The Great Communicator Vol 3: Reagan on Government & the American Dream
The Great Communicator Vol 3: Reagan on Government & the American Dream
Edited compilation of speeches made by Ronald Reagan during his Presidency - Government
The Great Communicator Vol 3: Reagan on Government & the American Dream
Dec 12, 1986 Excerpt from Ronald Reagan Remarks at a White House Briefing for the American Legislative Exchange Council. "Power has stopped flowing to Washington and begun to flow back where it belongs - to the States. This country is great, and our freedom is sure as long as we continue to have a federation of sovereign States. And to those who, over the last half century in Washington, have worked and worked trying to make the States administrative districts of the Federal Government - no way, that's no way to preserve what the Founding Fathers gave us."
The Great Communicator Vol 3: Reagan on Government & the American Dream
Feb 6, 1984 Excerpt from Ronald Reagan Remarks at Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois. "There has been a dramatic turnabout among the intellectuals. For most of my adult life, the intelligentsia has been entranced and enamored with the idea of state power, the notion that enough centralized authority concentrated in the hands of the rightminded people can reform mankind and usher in a brave new world. Well, I remember hearing one commonly held view of the Roosevelt era that all societies were moving toward some modified form of communism. Well, we know now that the trend in America and the democracies has been just the other way. In the political world, the cult of the state is dying; so, too, the romance of the intellectual with state power is over. Indeed, the excitement and energy in the intellectual world is focused these days on the concerns of human freedom, on the importance of transcendent and enduring values." edit "... but we're returning now to our roots: limited government, the defense of freedom, faith in the future and in our God. With these values as guides, the future can be even more breathtaking than the last 50 years, because it will hold out not only the promise of sweeping improvements in mankind's material conditions but progress in the spiritual and moral realm as well. And that's why I hope that 50 years from now, should Time magazine ask you for your reflections, you'll be able to recall an era exciting beyond all your dreams. Believe me, there are great days ahead for you, for America, and for the cause of human freedom."
The Great Communicator Vol 3: Reagan on Government & the American Dream
Jan 25, 1984 Excerpt from Ronald Reagan Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union. "Governments which rest upon the consent of the governed do not wage war on their neighbors. Only when people are given a personal stake in deciding their own destiny, benefiting from their own risks, do they create societies that are prosperous, progressive, and free."
The Great Communicator Vol 3: Reagan on Government & the American Dream
Jan 16, 1984 Excerpt from Ronald Reagan Address to the Nation and Other Countries on United States-Soviet Relations. "History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap. To keep the peace, we and our allies must be strong enough to convince any potential aggressor that war could bring no benefit ..."
The Great Communicator Vol 3: Reagan on Government & the American Dream
May 31, 1988 Excerpt from Ronald Reagan Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With the Students and Faculty at Moscow State University. "People do not make wars; governments do. And no mother would ever willingly sacrifice her sons for territorial gain, for economic advantage, for ideology. A people free to choose will always choose peace."
The Great Communicator Vol 3: Reagan on Government & the American Dream
Jan 25, 1988 Excerpt from Ronald Reagan Address Before a Joint Session of Congress on the State of the Union. He quotes Lao-Tzu; shows the Congressional body three extensively long legislative documents, slamming them down on a landing after announcing its weight for comedic effect; calls for an emphasis on state's legislative rights and reform policies. "... the most exciting revolution ever known to humankind began with three simple words: ``We the People,'' the revolutionary notion that the people grant government its rights, and not the other way around. And there's one lesson that has come home powerfully to me, which I would offer to you now. Just as those who created this Republic pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, so, too, America's leaders today must pledge to each other that we will keep foremost in our hearts and minds not what is best for ourselves or for our party but what is best for America." edit "History records the power of the ideas that brought us here those 7 years ago - ideas like the individual's right to reach as far and as high as his or her talents will permit; the free market as an engine of economic progress. And as an ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao-tzu, said: 'Govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish; do not overdo it.'" edit "And then, along came these behemoths. This is the conference report - 1,053 pages, report weighing 14 pounds. Then this - a reconciliation bill 6 months late that was 1,186 pages long, weighing 15 pounds. And the long-term continuing resolution - this one was 2 months late, and it's 1,057 pages long, weighing 14 pounds. That was a total of 43 pounds of paper and ink." edit "It is time -- this may be the most radical thing I've said in 7 years in this office -- it's time for Washington to show a little humility. There are a thousand sparks of genius in 50 States and a thousand communities around the Nation. It is time to nurture them and see which ones can catch fire and become guiding lights. States have begun to show us the way. They've demonstrated that successful welfare programs can be built around more effective child support enforcement practices and innovative programs requiring welfare recipients to work or prepare for work. Let us give the States more flexibility and encourage more reforms. Let's start making our welfare system the first rung on America's ladder of opportunity, a boost up from dependency, not a graveyard but a birthplace of hope."