Op-Ed: ‘Reagan’ film highlights triumph over communism as modern threats continue at home

by Jessica Marie Baumgartner

The “Reagan” movie has received massive support, earning a 98 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, due to its insightful look at President Ronald Reagan’s life and his legacy of fighting the oppressive communist Soviet Union.

The inspirational true story displays the triumph of bringing down the Iron Curtain and aiding in the destruction of the Berlin Wall, while also addressing the communist infiltrators in America who remained afterward. The concerns also touch on the division we are witnessing today as modern threats continue.  

Reagan made fighting communism his legacy. Although that was not his original mission in life, the movie highlighted how he was made aware of the struggles of those who fled the Soviet Union when a refugee spoke at his church as a boy. This highly impacted him and his view of the world. 

According to Science Direct, during WWII, an estimated 5.2 million Soviet citizens were killed by their communist leader, Joseph Stalin, but speculation that the number was closer to 10 million has been recorded. And Stalin’s death didn’t end the people’s suffering. 

The film displayed howReagan later became an FBI informant in Hollywood. He recognized the change in actors’ unions as communist infiltrators took over movements and led American actors to follow their lead, spreading division and inserting politics into our entertainment. When he became the governor of California, he witnessed how college students were easily swayed by these messages and criticized campus leaders for allowing them to take over schools.  

Instead of focusing on Reagan’s personal life, the movie followed his career from governor into a failed presidential run and then his success in entering the Oval Office. But all throughout the film, the undertones of communism spreading in America were apparent. And they cannot be ignored today. 

As the Harris-Walz campaign heralds censorship, gun bans, government interference in the free market via price controls and government involvement in the housing market, which will overburden taxpayers with an unprecedented national debt, the battle against communist and socialist policies continues. 

These policies have been tried in other nations. Government control over every aspect of life leads to death and destruction. Michael Malice detailed this in his book “The White Pill.” He was born in Soviet Russia, and warns against the dangers of communism in interviews regularly. 

His book detailed how the people lived in constant fear of the secret police and torture chambers. From political murder to mass starvation due to the failures of communism and the implementation of labor camps, the Russian people lacked freedom for generations. 

Katya Bandouil detailed her parents’ story in her 2022 account for The Independent, noting that they joined the 400,000 Soviet Jewish people who fled the area between 1990 and 1991 after the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, relaxed the Iron Fist’s grip on the people.

Although Reagan won his battle, negotiating with Gorbachev and eventually leading the effort to tear down the Berlin Wall, the communist infiltrators in America never left. They have been sowing the seeds of division in media, the education system and even within our government for decades. 

The Action Institute reported that a 2020 Victims of Communism poll found that nearly half of Gen Z supports Marxism-Socialism despite the poll also finding that 85 percent of respondents admitted to knowing just a little about Socialism. 

The Communist Party USA has 180,000 followers on Facebook and over 69,000 followers on X. And is it any wonder with the mainstream media, Hollywood, and public schools pushing leftist ideologies like Critical Race Theory, which obsess over identity and “opportunity” instead of merit? 

As the next generation reaches adulthood and enters college, they have witnessed the Biden administration weaponize the justice system against Americans, constantly lie to the people and pressure big tech companies into doing their bidding. From those who buy into identity politics to anti-Israel protesters, many young adults don’t know how a proper American government works.

Modern communist threats are all around us. Reagan believed that America could survive having communists within her, but he also warned of the dangers of communism after leaving the White House. During his 83rd Birthday Gala, he said, “It was leadership here at home that gave us strong American influence abroad and the collapse of imperial communism.” 

He added, “Great nations have responsibilities to lead and we should always be cautious of those who would lower our profile because they might just wind up lowering our flag.”

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