Collective Amnesia or Collective Alzheimer's: America 'Remembers' Ronald Reagan

To remember Ronald Reagan as one of the greatest Presidents of the twentieth century, to replace FDR on the dime with Reagan's profile as Republicans wish to do, we are being asked to forget too much. . . .
We are asked to forget our history.
We are asked to forget, and forget, and forget.
And by the looks of the New York Times and Washington Post's memorials to the "Great Communicator," it appears that what historian Studs Terkel has referred to as "America's collective amnesia" is still acute.
Perhaps it is more serious than that.
Perhaps we have a national case of Alzheimer's Disease.
Perhaps our ability to remember relatively recent events has eroded, and our capacity for rational thought has diminished as well.
Perhaps we are becoming a danger to ourselves and others.
Perhaps we need admittance into a managed care facility for nations.
Perhaps we are "riding off into the sunset." How else do we explain our descent into Bushism?: our quick repetition of past economic and foreign policy blunders, our re-visitation of failed policies to solve current problems, our persistent dementia that results in trying the same things and expecting different results? As of now, there is no cure for Alzheimer's Disease, only management of the symptoms and provision of comfort until death.
Hopefully Studs Terkel is right, and we've just suffered another blow to the head from which the American people will recover, and remember, and remember, and remember."