Ron and Hunter — When Kids Embarrass You
The rebel and the bad boy stole all the attention from the last political debate and in subsequent news. Ron Reagan — the rebel son, not the former president interrupted with a shocking pro-atheism ad claiming he “wasn’t afraid of burning in hell.’’ Then there is Hunter.
The media is painted as pro-Democrat but ABC’s question that still lingers is something never mentioned on Fox News: “You’ve been in and out of rehab eight or night times…” Hunter Biden joked that was an insensitive question.
But there he is, the guy arguing with Hertz because of the crack pipe left in a car he rented, making hundreds of thousands of dollars, perhaps even more than $1 billion, for attending board meetings in Ukraine and doing business in China. All perfectly legitimate, we are assured — but then we are told this won’t happen if Joe Biden is elected President.
We then watched the debate to see what Joe Biden would say about son Hunter but the debate was kind of predictable until Ron Reagan jumped on the screen in a pro-atheism ad. Definitely not like his dad the Gipper — or is he?
“Hi, I’m Ron Reagan, an unabashed atheist, and I’m alarmed by the intrusion of religion into our secular government,” the son of the 40th president says, concluding: “Ron Reagan, lifelong atheist, not afraid of burning in hell.”
The Fruit doesn’t fall far. Fathers and sons often go different ways — yet similarities remain. Apples are still apples. Hunter broke weeks of silence on “Good Morning America’’ where he was asked about being “in and out of rehab’’ eight or nine times and admitted he wouldn’t have made millions joining corporate boards in Ukraine and China if his name wasn’t Biden.
But the real contrast between father and son came when Ron Reagan appeared on screen. If President Reagan was an unabashed conservative Christian, then note the son is an unabashed atheist. Politicians from all parties can boringly play it safe — not so true if your name is Reagan.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, like Ronald Reagan, has often had reason to be embarrassed by the antics of offspring. Hunter Biden was the lead story on the news, asked about cashing in on his father’s name, asked about his multiple times in and out of rehab. But as Hunter spoke, you could see traces of his father.
Flip to Fox News and there was “the Good Son’’ Eric Trump talking up his dad but here was the son of Reagan standing out from the dozen Democrats debating. Yes, fathers and sons are often opposites yet the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Prodigal sons. Young Ron definitely takes the opposite stances his father did and yet, like his father he states his case in a clear and memorable way. In the process, we learn something from the son the way we learned so much from his famous father.
Ronald Reagan (the original) is featured in a new film, getting a nationwide rollout November 6, “The Divine Plan,’’ which focuses on Reagan’s conviction that “Everything happens for a reason,’’ that God has a plan for everyone.
A Protestant, the 40th president found a “best friend’’ late in life when he began a long partnership with St. John Paul the Great.
Ron Reagan the son long has complained how hard it was to get his father’s attention since he was so devoted to wife Nancy and to his mission: defeating and destroying atheistic communism (something Reagan and John Paul accomplished together).
Many atheists have “issues’’ with ther fathers and (by default) have issues with God the Father. So it’s almost understandable to see why Reagan the son would try to get attention by going over to the other side (liberal and anti-God), even defying God with his lack of fear of disappointing God the Father as well as his earthly father.
As President Reagan said: “Sometimes when I’m faced with an atheist, I am tempted to invite him to the greatest gourmet dinner that one could ever serve, and when we have finished eating that magnificent dinner, to ask him if he believes there’s a cook.”
Motivation for the protest. No one, of course, will ever vote for Ron Reagan. He’s said as much, declaring, “I would be unelectable. I’m an atheist. As we all know, that is something people won’t accept.’’
Actually, God loves all His children and awaits his prodigal sons. Let’s pray Ron eventually realizes that. But in the meantime, the clarity with which he states his case (like the clarity his dad used fighting for God) helps us see the two sides more clearly. Ron Reagan’s anti-God case may actually wind up inspiring more people to learn more about our Heavenly Father.
