Farewell Rosy Cheeks

The America I knew was Reagan's America.

Like hundreds of thousands teens around the globe, my first American experience was through pop music, not movies, nor blue jeans. In those days, I was in school uniform and studied all day. The only escape was foreign rhythms broadcasted on the radio, which I often hid behind my father's back to listen to.

Despite poor English ability, I thought a nation produced such wonderful music must have been magnificent. It was during Reagan's Administration I first learned about the country, people, and culture of the United States.

What would a mid-teen kid know about politics? Let along international political climate? My thought of Reagan was that he's a popular president and a great public speaker. Also, the unforgettable cheeks. The impressions I had of Reagan and the country lead by him were as ROSY as his cheeks. The color seemed to illustrate the vigor of a 70-something man triumphed in this youth-obsessed culture; it seemed to reflect his undying optimism. It could, perhaps, simply be make-up.

When he said good-bye to the White House, I said hello to college. In a couple of journalism and communication courses, his speeches were selected as text materials. I began to get in touch with the praise, such as ending the Cold War, and the criticism, fruitless Drug War, for example. He was, in my college years, one of the most admired US presidents in the same league with FDR, JFK, etc.

The year he announced that he's afflicted with Alzheimer's disease, I came to US and have lived here ever since. In the past decade, I had opportunities to view news clips of him to really understand what the "sense of humor he had" meant. Never before, I became familiarized with disapproval of his "trees, seen-one-seen-them-all" attitude toward environmental issues. Or cultural impact like, while serving as California governor, he practically terminated "public supported" bohemian lifestyles for those who sought after California as a haven for enlightenment and diversity.

The budget deficit could not erase the rosy view I have of Ronald Reagan. The shiny new America image he had projected for his countrymen and the world rooted in new immigrants such as myself. The Alzheimer's disease may have claimed him but he will not fade in America's memory. Whom will you name that personifies America? In my mind, it is Ronald Reagan. He was the America I first knew.