Kathryn: Hmmm. I doubt that, even in provincial Illinois *circa* 1920,

“beating your wife, starving your kids, cheating your friends, or betraying

your country” were utterly unknown aspects of human behavior. Incontinent

drunkenness most certainly was not, as the young Ronald Reagan knew very

well from personal experience.

Ronald Reagan does, though seem to have nursed a deep dislike of racial

segregation from an early age. Examples have shown up in some of the

articles about him this past few days — like this one. Perhaps it is too easy for us now

to forget how gross and objectionable race-segregation appeared to

fair-minded people at that time.

The idea that this is the worst thing human beings are capable of is still

pretty darn silly, though, and I am going to stick with the most charitable

explanation I can think of — that it was just cant, words uttered without

thought.