Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Washington Blade - June 18, 2004
Cyd Zeigler Jr.
THE SEMINAL POINT of Ronald Reagan's presidency for me was the Challenger disaster. I was in seventh grade then, when I heard that the Challenger had blown up. It was the first time in my life that I felt true loss.
That night, I watched as Reagan's simple words and heartfelt emotion let me know that the space program would go on, and he reminded me what it was to be an American.
Since that day, I have been one of Reagan's fiercest admirers. He always stood for what was good and just in the world.
When he wanted to bring down Communism, he stood at the Berlin Wall and demanded it be torn down. When air-traffic controllers wanted to go on strike, he gave them a permanent leave of absence. When Americans were killed by Libyan-supported terrorists in Germany, he bombed Tripoli.
Despite the best efforts by a handful of gay detractors, Ronald Reagan's legacy will be that of one of the great leaders of the last century.
Keeping regular hours, taking afternoon naps, eating jelly beans and joking with Tip O'Neil after a day of debate, Reagan brought down the "Evil Empire," restored hope in America and got the government out of the lives of the people like it hadn't been since before the New Deal.
All of this was done, in stark contrast to the politics of today, with grace, style and personal fortitude. It was that example of his fortitude that helped me come out.
Like the millions of others who have ultimately told their parents that they're gay, it took all the strength and conviction I could muster. That strength came from Reagan.
I was blessed to come of political age during his presidency. In him, I had a great shining light in the city on the hill; someone to look up to, something to aspire to, someone to inspire me.
Like no president we have had since, nor any of my lifetime, Reagan offered a legacy of leadership that the people could respect.
A LOT OF gay activists now are trying to tear down that legacy because they say he didn't supply enough funding to AIDS research until well into his second term. They fuss and moan that he didn't publicly say the word "AIDS" until 1985.
Larry Kramer has likened him to Adolf Hitler. Just ask someone from former East Germany what they think of that analogy.
What these revisionist historians fail to mention is that the term AIDS was only first used in 1982 and wasn't even in the lexicon of the general public until 1984. They don't mention Reagan's good friend Rock Hudson, who died from AIDS, and how torn he was by it.
They ignore Reagan's FDA reform that succeeded in getting AIDS drugs to market faster, that private drug research flourished under his administration, and that these two things have saved lives.
They forget that it was gay activists who went out of their way to say it wasn't a "gay disease." And they certainly don't mention that, like a true gentleman, he realized his mistake and tried to make good on it with an appearance in an AIDS public service announcement in 1990.
The response has been disheartening. I've heard Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy speak of Reagan in recent days. All of them were respectful and honorable, even in disagreement.
THE OUTPOURING FROM my gay peers has been hateful, distasteful and bitter. They wrongly blame him for killing the people who died from AIDS since the '80s.
In typical fashion, they ignore the fact that the Democrat-controlled Congress offered no more funding than Reagan's administration. Just as they're willing to overlook Kerry's attack on gay marriage and bury Bush for his, their hypocrisy in the treatment of Reagan's memory stands glaring.
Dancing on graves is a terrible business. On Saturday, I got a call from a friend celebrating the death of Reagan. I felt for a moment ashamed to be gay. I hadn't felt that since the Clinton administration.
Reagan believed that there was a hero in all of us. Whether black, white, gay, straight, male or female, he aimed at inspiring the best from us.
That most gay people will remember Reagan with hatred and disrespect speaks more of where our movement is headed than of the great man at the receiving end of it.
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