Our 40th president's birthday earlier this month caused me to reflect upon how Ronald Reagan impacted my life.
In 1981, I was a young singer/songwriter, clueless about politics, when Ronald Reagan won the presidency. An event planner asked me to perform at an inaugural ball.
Reporters asked, "Why are you here and why do you like Reagan?" I could not help noticing the baffled looks on their faces upon hearing my reply. "I like Reagan because every time I hear this man speak, I feel good about my country and myself."
I later learned that as a black person, I was supposed to hate Reagan. Democrats said Reagan's talk about welfare reform was "code" for his racism and hatred of blacks. As I said, I was young and clueless regarding politics, codes, and such. And yet, in my gut, I knew that Reagan was a good man.
My aunt hated Reagan. She said, "Reagan wants to cut my check!" Even as a non-politically informed person, I noticed my aunt's bold and arrogant sense of entitlement in her voice when she said, "My check!" Here is a woman who from as far back as I can remember lived in the projects on welfare. I do not ever remember her having a job. In fairness, if my aunt had a disability which prevented her from working, I never knew of it, as it was not visible. She had five kids and a boyfriend, but no husband.
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