{"id":2337075,"date":"2024-09-05T08:16:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-05T12:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/reagan-reminds-us-of-the-moral-clarity-it-takes-to-defeat-evil\/"},"modified":"2024-09-05T08:20:57","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T12:20:57","slug":"reagan-reminds-us-of-the-moral-clarity-it-takes-to-defeat-evil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/reagan-reminds-us-of-the-moral-clarity-it-takes-to-defeat-evil\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Reagan&#8217; Reminds Us Of The Moral Clarity It Takes To Defeat Evil"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Freagan-reminds-us-of-the-moral-clarity-it-takes-to-defeat-evil%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2337075&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/crisis-declared-in-california-as-state-farm-announces-72000-policies-to-be-cut\/\" title=\"California in Crisis as State Farm Plans to Terminate 72,000 Policies\">text discusses<\/a> the film &#8220;Reagan,&#8221; starring Dennis Quaid, which serves \u2062as both a biopic\u200c of President Ronald Reagan and an exploration \u2062of the ideological confrontations during\u2063 the Cold War. For many younger Americans, their understanding of Reagan and the\u2064 Cold War is \u2062limited, but the film highlights the moral \u200dclarity and courage needed to confront evil,\u200d exemplified\u2064 by Reagan&#8217;s battle against communism.<\/p>\n<p>The\u200d film features a cast of notable actors, including Jon Voight, who plays\u2063 a KGB\u200d analyst that admires Reagan while \u2064recognizing him as a threat to the Soviet \u200bUnion. Voight&#8217;s character serves as the narrator, \u200cguiding viewers through the ideological struggles of the time.<\/p>\n<p>Key moments from Reagan&#8217;s presidency are \u2064depicted,\u200c such as his &#8220;Evil Empire&#8221;\u200d speech, which\u200c articulated the threat of Soviet communism and was ridiculed by \u200delites who viewed the\u2063 USSR more favorably. The narrative emphasizes\u2064 that \u2063understanding\u200b the dangerous nature of\u2062 communism\u2062 was essential for grasping the events \u2062of the Cold War.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, &#8220;Reagan&#8221;\u2062 illustrates the\u200c importance \u200bof the conservative coalition\u2014comprising\u200c libertarians and evangelical conservatives\u2014in defeating the \u2062Soviet threat. The film also showcases pivotal moments, like Reagan&#8217;s famous &#8220;tear down this wall&#8221; speech in \u200b1987, which ultimately contributed to the fall of the Berlin \u2064Wall and the\u2063 disintegration of the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast\u200d to the successful Cold War strategy, the film critiques how post-9\/11 policies have \u2062led to\u200d an erosion of liberty in\u200b the U.S. under the guise of safety and how the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-coalition-formed-to-help-afghan-refugees-find-jobs-in-u-s\/\" title=\"New Coalition Formed To Help Afghan Refugees Find Jobs In U.S.\">coalition formed<\/a> \u2062against communism has fragmented in the \u200dfight against radical Islamic terrorism. &#8220;Reagan&#8221; \u200bis portrayed \u200bas \u2064an enlightening mix of\u200c history and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tapping-into-greatness\/\" title=\"Tapping Into Greatness\">personal drama<\/a>, emphasizing \u2064the philosophical underpinnings that contributed to America&#8217;s Cold\u2062 War \u2063victory.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Many Americans aren&rsquo;t old enough to have adult memories of President Ronald Reagan. Fewer still have a personal understanding of the nature and origins of the Cold War &mdash; a great power competition between the free West, led by America, and the Soviet bloc that had both a military and an ideological component.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1723808\/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_2_nm_6_in_0_q_reagan\">Reagan<\/a>,&rdquo; starring a comfortably convincing Dennis Quaid in the title role, shines as a biopic and a valuable lesson in evil as an organizing principle. The genius of &ldquo;Reagan&rdquo; the film and Reagan the man is that both grasp the elemental nature of evil and the moral courage and clarity required to confront it if there is to be any hope of victory.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This is especially true today as history did not end with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Rather, history took a nasty turn down the bloody lane of radical Islamic terror, distracting us from a new evil, organized along Nazi lines in its lust for control on a core of racial superiority in the form of the Chinese Communist Party.