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The City on a Hill: Fulfilling Ronald Reagan's Vision for America

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This book should be required reading for all college students interested in politics. It is a refreshing look at what the Republican parties agenda should be. Michael Reagan brings a glimpse of hope to all those who are sick and tired of the status quo of politics. If we could only convince the politicians that there is a need for a change from the power of big government back to the power of the people.

Michael Reagan has done a wonderful service to his father in writing this book. Besides the very moving admiration he has for his father, Michael Reagan eloquently elaborates on Ronald Reagan's vision for America as a Shining City on a Hill and a Beacon of Hope to the World.

The City is divided into four "quadrants" - enumerated according to their importance, from highest to lowest.

The first quadrant is the Family Neighborhood, where values and culture are nurtured; where a core education is taught (the 3Rs); and where the streets are safe to roam and play.

The second quadrant is the Corner of Faith and Charity, where morals are rooted in a faith in God and a belief in the worth and dignity of every human being; where meaningful charity is conducted; and where compassion is motivated by a genuine and profound concern for one another.

The third quadrant is Main Street, where families are permitted to keep and enjoy the fruits of their labor; where businesses are unburdened by taxes and regulation so that they can provide better jobs, higher pay, and more choices; and where the free market is allowed flourish.

The forth quadrant is City Square, where government conducts its very limited role of providing for the protection of its citizenry from domestic and foreign threats; where it provides a basic oversight to the essential functions of society; where it ensures peace and tranquility; and where it protects the freedoms of all of its citizens.

Ronald Reagan's America is a City to Behold and one that we can still achieve. For those who miss the Gipper and his uplifting optimism for what America could be, this book is a must read.

Very nice job of articulating what needs to be accomplished so individuals can have their rights and freedoms restored as defined by the Founding Fathers in the US Constituition and the Bill of Rights. Mr Reagan does a great job of linking his thoughts back to these founding documents. Unfortunately, much of our Republican leadership has lost sight of many of these conservative values as has virtually all of our Democratic leadership (with the possible exception of Senator Zell Miller).

Michael Reagan sets the title to reflect his father's legacy of idealism and optimism. He sets forth a contrast between the moral strength, economic good sense, and less-government philosophy of the Reagan Era with the morally bankrupt, government-shackled economics, and all-pervading self-centeredness of the current administration. Toward that effort, he discusses in some detail what he considers the four pillars of that City on a Hill: 1) the Family Neighborhood (families, education, and crime); 2) Faith and Charity (morality in government, and government in the compassion business); 3) Main Street (buisiness sense and taxes); and 4) the City Square (foreign policy, especially MAD v. SDI). It is especially engaging in the frequent personal anecdotes, and strewn with superb and relevant quotes from Ron himself to introduce every chapter This book is more foundational and theoretical than Rush's The Way it Ought to Be, but its fans will of course be almost identical. It's definitely a good investment of time and money to get this book.

The book is a well written and down to earth look at a man and his ideas; ideas that have changed the way we all look at the presidency, our economy and our institutions, both public and private. I can not help but think that we are headed, with the current administration, into the quagmire that we all worked so hard to get out of after the Carter presidency. There is something to be said for strong morals and a conservative vision for our country, especially when it comes to government intervention in the economy and into our lives. The author does an excellent job of portaying the vision of his father and how he changed how we think about ourselves and our great country. The premise here is that we live in a great and free society but we have to work at keeping it free. We also have to help other countries and their peoples become free so that peace will be longlasting. The end of the book is startling. The summation of where the county is vis a vis foreign policy, or lack there of, is truly alarming. If 10% of what the author says is true then I would have to believe we are entering into a period of renewed political instalbility around the world. As the author surmises, more than once I might add, what is wrong with American strength and leadership in the world of today and tomorrow. I cannot refute that. Can you?

Michael Reagan writes like a 5 year old. For anyone that has ever had the misfortune of listening to his radio show, this is not a revelation. He is also a hypocrite. Like other conservatives, he fancies himself a Christian. He is not a Christian by any means. To me, a Christian is someone who follows Jesus' philosophy. WWJD? I will tell you what he would not do. He would not support most of the agenda set forth in this book. Would Jesus decide to spend MORE money in guns, bombs or warplanes, or would he spend that money in helping out the poor. Would Jesus be more concerned with making sure there is prayer in school, or would He be more interested in making sure these schools have enough funding to provide the less fortunate with a good education. Would Jesus be trying to support a constitunional amendment to band gay marriages, or would He be interested instead in protecting the rights of groups that have often been discriminated. Would Jesus be sitting on a lawn chair waiting for immigrants (legal or otherwise) to harrass, or would He be fighting to protect the rights of people seeking a better life for their families. Finally, would Jesus buy this book? No, He wouldn't, and netiher should you.

It's really unfortunate that everything in this country is seen as left vs. right and liberal vs. conservative. There are other factors too, like democracy vs. fascism, reality vs. fantasy-world, and fact vs. fiction.

Let's start with religion. Christianity in mediatized america has degenerated to such a low point that it is hardly worth calling it a religion any more, at least so far as it interacts with the body politic. Jesus said "turn the other cheek," "the poor and meek shall inherit the earth," and "peace on earth." Well, these days this is nothing more than liberal claptrap, rather than the writings of a great prophet.

Get serious. If Jesus were alive today he would be whipped on the White House lawn by Dick Cheney for being soft on terrorism. And then Hillary Clinton would release a statement saying that we can't allow these bad eggs to poison our society against good American values like imperialism and elitism.

Think for yourself, guys. This book, and all the other books in the "conservative" vein, are not going to help you do that.

Overall, Reagan's book predictably spells out the traditional conservative position on a broad spectrum of issues ranging from school prayer to national defense. However, I found this book lacking in intellectual rigor in persuading the reader to take Reagan's position. Too often, Reagan makes statements that you must take at face value without supporting evidence. For example, in defending the flat tax, Reagan states "Reliable estimates project that a flat tax would add about 1 percent of additional economic expansion per year to the economy . . . according to Congressman David Dreier (R-California), it would mean 200,000 new small businesses created over the next four years, 6 million new jobs created over the next eight years, ant $700 billion more in tax revenue over the next eight years . . . " I don't find a statement of economic prediction very compelling because a House Republican says so. Unfortunately, Reagan oversimplifies the issues and doesn't fully develop his arguments with logical reasoning. I would recommend Robert Bork's "Slouching Towards Gomorrah" for an intensive analysis of the corrosive impacts of modern liberalism and a corrective agenda.