The son of former President Ronald Reagan says today's politics could be improved greatly by embracing his father's principles. Michael Reagan is a columnist and author who leads the Reagan Legacy Foundation and travels the world discussing his father's influence. He said that one principle today's world could benefit from is bipartisanship. The new movie Reagan, he added, captures the genuine friendship between President Reagan, a Republican, and House Speaker Tip O'Neill, a Democrat. The film is now available on video on demand, with the Blu-ray and DVD editions dropping Nov. 19.
It was important, Michael Reagan told Crosswalk, "to have that in the movie and think about today and the world we live in."
"And here are two people who disagree with each other politically. [There is a] great moment when my dad says, 'You know, we're friends after five o'clock.'"
A seminal moment in the movie depicts O'Neill at the hospital bedside of Reagan hours after he survived an assassination attempt. It happened in real life, too.
"Tip O'Neill is sitting there in a chair with his rosary, praying for and with my father," Michael Reagan said. "You say, 'Would that happen in today's day and age?' And unfortunately, I think not, and that's what's really sad, that we don't do these things, that we don't find ways to reach out to each other. We find ways to walk away from each other. And that's what's really sad."
O'Neill's Democratic House worked with Reagan to pass what was then the largest tax cut in American history.
"And so you wonder, can we get back to that? And I don't know if we can ever really get back to that, but I was able to live through those moments and see those moments and understand it, and be able to share that with my children, and they'll share it with their children," Michael Reagan said.
President Reagan also took responsibility for his actions, his son said.
"What happens is we get in trouble for hiding, not being forthright [in today's world]. And Iran Contra, which was depicted in the movie, ended when my dad took responsibility for Iran Contra," Michael Reagan said. "It was done. We don't do that. …That's another great lesson to learn. Take responsibility for your actions."
A third lesson from the former president, Michael Reagan said, is to stand firm for one's beliefs. His father famously wrote a pro-life book while in office, Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation.
"Know what you believe and know why you believe it," Michael Reagan said. "So many people today believe it because a poll or a study said to believe this. And my dad believed it because he actually believed it. The books in his library he actually read the books in his library ... Stand strong for your beliefs and know who you are and what you are. And I think that's so very important."
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Ethan Miller/Staff
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.