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In the film, major players in Reagan&rsquo;s life are a veritable who&rsquo;s who of non-leftist Hollywood: Kevin Sorbo as Reagan&rsquo;s childhood pastor; Robert Davi as Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev (the prosthetic eyebrows must have weighed a pound); Nick Searcy as James Baker; and Jon Voight as old KGB analyst Viktor Petrovich.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Voight&rsquo;s Russian character is essential to the telling of the story, and Voight brings everything to the effort. Voight&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/even-cnn-legal-analyst-sees-through-new-york-ags-political-case-against-trump\/\" title=\"CNN Legal Analyst Sees Political Motives in New York AG&#039;s Case Against Trump\">analyst sees<\/a> in Reagan an elemental threat to the Soviet Union, but he&rsquo;s powerless to convince the sclerotic leadership of that fading empire to do anything about it. He is grudging in his admiration for his old enemy, Reagan. He serves as the film&rsquo;s narrator, explaining to an up-and-coming Russian politician how Reagan brought down communism. As a plot device, it&rsquo;s brilliant as it allows &ldquo;Reagan&rdquo; to explain the ideological struggle without sounding like a documentary.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Penelope Ann Miller, playing Nancy Reagan, absolutely nails her performance as Reagan&rsquo;s leading lady, his rock and the love of his life.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Reagan frequently spoke about the dangers of communism, the Cold War&rsquo;s root. On March 8, 1983, to the 41st annual convention of the National Association of Evangelicals, in a speech depicted in the film, Reagan declared:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Yes, let us pray for the salvation of all of those who live in that totalitarian darkness &mdash; pray they will discover the joy of knowing God. But until they do, let us be aware that while they preach the supremacy of the state, declare its omnipotence over individual man, and predict its eventual domination of all peoples on the Earth, they are the focus of evil in the modern world&hellip;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The speech was derided as the &ldquo;Evil Empire&rdquo; speech by the elites who saw the Soviet Union as merely an alternative system of government &mdash; or even a form of government to be admired, supported, and replicated. Grasping the evil essence of Moscow-led international communism is key to understanding the Cold War, and in this, &ldquo;Reagan&rdquo; superbly sets the stage, beginning with the opening credits. &ldquo;Reagan&rdquo; blends instructive history with personal drama &mdash; human weakness and failure, human hope and triumph.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Reagan&rdquo; also illuminates how conservative fusionism was vital in winning the Cold War. Libertarianism and evangelical conservatives both clearly saw the moral dimensions of communism&rsquo;s threat to liberty, and both played an integral role in electing Reagan in 1980 and in building a governing coalition. In contrast, the unimaginative and bureaucratic foreign policy cadres were locked in the status quo, viewing the Soviet Union as a permanent blight to be managed via d&eacute;tente.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Reagan&rdquo; shows the power of the philosophy of liberty in the long twilight struggle against the Soviet Union &mdash; and how the former president had to push his own administration toward victory.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>One vignette particularly stands out: Reagan&rsquo;s &ldquo;tear down this wall&rdquo; speech in West Berlin in 1987. The key phrase almost didn&rsquo;t happen, being opposed by both the State Department and the National Security Council and stricken from speechwriter Peter Robinson&rsquo;s draft. But Reagan&rsquo;s speechwriters, including Dana Rohrabacher, depicted in the film as simply &ldquo;Dana&rdquo; &mdash; who would go on to win a seat in Congress the next year and hold it for 30 years &mdash; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DanaRohrabacher\/status\/1193561798387085312\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">persisted<\/a>, confident in knowing the president&rsquo;s mind. They <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/publications\/prologue\/2007\/summer\/berlin.html\">gave Reagan the final copy of the speech<\/a> that included the offending phrase. Then, on June 12, in a speech heard throughout the Eastern Bloc, Reagan proclaimed:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Reagan left office a year and a half later. By 1990, the Berlin Wall would come down. The next year, the Soviet Union broke apart.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The fusionism forged in the Cold War shattered in the long struggle against Islamic terror. Federal power grew dangerously oppressive in the name of safety while, misreading the threat and its nature, a titanic but futile effort was made to remake Afghanistan, Iraq, and much of the Middle East into bastions of democracy and freedom.