Noah Richardson
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| Ronald Reagan: The Actor |
When Character was King
To be young is to be in need of guidance. As we come of age, teenagers have an urgent need, positive role models to learn from. These lessons vary from doing laundry to finding what in life we truly want. A truth that I have discovered is that whenever you believe you have got things figured out, life will fling a wrench into your “perfect universe”. Due to the aforementioned statement, certainly most, but especially young people would benefit from reading Peggy Noonan’s biography When Character Was King, a biography of President Ronald Reagan.
Reagan’s troubles mostly came from his father, an excessive alcoholic. Incredibly, rather than being spiteful toward his father, showed grace referring to his father's alcoholism as an uncontrollable disease. Instead, he became a mature, hardened but optimistic individual at a young age. Noonan shows that people that rise in society are those who turn hardships into opportunities. But despite hardships with his father, his mother showed him faith, inspiration and the importance of a mentor. Today, a mildly taboo subject and thus seldom voiced in our philosophy is religion. Instead of shying away, Noonan embraces it and offers the anecdote that Nelle Reagan told her young son: “ Sometimes [God] steps aside for trouble coming your way but only if it will refine you or prepare you to be with him someday in heaven, where you’ll know a happiness beyond human understanding ”(20). But religion is far from the lesson in this story. Early on the concept of embracing your life and the emotions that occur with it is introduced; we often have the choice to block or deflect but this rarely is an effective strategy. The importance of embracing emotion is shown when she says “Sometimes when your life starts out painful you come to experience your emotions not as something to feel or revel in but as something to defend against" (27). Moving forward, the relatable portion for young readers comes as Reagan’s struggles as a young adult. Everything makes sense in hindsight, however, we are simply unable to understand what will come of our futures. Many believe we take leaps of faith going in undeclared or taking out student loans, but this is nothing comparatively; simply, Reagan got accepted into a school he could not afford and proceeded to commit there; however, failure was a word lacking in his vocabulary. Noonan tells this vignette on it “ He had to stay. So he walked into the office of the president of the school and then the football coach’s and convinced them he was a terrific football player, a lifeguard and no doubt a future winner of swimming trophies. And they actually let him in, with a needy-student scholarship and a job that would pay for meals and books” (31). In life we always have an opportunity to accept our circumstances, it requires effort to discover the second way, to create the life you truly desire. She shows here that sometimes all it takes is effort and determination and you can have what you want. This is a lesson essential for young people to learn and is best described by Shakespeare who said: “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”
Any American and many abroad would know what becomes of Ronald Reagan. Life is a journey and most are not simple. This journey, not the end result, often carries the greatest possibilities to learn and grow. Noonan utilizes her unique perspective on the late president's life to highlight the importance of determination, character, and mentors through a well drafted, detail-rich story at a steady pace. But what is most striking is the timelessness of such a story. The fact that she could portray his feelings from the 1920s and have them be similar to those felt by teenagers today is a gift. This is a true testament to the timelessness of virtues and character, which will never change. It is this unusual outlook simultaneously with a timeless story that despite being only halfway through, still allows me to give this book the highest recommendation.
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