Dear Americans: Letters from the Desk of Ronald Reagan by Ralph E. Weber & Ralph A. Weber, Editors

Dear Americans: Letters from the Desk of Ronald Reagan
by Ralph E. Weber & Ralph A. Weber, Editors

The newly elected 40th President of the United States made his Inaugural Address in January 20, 1981. It was a low point in America’s position in the world. The Soviet Union was on the march for world domination with its brand of communism. We were regularly humiliated by Iranian thugs who held U. S. citizens hostage before the world to demonstrate our weakness. The morale of our country was very low, to the point that the prior outgoing president had stated a malaise had spread across the land and we basically had to accept it. Well, Americans refused to accept it and turned to a brighter future. President Reagan, in his address, stated many fundamental truths about our country that had seemed to have faded behind the issues that had plagued her for the past few years.

Among one of these moving statements was a tribute to the citizens of the United States:

We hear much of special interest groups. Our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected. It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and our factories, each our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we are sick—professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truckdrivers. They are, in short, "We the people," this breed called Americans.

Reagan placed his confidence in two strongholds—God and Americans. He realized that Americans committed to God were a force to be reckoned with far more than a secular government that relied on its delusion of omnipotence. He viewed U. S. citizens as “fellow Americans” meaning he did not view himself superior to any other American.

Dear Americans: Letters from the Desk of Ronald Reagan illustrates Reagan’s profound respect for Americans. The book is a collection of handwritten letters he wrote as President to various people across the nation regardless of their status or profession. He freely discussed matters relating to politics and religion. The editors discovered more than 3,500 letters Reagan had written during his eight years as President. That is an average greater than one letter a day to a citizen on a variety of issues! The editors provide some insight as to Reagan’s staff who managed this correspondence. The process they followed is inspiring since all this was done so that as many Americans could hear from their president as possible—Reagan’s personal commitment. One of my favorite letters is to a seventh grader seeking disaster relief funds since his mother had declared his room “a disaster area”. Reagan wrote the youngster “Your application for disaster relief has been duly noted but I must point out one technical problem: the authority declaring the disaster is supposed to make the request. In this case, your mother.” (Page 164) There is more to this delightful letter but I will save that for the reader’s enjoyment!

The letters are organized chronologically with annotations by the editors along the way to assist readers with the contexts. Ralph E. Weber has had the opportunity to conduct intensive research in the personal correspondence of five other presidents. He notes that none of the other five presidents had such a comparable body of letters. Another significant observation Weber noted about these files in comparison to other Presidents—none were as lively or optimistic. These letters will be a great source of reflection and reminder for those who lived during the 1980s and an illustration to those who seek to gather understanding about this truly unique American who served as the 40th President of our United States!