&nbsp;But unlike the nuclear-armed Soviet Union &mdash; which, at the height of its economic power versus the U.S., had an economy about 55 percent that of America&rsquo;s with a population about 17 percent larger &mdash; Islamists, unequipped with industry or science, never presented a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/don-ritter-the-real-existential-threat-to-people-and-planet\/\" title=\"Don Ritter: The Real \u201cExistential Threat\u201d to People and Planet\">true existential threat<\/a>. Thus, the erosion of liberty at home was resented by many in the old coalition as unnecessary, while the effort abroad was assessed as a foolish waste of men and money.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Faith is another aspect of the West&rsquo;s Cold War victory over officially atheistic Soviet communism. &ldquo;Reagan&rdquo; shows that in sometimes subtle ways. We first see it in Reagan&rsquo;s childhood, as his mother perseveres in the face of his father&rsquo;s alcoholism. We see it again when an evangelical pastor prophesies in a small group that then-Gov. Reagan would someday reside in the White House. Then, after Reagan is shot months into his presidency, we see Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O&rsquo;Neill visit Reagan at the hospital, rosary in hand, as both men recite Psalm 23:4 together &mdash; Reagan having just traversed the valley of the shadow of death.<\/p>\n<p>Reagan&rsquo;s cadres are passing into history. Of the named roles in the film, Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, died two years ago at 91 with Secretary of State George Shultz passing at 100 in 2021. Former Attorney General Edwin Meese is still active at 92. Dana Rohrabacher is 77.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Thus, &ldquo;Reagan&rdquo; serves to mark history and inspire a new generation to rise and meet a new and deadly threat in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP lacks the ideological command of its progenitor but is far wealthier as it works to anesthetize Americans figuratively, via tools such as TikTok, and literally, with fentanyl, which poisons about 100,000 Americans annually. Defeating the CCP will require our generation&rsquo;s own Reagan &mdash; should we be so blessed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p>      Chuck DeVore is chief national initiatives officer at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a former California legislator, and a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel. He&#8217;s the author of <a href=\"\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0BGNKPTLR\">&ldquo;The Crisis of the House Never United&mdash;A Novel of Early America.&rdquo; <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many Americans lack adult memories of President Ronald Reagan, and even fewer have a personal grasp of the Cold War&#8217;s nature and origins\u2014a significant power struggle between the free West, spearheaded by the United States, and the Soviet bloc that encompassed both military and ideological elements. The film &#8220;Reagan,&#8221; featuring a convincingly comfortable Dennis Quaid in the lead role, excels as both a biopic and an insightful exploration of evil as a fundamental organizing principle. The brilliance of both &#8220;Reagan&#8221; the film and Reagan himself lies in their understanding of evil&#8217;s basic nature and the moral courage needed to confront it for any chance at victory.<\/p>\n<p>This relevance is particularly pronounced today since history did not conclude with the fall of the Soviet Union; instead, it took a grim turn towards radical Islamic terrorism, diverting attention from another form of organized evil reminiscent of Nazi ideology\u2014specifically embodied by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which seeks control through racial superiority.<\/p>\n<p>The film features key figures from Reagan\u2019s life portrayed by notable non-leftist Hollywood actors: Kevin Sorbo plays Reagan\u2019s childhood pastor; Robert Davi takes on Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev (complete with heavy prosthetic eyebrows); Nick Searcy portrays James Baker; while Jon Voight plays Viktor Petrovich, an aging KGB analyst. Voight\u2019s character is crucial to narrating how Reagan posed an elemental threat to the Soviet Union but struggled to persuade its stagnant leadership to act against him. He admires his old adversary begrudgingly while serving as narrator for much of the story.<\/p>\n<p>Penelope Ann Miller delivers an outstanding performance as Nancy Reagan\u2014his steadfast partner and love throughout his life. Throughout his presidency, Reagan frequently warned about communism\u2014the root cause behind many Cold War tensions. In one notable speech on March 8, 1983, at a National Association of Evangelicals convention depicted in this film, he stated:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Yes, let us pray for all those living under totalitarian darkness\u2014that they may find joy in knowing God. But until then we must recognize that while they preach state supremacy over individual man&#8230; they represent modern-day evil.