Sayeth the Gipper

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Unable to shake the thoughts of this great man and what his life meant to this nation – and to the world, I bring some of the favorite Reagan quotations — feel free to add more in the comments:

“Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.” ~ Ronald Reagan

Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidise it. ~ Ronald Reagan

“You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jellybeans.” ~ Ronald Reagan, quoted in Observer, March 29 1981

“You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.” ~ Ronald Reagan

“Welfare’s purpose should be to eliminate, as far as possible, the need for its own existence.” ~Ronald Reagan – Los Angeles Times, January 7, 1970

“It is not my intention to do away with government. It is rather to make it work — work with us, not over us; stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it. ” ~Ronald Reagan -First Inaugural Address, January 20, 1981

“It’s time we asked ourselves if we still know the freedoms intended for us by the Founding Fathers. James Madison said, “We base all our experiments on the capacity of mankind for self-government.” This idea that government was beholden to the people, that it had no other source of power, is still the newest, most unique idea in all the long history of man’s relation to man. This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American Revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.” ~ Ronald Reagan -October 27, 1964

“You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man’s age-old dream — the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order — or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. Regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would sacrifice freedom for security have embarked on this downward path. Plutarch warned, “The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits.” ~Ronald Reagan -October 27, 1964

“This country was founded and built by people with great dreams and the courage to take great risks.” ~Ronald Reagan 1983

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6 thoughts on “Sayeth the Gipper”

  1. Pingback: Mind of Mog » Gone To That Shining City - The Gipper

  2. It’s lengthy, but the last part of his Farewell Speech still helps frame how I look at the world:

    And let me offer lesson No. 1 about America: All great change in America begins at the dinner table. So, tomorrow night in the kitchen I hope the talking begins. And children, if your parents haven’t been teaching you what it means to be an American, let ’em know and nail ’em on it. That would be a very American thing to do.

    And that’s about all I have to say tonight. Except for one thng. The past few days when I’ve been at that window upstairs, I’ve thought a bit of the “shining city upon a hill.” The phrase comes from John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined. What he imagined was important because he was an early Pilgrim, an early freedom man. He journeyed here on what today we’d call a little wooden boat; and like the other Pilgrims, he was looking for a home that would be free.

    I’ve spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don’t know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That’s how I saw it and see it still.

    And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was eight years ago. But more than that; after 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she’s still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.

    We’ve done our part. And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan revolution, the men and women across America who for eight years did the work that brought America back. My friends: We did it. We weren’t just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger. We made the city freer, and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all.

    And so, good-bye, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

  3. Pingback: Mind of Mog

  4. Reagan was the first President I ever voted for, the best President I ever voted for. His wisdom, courage, and communication are sorely needed today.

    I didn’t delete my blog, honest. I should have taken HunnyB’s advice and switched to you. DNS errors, back soon. 🙁

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