Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Reagan-esque Cajones


Does anyone in a governing position in this country have the nerve to do what President Reagan did forty years ago? Granted, Ronald Reagan did many things forty years ago, but I am here referring to August 5, 1981.

Does anybody remember what he did on that date? 

This is neither a random date nor a random question. I am refreshing everyone’s memory because of something else that is happening in 2121.

The following are the facts  . . . the ( ) are my personal feelings:

From History on This Date, August 5:

On August 5, 1981, President Ronald Reagan began firing 11,359 air-traffic controllers striking in violation of his order for them to return to work. The executive action, regarded as extreme by many, significantly slowed air travel for months. (However, there have been no adverse long term consequences to his decisive action.)

Two days earlier, on August 3, almost 13,000 air-traffic controllers went on strike after negotiations with the federal government to raise their pay and shorten their workweek proved fruitless. The controllers complained of difficult working conditions and a lack of recognition of the pressures they face. The same day, President Reagan called the strike illegal and threatened to fire any controller who had not returned to work within 48 hours. (The important thing to note is that President Reagan had the cajones to identify a critical problem in this country.)

On August 5, President Reagan carried out his threat, and the federal government began firing the 11,359 air-traffic controllers who had not returned to work. (Not only did he identify a critical issue for the country, , but he had the cajones to follow through on his threat.)

In addition, he declared a lifetime ban on the rehiring of the strikers by the Federal Aviation Administration. On August 17, the FAA began accepting applications for new air-traffic controllers, and on October 22 the Federal Labor Relations Authority decertified PATCO, the union of the air-traffic controllers. (Those who felt that Reagan was bluffing eventually recognized that they shouldn’t have challenged Reagan.)

So here we are forty years later, and the question is does anyone in charge have the cajones to do anything similar to what Reagan did back in 1981?

At present we have a critical nationwide problem. Children across the country are suffering in a multitude of different ways because they are not in school. Not only is the plight of our country’s children being ignored, but also millions of their parents, especially those in the lower socioeconomic are likewise being slighted. For the good of the country and its future, all of the children need to be back in school full time.

(Here I am referring to full time in-person school, not the “dancing with your sister”-like Zoom school.) In a realistic sense, the kids should be back in school next Monday, but we all know that some school districts will continue to lallygag even possibly into the beginning of the next school year. 

My suggestion – Reaganesque-like action . . . 

“By May 5, 2121, all schools and all teachers need to be back on the job, in their classrooms, full time.”

The different districts across the country should begin that transition now. No more tap dancing. Teachers that are not back on the job on that date should be fired, and just like back in 1981, never rehired!

This type of concrete action should have been taken on August 5, 2020, but unfortunately wasn’t. It is needed now, and hopefully would be an example of how those in charge should act when the next pandemic hits.

In a practical sense, does anybody now in charge have the cajones of a Ronald Reagan?

Nationally, does Joe Biden?  HEAVENS NO!

Locally, does Gavin Newsom of California, the state with the least in person education in the nation have the cajones? HELL NO! 

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