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This speech was mockingly dubbed \u201cthe Evil Empire\u201d address by elites who viewed communism merely as another governmental system worthy of admiration or support. Understanding Moscow-led international communism&#8217;s true malevolence is essential for comprehending Cold War dynamics\u2014and &#8220;Reagan&#8221; effectively sets this context right from its opening credits.<\/p>\n<p>The movie intertwines historical education with personal narratives\u2014showcasing human frailty alongside hope and triumphs. It also highlights how conservative fusionism played a critical role in winning during this period: libertarians alongside evangelical conservatives recognized communism&#8217;s moral threat to freedom which helped elect Reagan in 1980 while forming effective coalitions against bureaucratic foreign policy approaches that sought mere management rather than confrontation with Soviet power.<\/p>\n<p>One standout moment includes Reagan\u2019s famous \u201ctear down this wall\u201d speech delivered in West Berlin during 1987\u2014a phrase initially opposed by both State Department officials and National Security Council members but ultimately included thanks to determined speechwriters who understood what resonated with him best.<\/p>\n<p>By June 12th that year he boldly declared:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGeneral Secretary Gorbachev&#8230; if you seek peace&#8230; come here! Mr.Gorbachev tear down this wall!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reagan left office about eighteen months later; soon after\u2014in 1990\u2014the Berlin Wall fell followed closely by disintegration within USSR itself just one year later.<\/p>\n<p>However post-Cold War realities shifted dramatically amid prolonged struggles against Islamic terror where federal authority expanded excessively under safety pretenses leading many former allies feeling alienated due largely misjudged threats abroad resulting futile attempts remaking regions into democracies despite lacking necessary resources or ideologies unlike their nuclear-armed predecessors like USSR once had been capable achieving such feats economically speaking too!<\/p>\n<p>Faith also played pivotal roles throughout these victories over officially atheistic regimes like Soviets\u2014as shown subtly within various scenes depicting moments from childhood through hospital visits post-assassination attempt where bipartisan unity emerged reciting Psalm together symbolizing shared humanity amidst political divides present then still relevant now!<\/p>\n<p>As time passes those involved are fading into history\u2014with Mikhail Gorbachev passing away two years ago at age ninety-one along George Shultz reaching hundred before dying last year whilst Edwin Meese remains active nearing ninety-two years old today alongside Dana Rohrabacher aged seventy-seven still around contributing insights gained through experiences lived firsthand back when events unfolded shaping worldviews held dear today!<\/p>\n<p>Thus \u201cReagan\u201d serves not only marking historical significance but inspiring new generations rise up confronting emerging threats posed notably Chinese Communist Party lacking ideological depth compared predecessors yet wielding wealth attempting undermine American values via platforms like TikTok or literal poisonings caused fentanyl overdoses claiming lives annually numbering close hundred thousand victims each year! Defeating CCP will necessitate finding our own version akin President Ronald Regan should fortune favor us again! <\/p>\n<p>Chuck DeVore holds position Chief National Initiatives Officer Texas Public Policy Foundation previously served California legislator retired U.S Army Lieutenant Colonel authoring novel titled \u201cCrisis House Never United\u2014A Novel Early America.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":563,"featured_media":2337076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-12.01.39%E2%80%AFPM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[40161,40160,5634],"class_list":["post-2337075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-defeat-evil","tag-moral-clarity","tag-reagan"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-12.01.39%E2%80%AFPM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2337075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/563"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2337075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2337075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2337076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2337075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2337075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2337075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}