The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Patterns of Behavior

6.17.04 @ 12:01AM

LIVING THE DIFFERENCE
Re: P. David Hornik's Getting the Sexes Back on Track:

Just a brief comment about the difference between boys and girls.

My wife and I have had 5 children, 3 girls and 2 boys. We noticed a difference between the first two children within the first couple of years after #2. Our first who is a girl and the second who is a boy, showed very different mannerisms, attention levels, wants and needs. For instance, after our son, the second child was born, we noticed how he would shake his crib a lot, bang toys on the sides while verbalizing sound effects, even to step on items in what appeared to be an escape attempt. As he got stronger, he would shake the crib towards the door of his room, which we would keep partially shut, only to get the crib to shut the door and wedged up against it. Eventually, after months of perfecting the "bare footed crib bar climb" we heard the grand finally as he hit the floor. This was about 6 months after he could walk. We graduated him from the crib to a bed earlier than we had expected to. What seemed especially odd was his older sister, who was three years his senior, was still content sitting in her crib, almost without a sound, playing with her toys, feet etc.

Our third child, a girl, was only happy when following the older two, no matter what. She was very competitive and was our earliest walker, at 9 months. Our fourth child, a girl, and our last child, a boy, pretty much followed a similar pattern as the first two. The girl was fairly quiet and the boy was rowdy and had a gift for sound effects. The last two were also quite content to be the two older sisters' live dolls. Strange thing, even though our youngest son was quite often dressed up in girlie doll clothes in his early years, he turned out exhibiting strong male characteristics?

Of course none of this is anywhere near scientific, but it fits within the stats and certainly proves to us that males and females are different. Putting the two together for most of life's purposes is a very strong combination.

Thanks for the article!!
-- Mark Young

THOSE KIDS
Re: George Neumayr's Estranged No More:

I've been waiting for someone to remark on the Reagan clan and this love fest that the liberal press is having with Mrs. Reagan and their children, and you stated it brilliantly. Meaning no disrespect to Mrs. Reagan, this is the same press who hated her and her husband. She should remember this when the liberal press uses her words to advance their agenda. There is no excuse for the past or present behavior of either Patti or Ron. These are two of the most spoiled, self-indulgent, disrespectful brats I've witnessed in long time. Listening to Ron's eulogy of his father took my breath away, as he used it to insert politics into his father's funeral. How he could have insulted his father's memory like this is beyond comprehension. I was stunned at how Mrs. Reagan looked on with such admiration at her son's remarks.

The one child who does respect his father's memory and beliefs is Michael. However, if body language means anything, it appears he is considered an outsider. As you pointed out, the liberal media will not be presenting Michael's beliefs. What a surprise. Kudos on your article!
-- Janice Mascia

I really enjoyed your article, except for one thing. Ron Reagan is NOT a Jr. His middle initial is P.… It irritates the devil out of me to see so many people refer to him as Ron, Jr. -- he's just Ron, the one that didn't have anything to do with his father until he became very ill. I don't know if he reconciled with his father when President Reagan was still aware of his surroundings, but, with his "performance" during this past week, it was all a sham. He doesn't deserve being called Ron, Jr.
-- Gale S.
Houston, Texas

Next to the press corps' discomfort, the Reagan children were the most fascinating aspect of Reagan Week. I found the children to be intelligent , sincere, and a important component of the Reagan legacy.

Ronald Reagan believed in freedom. Unlike other politicians, it was not a compartmentalized one. It extended to his home life. His children were allowed to be individuals and when they turned out to be pro-choice, name-changing, ballet dancing liberals, he loved them anyway.

One of the most maddening statements I've heard lately was by a 22-year-old officer of the Army. While in ROTC at University, he was routinely spat upon by fellow students. His response to his attackers was, "That's OK. I'm fighting for your freedom to spit on me." Well, Ronald Reagan was spat on continuously but he never gave up the fight for freedom. Ultimately his efforts, as his many other eulogists testified to, brought down the Soviet Union. In the last presidential election Ron Jr. was able to use the freedom his dad had so well preserved, to cast his vote for Ralph Nader. As maddening as that is.
-- Mrs. John B. Jackson III (Janet)

I was disappointed when Ron Jr. made his not so subtle political comments during the eulogy for his father. I instantly felt they were a swipe at Bush and his commitment to God and prayer. It affected the somber, respectful, and reverent mood -- and seemed incredibly inappropriate.

Your commentary caused me to think how disappointed, yet surely not surprised, Reagan himself would have been -- had he been able to hear them. It was quite amazing for Ron Jr. to offer castigation for something that his own father practiced.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Law, Military, Iraq, Russia, United Nations, Conservatism, Neoconservatism, Oil