Many Americans have now added another myth to their treasure chest of partial truths by which they interpret history and the world around them.  This one embellishes the larger-than-life record of Ronald Reagan.  His is another of America’s log cabin stories-- poor boy from the provinces makes it to the White House.  Many Americans now believe that the  40th President single-handedly brought about the fall of the Communism. 

This particular myth, like many other myths, has something to recommend it.  Ronald Reagan was resolute, he detested communism, and he used his considerable resources to oppose it. 

I liked Ronald Reagan, and did an exclusive interview with him that aired as two “UP CLOSE” shows on TBS just prior to his election as President.  Reagan struck me as self-confident, intelligent, and amiable. I checked with individuals who had an opportunity to observe him on a regular basis and found that their perception jibed with mine. 

The public felt this way too.  Even those who disagreed with his politics felt that he was a good man who had the best interests of the American people at heart. 

During the non-stop praise that marked his funeral, Americans were repeatedly told by devout admirers and media commentators, who should have known better, that he was the first President not to mince words with the Soviets.  Until Reagan, previous American Presidents were backboneless appeasers.  Reagan’s plainspoken politics struck fear in the Russian’s bones. 

Some of Reagan’s actions did in fact hasten the collapse of “the evil empire,” as he famously called it.  But to claim that he alone was responsible for the collapse of Communism is to completely misunderstand recent history. 

If Reagan didn't do it, who or what did it?

First of all, Reagan's plain words did not cause the wall to come tumbling down.  Many a plain word had been spoken years by many an American President.   If words could have done it, the credit should go to John F. Kennedy. 

In one of the most eloquent speeches ever made by an American President, John F. Kennedy, in June of 1963 stated:

“There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world.

Let them come to Berlin.

There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future.

Let them come to Berlin.

And there are some who say, in Europe and elsewhere, we can work with the Communists.

Let them come to Berlin.

And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress.

Lass' sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin.

Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. When all are free, then we can look forward to that day when this city will be joined as one and this country and this great Continent of Europe in a peaceful and hopeful globe. When that day finally comes, as it will, the people of West Berlin can take sober satisfaction in the fact that they were in the front lines for almost two decades.

All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin.

And, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner."

Eloquent words!  But the Soviets did not run away in panic. 

If words did not cause the collapse, what did? 

There were several causes.  In fact, social changes of this magnitude always have multiple causes.  Max Weber once cautioned that if one ever encountered a monocausal explanation about any social change, one could be sure that the explanation was false.

1.  My personal choice for the most important cause was President Truman’s Marshall Plan.  Unprecedented in the history of warfare, the U.S. government spent approximately 13 billion dollars to rebuild the shattered economies of the European nations that it had conquered.  The concept was later expanded to include Japan, Asia, South America, and Africa. 

Part of the motivation was the generosity and good heartedness of Americans.   But the votes in Congress mainly came because of America’s commitment to keep Europe and other nations out of the communist orbit.  The investment paid off.  Soon the economies Western Europe and Japan were humming and those of Soviet bloc nations were not.  At the time, however, because of strict censorship the inhabitants of those nations did not know it. 

2.  America’s space program.   At first, the Soviets shot ahead.   In a race between the German space scientists that the Russians captured at the end of WWII and the German space scientists that Americans captured, the Germans in the USSR scored first.   And they scored big. 

The Soviets put the first man in orbit.  JFK sensed that only a dramatic space event would recover America’s lost prestige, and this fact more than anything else motivated him to launch the program to put an American on the moon.  JFK did not live to see it—Lyndon Johnson deserves the credit for pushing the project to completion—but those massive expenditures made the U.S. preeminent in this sphere.   A spin-off of space exploration was satellite technology, which had far-reaching effects in the struggle between the superpowers. 

3.  The Beatles.   That’s right, The Beatles.  According to author/sociologist Artemy Troitsky, “The Beatles, Paul and John, George and Ringo, have done more for the fall of Communism, than any other western institution.”  The Beatles fueled widespread rebellion mainly among the youth of the Soviet bloc nations.  Soviet censors made a strategic mistake in trying to keep the music out, with the result that millions came to see the government as an oppressive enemy.

