Growing up in a family of Soviet immigrants instills a disdain for communism from a young age. Looking back, it was no surprise that former President Ronald Reagan became an early influence, a gateway into both politics and conservatism.

It wasn’t long before I had memorized most of his 1964 speech for then-Sen. Barry Goldwater’s campaign, “A Time for Choosing.” Reagan combined former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s moral clarity with the charm of a Hollywood actor while channeling his ardor for America. It’s easy to see why Jon Voight, playing a retired KGB officer in Sean McNamara’s Reagan, reverently refers to the late president as “The Crusader.”