How to Ruin a National Monument
If I had to choose between who would be added to Mount Rushmore, between Ronald McDonald and Ronald Reagan, I would choose the clown.
Sorry, that wasn’t specific enough. I would not choose Ronald Reagan to be memorialized on anything. Some want him on the ten dollar bill rather than Alexander Hamilton, the guy who was a crucial figure in creating our constitution and our economy when our country was at its most fragile. And now this chucklehead wants to put Reagan on Mount Rushmore alongside Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Lincoln. Alright, let’s list their accomplishments and see if Teflon Ronnie is worthy of the honor.
George Washington: Made sure that America existed. Look at how many countries fail and devolve into constant warfare as one leader after another gets drunk on his own power. If men like Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton, Jay, and others were the architects of our country, then Washington was the man who made us worthy of the structure.
Thomas Jefferson: Helped us get about a third of our country for a very reasonable price. The man behind the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, two slightly important documents in American history.
Theodore Roosevelt: Despite the dark times of the 20th century, Roosevelt offered us hope for what it could be at its best. He promoted the causes of regulating businesses, the Panama Canal, helped negotiate the end of the Russo-Japanese war, and as the first President to take up the cause of conservationism, how could you not carve him into the side of a mountain?
Abraham Lincoln: Abolished slavery, saved the union.
Ronald Reagan: Allowed proliferation of nuclear weapons and AIDS; liked jelly beans.
You can argue that Reagan deserves to be up there for “ending the Cold War” but he ended it in the worst way possible. It was a short-term victory with very serious long-term repercussions.
But hey, he was a likable guy that made us feel good about being Americans. Isn’t that enough?
If it is, I reiterate my vote for Ronald McDonald.
When you wrote that you would choose the clown, I thought you were talking about Reagan.