What Makes a Leader Great?

Today was another warm day as we left the house for the Reagan Presidential Library. It was about a 20-minute drive to Simi Valley from Newbury Park. We wanted to get there close to when it opened since once the parking lot fills, you have to park down the hill and walk up it. We spent around four hours exploring the 24 galleries about the life and career of our 40th president as well as Air Force One, and Marine One. The library was built and is maintained by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation which was started by the president himself to continue his legacy and to promote the principles he believed in.

The Reagan Library is larger than the Nixon Library. and the comparison between the two is interesting. Nixon was a president who lost the respect of his country and left the office in disgrace. Reagan was a beloved president who reestablished hope and confidence for many American people. So it is expected that the slant of the Reagan Library would be in strong favor of the president. It is interesting though that everything that I read presented a picture of a country in economic crisis and near collapse while the communist party was overtaking the world. And then Reagan arrived on his white horse and singlehandedly saved the country from complete devastation. The boys and I were in agreement that we actually preferred the Nixon Library because it seemed to have a more balanced perspective.

I did enjoy walking through Air Force One, the flying Whitehouse and Marine One, the president's helicopter. I also learned some facts about the Secret Service that I never knew. For example, the Secret Service was created by Abraham Lincoln just before he was assassinated to rectify a serious problem with counterfeit currency that was harming the economy. It wasn't until after McKinley's assassination in 1901 that Congress asked the Secret Service to provide protection to the President. Finally, the Library has an exhibit about Genghis Khan which was very fascinating. I've always thought of him as a brutal conqueror, but Mongolia reveres him and both China and Japan have claimed him as one of their own national heroes. Perspective is everythig when it comes to evaluating a leader.

Quote from Genghis Khan

After our visit to the Library, we spent the afternoon helping my nephew Alex and his wife Cata move to a different apartment in their complex. Zach had to return to San Diego a day early, so I dropped him off at the train station a little before 7:00 p.m. and then returned to help a bit more with the move. We ate dinner at Mouthful Eatery, a Peruvian sandwich shop and then went back to the house for a late movie. The movie, The Hundred-Foot Journey was a sweet movie about a young man from India who became a great chef in France. I had thought it might be based on true story, but alas it was only from a novel.  Once it ended, and everyone headed to bed. Tomorrow David and I will leave for home. It's been a nice four days, and we have started a new tradition of visiting Presidential Libraries. Texas, here we come!