What President Reagan Told Me About America

In February 1990, John Bryan, the worldly and philosophical chairman of the Sara Lee Corporation, invited a small group of business and government leaders and their spouses to a private island in the Bahamas for an exclusive four-day “think tank” focused on “Understanding the Future.” The curriculum for this retreat was going to cover everything from science, technology. and demographics to the art of leadership. The faculty for the gathering included, besides myself, John Naisbitt, author of Megatrends, Lester Thurow, then Dean of the Business School at MIT, James Fletcher, the Director of NASA, Zbigniev Brzezinski, Counselor of the Center for Strategic & International Studies, and last and most certainly not least, former President Ronald Reagan.

President Reagan addressed our intimate group of 50 or so people on Tuesday, February 6th, which also happened to be the date of his 79th birthday. So, after lunch was served on an outdoor patio on a balmy Caribbean day, his birthday cake arrived and we all joined in singing a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday.” The president seemed to be in very good spirits as he then posed for pictures with each of us. As my wife Maddy and I stood beside him, I was struck both by his larger than life charisma and the all-too-human frailty of an elderly man.

As we took our seats, we were informed that President Reagan would first deliver an informal speech on a variety of domestic and international issues. We were also told that when he finished this speech, we would be able to ask him a wide range of questions.

What an exciting opportunity! I was in my late 30s at the time, and Reagan was the first president I had ever met. (Since then, I’ve had the honor of meeting five more: Ford, Bush Sr., Carter, Clinton, and Obama.) Sitting with a small group of extraordinarily powerful and interesting men and women, I was going to participate in a private, no-holds-barred discussion with one of the most renowned world leaders of the modern era.

However, while he was completing his talk, Reagan’s assistants discreetly handed out prepared questions to each of us on 3x5 inch index cards. Apparently, the former president preferred to be asked questions to which he already knew the answers.

It’s not my nature to go along with such pre-packaged protocol. So, after he responded “astutely” to a handful of (prepared) questions, I raised my hand to catch his attention, which wasn’t too hard to do since Maddy and I were sitting directly in front of him, only about seven to eight feet away.

He selected me. I took a moment to stand up and face him, with respect. Although I hadn’t voted for Reagan and had issues with some of his political and economic policies, I have to admit that when he turned to talk to me, I immediately felt engulfed by his legendary gravitas. I then steadied myself, took a deep breath, and asked, “Mr. President, as a long-lived American, and as a prominent leader of Americans, I imagine that you’ve given a great deal of thought to what makes us and our country special. Could you share your feelings and thoughts about this?”

His face revealed a slightly pained look as he realized that I was not working off the cue cards. Nevertheless, and to his credit, after first taking a moment to reflect, and then fastening his eyes on me, he said, “Well Ken, I have been thinking about that very question myself lately. Here is what I think makes America the greatest country in the world. In this day and age, you and your wife could move to Brazil, but in so doing you wouldn’t ever be considered Brazilian. If you moved to Japan and spent the rest of your life there, and even became fluent in the language and culture, you’d never be accepted as Japanese. Similarly, if you chose to live and work in France, and even raised your family there, the French would surely never think of you as a Frenchman. But anyone who moves to America from countries like these and gains citizenship can become an American!”

A deep silence fell over our group as we all realized we had just heard something profound.

I was so moved by the clarity and passion of Reagan’s extraordinary response that I may have only imagined his eyes welling up with emotion—but they did, and I was transfixed. He continued by explaining to me and to our group that in our nation, people from every conceivable religion, race, political persuasion, ethnic background, and nationality have joined together to undertake a historic social experiment: the creation of a living, breathing democracy—from scratch. And to raise the ante, we are doing so by capitalizing on the combined resources, creativities, experiences, and values of a truly diverse mixture of humanity.

And then, in another dramatic moment, former President Reagan reflected further: “The other thing that I particularly appreciate about America,” he then said, “is that in nearly all the nations of the world, each of their constitutions tell their people what they can do. In ours, the people tell the government what it can do.”

When he finished, a hush fell over our group once again as everyone—Democrats and Republicans alike—let sink in the insightfulness of President Reagan’s reflections and the intensity with which he was feeling them. While “patriotism” generally fascinates me, I’m put off when people use twisted versions of it as a self-aggrandizing contrivance.

In my everyday life, I tend to spend a good deal of my time with professional cynics. Reagan was different. His love for America was pure—almost spiritual. As the president shared these comments with me and our group, it was apparent that he didn’t just believe in America, he genuinely loved America. And he didn’t just love one segment of America or one type of American. He loved the full and complete vibrancy of the American experiment.

Excerpted from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Lessons from an Irregular Life (to be published in the fall of 2020)