No one cares this is the anniversary?

Distortion,
No question about it. We can only guess at the life we would have had without their courage. And I pray that another 53 million people don't have to die in order to settle a world scale dispute.

Nrchy,
I would suggest (although I certainly could be wrong) that in terms of waxing on his popularity, Reagan's passing could not have come at a better time. In the midst of today's rather charged geopolitical climate, many Americans eagerly celebrate the man who by all accounts seeded the patriotic (cum nationalistic) fervor we are experiencing today. He left office with an approval rating of 63%, which although quite admirable, trails that of at least four other presidents from the 20th century alone.

Albert,
Thank you for starting this thread. Maybe I'm ignorant, but perhaps one day we will come to value the lives of others as equal to our own. Until then, I'm afraid we'll be making heroes of the dead. Until then, we will honor those who died for our righteousness instead of honoring life itself. Sorry, but as I said, maybe I'm just ignorant about all this. All this killing and its subsequent justification simply makes no sense to me.

Lugnut,

Very moving post. Thank you. However, you might want to
check your facts. Reagan did not leave office with the highest approval in US history. In spite of the fact that many from all walks have recently sung his praises, his approval ratings during and leaving office were actually topped by a number of other presidents, including Bill Clinton. No intention of playing politics here, but as much as we might long for Reagan to be the most popular president in history, the statistics demonstrate that he was not.