4.  CNN.   Ted Turner’s creation deserves a great deal of credit for the collapse.  What CNN did, piggybacking on satellite technology developed by NASA, was permit ordinary people in the Soviet bloc to see with their own eyes just how far behind they were, how impoverished and how unfree.   At first they did not believe it.  This was just false propaganda by enemies of the great experiment.   But in the end, they had to admit that what their eyes and ears told them was right.

5.  Ronald Reagan’s military budget.     The Reagan administration spent literally billions and billions of dollars building up the military.  Unbeknownst to most Americans, the Soviet economy, which for years had appropriated a huge part of its budget for the military,  was pushed to the limit.  Confronted by a choice between bread for impoverished inhabitants or missiles, and fearing starvation and revolt, the Soviet leaders had to bow out of the arms race. 

Détente—living side-by-side peacefully with Americans--seemed to be the best option available, and the Soviets chose it.  After détente, it was just a matter of time before everybody on that side of the curtain knew what was happening in the world.

So what did Ronald Reagan really do?  He kicked down a door that had been rotting for years.   

Read an excerpt from my exclusive interview with Ronald Reagan.

Choose Gene Griessman to speak to your next important meeting....

"In my 12 years as an association executive I've never seen a speaker better at holding the audience's attention.  Gene Griessman was the best." - Hugh J. Rushing, Executive Vice President, Cookware Manufacturing Association.
New!  Click here to read Gene Griessman's story in living color.
      (It's a ready-to-print pdf. that you can share with others.)

Dr. Gene Griessman is an internationally known public speaker, author, and consultant. He has spoken at conventions and annual meetings, and conducted seminars all over the world.  As actor and playwright, he has performed his one-man play on Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre and before large audiences at the Georgia Dome and the Ice Palace. He has conducted exclusive interviews with U.S. Presidents, famous actors, sports figures, business leaders, and Nobel Laureates, including David Rockefeller, Jacques Cousteau, Sandra Day O'Connor, Ray Charles, Mary Kay Ash, Jack Nicklaus, Hank Aaron, Julie Andrews, Aaron Copland, Ronald Reagan, Gloria Steinem, Tennessee Williams, Ted Turner, and countless others.

He often appears on television and radio, and his award-winning productions have aired on WCNN and on TBS.  He is a member of the Television Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Dr. Griessman has written and co-authored seven books plus numerous articles.  His book THE ACHIEVEMENT FACTORS received the Benjamin Franklin Award. TIME TACTICS OF VERY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE has been featured in Reader's Digest and translated into a number of languages. It is now in its 23rdprinting. THE WORDS LINCOLN LIVED BY: 52 TIMELESS PRINCIPLES TO LIGHT YOUR PATH focuses on the achievement secrets Lincoln used to become successful. It's now in its 8th printing.  His latest audio book is THE INSPIRATIONAL WORDS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

Dr. Griessman has taught at the College of William and Mary, North Carolina State University, Auburn University, Tuskegee University, and Georgia Tech. He has served as Fulbright professor at the University of Islamabad in Pakistan, as consultant at the National Agrarian University of Peru, and as a visiting researcher at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

He has been listed in WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA and WHO'S WHO IN THE WORLD for many years. Griessman is a voting member of the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Books and Videos By Gene Griessman
The Inspirational Lincoln Quote Book
 THE WORDS LINCOLN LIVED BY.  CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Gene Griessman's Lincoln performance before an audience of over 20,000 at the Georgia Dome. CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Over 200 time-saving tips from very successful people
Time Tactics Of Very Successful People. 
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Some Of Our Most Popular Pages
"Abraham Lincoln, CEO"  (one-man play and seminar on leadership)
Abraham Lincoln One-Man Play  
Great quotes on time and time management
 American Chauvinism
Abraham Lincoln: quotes
More About Abraham Lincoln: Resources For Further Study
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt quotes and commentary on leadership style
The Lincoln-Roosevelt Connection
War quotes
Ronald Reagan quotes; exclusive interview: his big break
"The Diversity Creed"; Why I Wrote "The Diversity Creed"
Remarkable Similarities Between President Abraham Lincoln And  Benjamin Franklin
How To Do Business With Americans:  Forgive Their Blunders
The Americans:  Who Are They And How Did They Get This Way?  
404-256-5927   800-749-4625  www.theamericans.com  abe@presidentlincoln.com