June 9, 2004
Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, says President Ronald Reagan will be remembered for his faith and for his ability to bring out the best in people.
As a recent guest on Fox's Hannity & Colmes talk show, Graham, son of the internationally revered evangelist Billy Graham, remarked on the life and character of the late president, noting that Reagan was a man who had a strong and unwavering faith.
During his presidency, Reagan was often criticized for not attending going to public church services, but Graham said Reagan chose not to attend church in public for several reasons.
"Especially after the attempt on his life," the evangelist says, "my father even recommended to him that he not try to go to church in Washington. Reagan felt that it disrupted the church service to have the President to come in, especially with all the security, and that people would be looking at him and not listening to the pastor."
Reagan never took himself too seriously, Graham says. He adds that the secret to the former president's success can be found his deep faith and his positive attitude toward life, both of which played a major role in his decisions as the leader of the nation.
As America and the national media remember Reagan this week, other individuals are daily adding their voices to the public praise and celebration of the 40th president's life. Jim Martin, president of the 60 Plus Association is one who feels every bit of the honor accorded to the "Great Communicator" is deserved.
When President Reagan came into office, he inherited a nation in shambles, Martin recalls -- a humiliated, defeated, doubting, and depressed America. "As President Carter said, there was a certain malaise sweeping the country. Everything was sort of at a standstill," he says.
Still, according to the seniors group spokesman, Mr. Reagan's faith in God would not be shaken. As Martin recollects, "President Reagan would hear none of that. He was the eternal optimist, if you will. That sunny disposition of his -- it was like the old saying, 'If you got a lemon .... ' Well, he would know how to make lemonade out of that lemon."
The president of the 60 Plus Association feels that the former U.S. president, guided by faith, vision, and strong convictions, galvanized a new optimism in the country. Martin says Ronald Reagan, "restored pride to the American fabric. He just transformed a nation and filled it with pride -- and, yes, prosperity -- and peace."
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60 Plus Association (http://www.60plus.org)
© 2004 Agape Press.
