“I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of ourselves,” President Ronald Reagan proclaimed in January 1981 during his first inaugural address, “ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty for ourselves, our children, and our children’s children.”

Reagan was nothing less than what the Greek philosopher Plato called an anamnesis, a remembrance of truth, goodness, and beauty. Because Regean believed in himself, he believed in us. Critically, he called us to be the best selves in our families, in our schools, in our neighborhoods, and in our world. Under the president’s inspiration and leadership, Americans responded mightily, and we not only created the greatest economic boom in history from 1983 to 1989, but also defeated Soviet communism, with the important exception of Romania, without a shot being fired. In every way, the 1980s were a decade beyond compare, and 1989 especially was an annus mirabilis, a year of miracle.