multisensory journey through time showcasing one of our most prolific American Presidents and leadership icons. A man and President who was far from perfect, and far from the mythical figure many of my fellow Republican friends believed him to be.

But he was everything we needed him to be when we needed it most... A true leader that set in motion decades of American prosperity without alienating us from the rest of the world's nations... this prosperity came from uniting us with many of the countries around the world, and through that unity, brought about the end of the cold war... among many other world altering events of the time.

For me, this library did an outstanding job showcasing the man, not the myth...a man whose life's story is so much greater than just the 8 years he spent in office, and it was a rare treat to learn about him and Nancy from the perspective of just being real people, living real lives.

One of the first exibits in the main hall is a series of three hand written essays he'd done in school that recounted events in his life that affected him so profoundly, that they subconsciously charted his life's course. Two were about his foot ball playing and how working as a team made him greater than the sum of his parts, and the third told about the fear and elation he'd experienced in a freak storm that hit him as he rowed a canoe over a lake. Characteristically, this showed within him the value he held in the input of those around him, and spoke to his sense of fearlessly succeeding where others feared to tread. He was most certainly one of a kind, and most certainly a President who's actions and deeds inspired a new generation to greatness, and personified the America of the 1980's.

For me, the true heart of this place was in learning about Ronald Reagan's full, colorful, and robust life! A life full of overcoming all the obstacles placed in his path, and never shying away from reinvention at a time in American history when heros were born, not invented on Instagram from thin air, and the American dream was possible for all those who worked hard enough for it. It was a true look- back to a time when we as Americans looked up to our Presidents as bastions of morality... integrity...guidance...and hope, not just because they held the highest office in the land but because they were heroes that earned it through hard work, perseverance, and a warrior's spirit.

Me, the naive kid who watched Reagan lead a nation through eight years of speeches on TV, being only 3 when he was first elected, and just 11 years old when he left office, I whole heartedly believed in him...trusted him... and looked up to him as both a great man and even greater US President.

As I grew older and more educated, I learned truths about him and all politicians that I'd never known, nor could even comprehend as an impressionable child. These truths took much of the guilding from my perception of President Reagan, but none from Ronald Reagan the man. Visiting his library made me wish for the return of a President built from the same stuff as him; a man of integrity who valued the MANY, far more than he did the ONE... while also providing a spectacular view of the valley as I stepping back in time to the '80s, and relieved many of the world shattering events of that time. The tour made me acutely aware that no other man but Reagan could have navigated this great country through all of it!

Our 40th President was destined from childhood to serve this country, not by chance, but by perseverance, hard work, and by grabbing destiny with both hands and holding on tight. His library shares his and Nancy's story with the world, and serves as a place to inspire all who step through its doors!