In my expert opinion, two men were the true personification of the 1980s: Ronald Reagan and Patrick Swayze. There is a reason why Michael Jackson did not make my short list – I hated Michael Jackson.

In many ways, Patrick Swayze was quite a bit like The Gipper. Personally, Swayze and Reagan had that genuine likability that endeared to them to people. They both possessed that “aww, shucks” simplicity that made us want to see men like them on our television screens. When they turned on their professional skills, both men were tough as nails and you simply wanted to avoid getting in a fight with them – nice but tough. Reagan and Swayze are both gone now. My generation has to come to grips with that.

Many of you under the age of 25 may think that Chuck Norris and Arnold Schwarzenegger were the true Hollywood legends of the ‘80s. This is partially revisionist history. Facts are, Chuckles never had that many blockbuster films. Most of his money was made in home rentals. Arnold had many hit films but, like Norris, they pretty much were in the same mold. In most of their films, Chuck and Arnold would usually hit the bad guys twice; first, with a devastating right hook, then with a pithy one liner. Patrick Swayze could punch you in the face, knock you into next Tuesday with a 360-degree pirouette kick to the back of the head or do a mamba that would freeze you into stunned silence.

As an example, take the 1989 film “Next Of Kin.” In this film, Swayze starred as a fiddle playing Kentuckian who works as a Chicago police detective. When the Mafia kills his younger brother, Swayze sets out for revenge. If Chuck or Arnold were in this film, they would have used an AK-47, a bucket of hand grenades and one of those obnoxiously big rocket launchers, which appear out of nowhere, to blow the bad guys into a gazillion pieces. What did Swayze use in this film to administer justice? A half dozen hillbillies, a crossbow and a school bus full of snakes.

That is why Swayze was better than Chuck and Arnold. He diversified.

Another reason Swayze stands with Reagan on the Mount Rushmore of eightiesdom is because his films were very right wing. In the 1983 film “Uncommon Valor,” he played a young Marine working with Vietnam War vets to bring back MIAs. In 1984, he starred in the ultimate Republican propaganda film, “Red Dawn.”

“Red Dawn” was about a group of Colorado high school kids who fight a guerrilla war against an invading Communist force that is occupying America. The kids, led by Swayze, carry assault rifles, live high in the mountains, perform acts of terrorism against their occupiers and summarily execute spies and prisoners. They are kind of like al-Qaeda – except they were white and Christian. Released during the middle of Reagan’s re-election bid, the film almost screams to the audience, “Elect Walter Mondale president and this could happen to you!”

“Red Dawn” did not make Swayze a star. That would happen in 1987 with the film “Dirty Dancing.”

It is hard for me to relate what a phenomena “Dirty Dancing” was. The concept of the film alone was bizarre. A summer dance instructor seduces an underage Jewish girl named Baby. The critics were ambivalent. The women that went to see the movie time after time were fanatical. Patrick Swayze became a religion, and women knelt and prayed to his image.

I cannot talk about this man’s wonderful career without mentioning the film that was far and away his best performance, “Ghost.” Yes, the movie was released in 1990, but it was still very much an ‘80s film. This was not Swayze’s best film because of the style in which he delivered his lines. This was his best job as an actor because he actually made us believe someone would voluntarily fight back Death in order to spend more time with Demi Moore.

Patrick Swayze was a top-shelf movie star. No, he was not a very talented actor. But, he was a decent man that you wanted to root for. Typical ‘80s. He will be missed.

Harry Caines is a senior re-entry student from Philadelphia majoring in interdisciplinary studies . Unconventional Wisdom will appear every Monday. Comments can be made at www.aggietownsquare.com or sent to chiefsalsa@yahoo.com