In his 93rd year, former U. S. President Ronald Reagan, died on June 5, 2004. His death came at an inopportune moment, as the Allies from World War II were planning to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6th. Although Reagan had absolutely no involvement in the landings, his death caused some consternation among the guests gathered in France.
For one whole week from June 6th through June 12th, 2004, the death of Ronald Reagan consumed programming on American television channels. His death and the military trappings that followed were treated as breaking news on nearly every United States television station. Republicans at every level of government were thumping the tub with the hope that Reagan’s charm would rub off on George Bush. Deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as murders in Saudi Arabia came in small piece meal segments, if at all, at the end of devotions to Reagan.
Frank Rich is a long time observer of the New York entertainment scene. In his column on June 13th, Rich called the week long television programming an “ORGIASTIC CELEBRATION.” A newcomer to the American political scene would probably have believed that someone in the family of a deity had died or that the deity himself had cashed in his or her chips. Frank Rich’s pungent phrase seemed to capture what American television viewers saw from June 5th through June 12th. We owe Frank Rich a salute for the phrase that he used in his commentary.
A week or 10 days have now passed. At this point a retrospective on Reagan’s passing would seem to be in order.
Reagan left the president’s office 15 years ago. For the past 10 years, he has suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. Somewhere in this period of time, Reagan and his wife Nancy, planned all the maneuvers for Reagan’s funeral. There would be fighter aircraft and transport planes. There would be all kinds of marching troops and troops standing guard over Reagan’s coffin. Dignitaries would come from all over the world. There would be choirs singing Christian hymns. In short, for the United States television watching public, the world would be stopped. And that is where the title of this essay comes in. The Reagans planned the funeral arrangements as a sense of entitlement.
Reagan never served one day in the military services, yet the use of soldiers, sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen was profligate. Military hymns were played as though he was an old soldier. One hymn, “For those in peril on the sea,” has to do with sailors facing death. There is no record of Reagan ever serving in the U. S. Navy.
The point is that extraordinary sums were expended by the Reagans to get him finally buried in a crypt. All of these expenses were incurred by the Reagans as a sense of entitlement. Reagan left office with threats of lawsuits because of his miscues on the Iran-Contra affair. His administration set the tone for preferential treatment of rich people. His possible impeachment was an active subject for discussion during his two terms in office. Remember Oliver North and Admiral Poindexter? Or Elliott Abrams? Reagan’s supporters would like you now to believe that his death was a national tragedy for a well loved figure. Not so – by a long shot.
Airplanes and flyovers are a costly proposition. Troops don’t come for nothing. Someone has to pay for them. The United States government has not disclosed what Reagan’s funeral cost. It is quite unlikely that we will ever know. But whatever the cost of airplanes, and troops from a one or two star General on down and the cost of auditoria, the Reagan’s treated it as a sense of entitlement. In the opinion of many, including this old essayist, the money would have been better spent on feeding homeless and starving children – of which we have thousands. First things first.
When it comes to funerals, the proper course is the one followed by Harry Truman. Truman was a combat soldier in the First World War. He served in the presidency at the end of World War II. He had a distinguished career. When he died, he had specified that his burial would be in Independence, Missouri, near his home. His funeral was carried out devoid of hoop-la. He died and dignitaries came to Independence. He was buried after the proper funeral symbols had taken place. For Harry, there was no “orgiastic celebration” and no sense of entitlement. He was buried where he grew up. Old Harry did it right!
E. E. CARR
June 19, 2004
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Funds allocated for feeding children are probably sourcing from a different budget than those dedicated to putting a president to rest. I think the idea that most things are a bad idea when put in direct comparison from keeping people from starving, but clearly the government can’t put all its eggs in the ‘just provide food’ basket. That said, the Reagan funeral seemed pretty extravagant and I’ve always found Reagan-worship to be incredibly frustrating. Republicans like to treat him like a God. I feel like he was only great in comparison to the Republicans who came after him, which really, REALLY isn’t a high bar to clear.