In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birth
In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birth

Summary/Abstract: Speaking about presidents, it is most important to find a balance between myth and reality. Myths are strongly supported by disputes over the place of the individual in history. Sometimes these disputes are aroused artificially. For instance, by claiming Bismarck’s birth to be in the 18th century (which is an absurd hypothesis, since he would not be Bismarck then), Germany would not have been unified and we would be ignorant of this historic personality. I believe that the significance of the personality should not be underestimated. Thus Leo Tolstoy wrote that great personalities “are but labels serving to give a name to the event”. A Lithuanian historian followed Tolstoy on that. By means of the Google search engine, he created an inventory of the most popular Lithuanian –isms originating from family names1. Reaganism took the 40th position in the list of –isms, or rather, labels.

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