In honor of Presidents’ Day, Gallup released the results of its annual poll on who Americans consider to be the greatest president. The winner? Ronald Reagan. There were some interesting inclusions and omissions in the top results, which you can see below:
- Ronald Reagan (19%)
- Abraham Lincoln (14%)
- Bill Clinton (13%)
- John F. Kennedy (11%)
- George Washington (10%)
- Franklin Roosevelt (8%)
- Barack Obama (5%)
- Theodore Roosevelt (3%)
- Harry Truman (3%)
- George W. Bush (2%)
- Thomas Jefferson (2%)
- Jimmy Carter (1%)
- Dwight Eisenhower (1%)
- George H. W. Bush (1%)
- Andrew Jackson (less than 1%)
- Lyndon Johnson (less than 1%)
- Richard Nixon (less than 1%)
In my opinion, Reagan is a reasonable choice for the winner, and Lincoln definitely deserves his second place slot. But Bill Clinton third? Washington only fifth and Jefferson tied for tenth? Those two certainly deserve to be higher. So does Andrew Jackson, who received less then 1% of the vote, and so do Calvin Coolidge, John Adams, James Madison, James Monroe, and John Quincy Adams, none of whom were even in the top 17. And don’t even get me started on Obama with 5% of the vote.
It is understandable that the results are skewed toward more recent presidents, since people are more likely to think of them, but people need to be more aware of our nation’s history and have more respect for the early presidential greats.
One hundred years ago today, Ronald Reagan was born. He went on to become not only a successful Hollywood actor but more importantly, America’s 40th president. Reagan fought against excessive spending, social programs, high taxes, and inflation. America needs more politicians like him! Rest easy, President Reagan, and enjoy your birthday in Heaven.
“Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.” – Ronald Reagan
This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for John Tyner, the man who filmed and blogged about his encounter with the TSA, during which he famously told them, “If you touch my junk, I’ll have you arrested.”
In fact, I am thankful for everyone who has ever stood up to the man or fought for freedom. When the TSA began rolling out the strip-search machines with a vengeance because of the failed “underwear bomber” last Christmas, I feared that the American people would just accept this atrocity as a necessary evil, foolishly believing that any increase in safety is good, regardless of the cost in liberty. Thankfully, I was wrong. No matter what the outcome of the current TSA protests, I am proud to live in a country where people still believe that liberty is more important than security, that people have rights that can never be violated, and that requiring people to let their private parts either be seen or touched in order to board an airplane.
I am thankful for the Bill of Rights and the freedoms enshrined therein, as well as all people who, deep in their hearts, believe in liberty.
Happy Thanksgiving!
In honor of 9/11, I give you a truly magnificent speech by Ron Paul. He gave this speech on May 22, 2007 to address the erosion of our liberties, especially after 9/11, and the difference between blind obedience to government policies and true patriotism, which sometimes entails fighting back against government policies that destroy liberty.
“The original American patriots were those individuals brave enough to resist with force the oppressive power of King George. I accept the definition of patriotism as that effort to resist oppressive state power.
The true patriot is motivated by a sense of responsibility and out of self-interest for himself, his family, and the future of his country to resist government abuse of power. He rejects the notion that patriotism means obedience to the state. Resistance need not be violent, but the civil disobedience that might be required involves confrontation with the state and invites possible imprisonment.
Peaceful, nonviolent revolutions against tyranny have been every bit as successful as those involving military confrontation. Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., achieved great political successes by practicing nonviolence, and yet they suffered physically at the hands of the state. But whether the resistance against government tyrants is nonviolent or physically violent, the effort to overthrow state oppression qualifies as true patriotism.
True patriotism today has gotten a bad name, at least from the government and the press. Those who now challenge the unconstitutional methods of imposing an income tax on us, or force us to use a monetary system designed to serve the rich at the expense of the poor are routinely condemned. These American patriots are sadly looked down upon by many. They are never praised as champions of liberty as Gandhi and Martin Luther King have been.”
Read the rest here at LewRockwell.com.
Quincy Market, Boston, MA
Happy birthday, America! On the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, please take a moment to read this important document. Just like in 1776, we are still fighting for freedom, since freedom must constantly be defended if we want to preserve it.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.”
A company called Wilder Publications decided to put a warning label on its copies of the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Federalist Papers, Articles of Confederation, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, and other historical documents. The warning reads:
“This book is a product of its time and does not reflect the same values as it would if it were written today. Parents might wish to discuss with their children how views on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and interpersonal relations have changed since this book was written before allowing them to read this classic work.”
The company has come under a lot of fire for this warning, and I think the criticism is deserved. A warning label might make sense for historical documents that actually are controversial and express hateful or otherwise offensive beliefs. But the Constitution and Declaration of Independence are the basis of the American legal system. There’s nothing offensive about limited government!
I would hope that the beliefs about political philosophy expressed in the Constitution and Declaration remain mostly unchanged and that the Constitution would be basically the same if it was written today. It would be a sad thing if people widely considered the Constitution to be a quaint, old fashioned, historical document that is no longer relevant.
H/T: Rational Nation USA and Fox News
