A City Upon a Hill - Revision history

Reagan admin at 17:52, 31 August 2026

2026-08-31T17:52:04Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:52, 31 August 2026
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	Now we're a nation of 211 million people with a pedigree that includes the bloodlines from every corner of the world and we have shed that American melting pot blood in every corner of the world usually in the defense of someone's freedom. But those who remained of that remarkable band we call our founding fathers tied up some of the loose ends about a dozen years after the Revolution. It had been the first revolution in all man's history that didn't just exchange one set of rulers for another. This had been a philosophical revolution, the culmination of men's dreams for six thousand years and they formalized those dreams with the Constitution and that too was something of a miracle. Probably the most unique document ever drawn in the long history of man's relation to man. Oh, I know there have been other constitutions, new ones are being drawn today by newly emerging nations. Most of them, even the one of the Soviet Union, contains many of the same guarantees as our own constitution and still there is a difference. The difference is so subtle that we often overlook it, but it is so great that it tells the whole story. Those other constitutions say government grants you these rights and our says you are born with these rights. They are yours by grace of god and no government on earth can take them from you.		Now we're a nation of 211 million people with a pedigree that includes the bloodlines from every corner of the world and we have shed that American melting pot blood in every corner of the world usually in the defense of someone's freedom. But those who remained of that remarkable band we call our founding fathers tied up some of the loose ends about a dozen years after the Revolution. It had been the first revolution in all man's history that didn't just exchange one set of rulers for another. This had been a philosophical revolution, the culmination of men's dreams for six thousand years and they formalized those dreams with the Constitution and that too was something of a miracle. Probably the most unique document ever drawn in the long history of man's relation to man. Oh, I know there have been other constitutions, new ones are being drawn today by newly emerging nations. Most of them, even the one of the Soviet Union, contains many of the same guarantees as our own constitution and still there is a difference. The difference is so subtle that we often overlook it, but it is so great that it tells the whole story. Those other constitutions say government grants you these rights and our says you are born with these rights. They are yours by grace of god and no government on earth can take them from you.

	Lord Acton of England, that same Lord Acton who said, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" would say of that document— its authors, "They had solved with astonishing ease and unexampled success two problems which had heretofore baffled the capacity of the most enlightened nations. They had contrived a system of federal government which prodigiously increased national power and yet respected local liberties and authorities and they had founded it on a principle of equality without surrendering the securities of property or freedom." Never as any society had the preeminence of the individual been so firmly established and given such a priority. In less than twenty years we would go to war because of the God-given rights of American sailors as defined in the Constitution that were being violated by a foreign power. We serve notice then in the world that all of us together would act collectively to safeguard the rights of even the least among us. but still in an older cynical world they were not convinced. The great powers of Europe still had the idea that one day this great continent would be open again to colonizing and they would come over and divide us up. But in the meantime, men who yearned to breathe free were making their way to our shores. Among them was a young refugee from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He'd been a leader in an attempt to free Hungary from Austrian rule. The attempt had failed and he had fled to escape execution. In America, this young Hungarian, [[Martin Koszta\|Koszta]] by name, became an importer by trade and took out his first citizenship papers. One day business took him to a Mediterranean port, there was a large Austrian warship under the command of an admiral in the harbor. He had a manservant with him. He had described to this manservant what the flag of his new country looked like. Word was passed to the Austrian warship that this revolutionary was there and in the night he was kidnapped and taken aboard that large ship. His man servant, desperate, walking up and down the harbor suddenly spied a flag that resembled the description he'd heard. It was on a small American war sloop. He went aboard, he told Captain Ingraham of that American war sloop his story. Ingraham went to the American consul. When the American consul learned that Koszta had only taken out his first papers, he washed his hands of the incident. Captain Ingraham said, "I am the senior officer in this port. I believe under my oath of office, I owe this man the protection of our flag." He went aboard the Austrian warship he demanded to see our pris— their prisoner, our citizen. The admiral was amused, but they brought the man on deck, he was in chains, he'd been badly beaten. Captain Ingraham said, "I can hear him better without those chains." And the chains were struck. He walked over and he said to Koszta, "I will ask you one question. Consider your answer carefully. Do you ask the protection of the American flag?" and Koszta nodded dumbly, yes. And he said, "You shall have it." He went back and told the frightened consul what he had done. Later in the day, three more Austrian ships sailed into the harbor. It looked as if the four were getting ready to leave. Captain Ingraham sent a junior officer over to the Austrian flagship to tell the admiral that any attempt to leave that harbor with our citizen aboard would be resisted with appropriate force, and he said, "I will expect a satisfactory answer by four o'clock this afternoon." As the hour, neared they were looking at each other through the glasses. As it struck four, he had them roll the cannons into the ports, he had them light the tapers with which they would set off the cannons. One little sloop, and suddenly the lookout called down and said, "They're lowering a boat," and they rowed Koszta over to the little American ship and Captain Ingraham went below and wrote his letter of resignation to the United States Navy. He said, "I did what I thought my oath of office required, but if I have embarrassed my country, I resign." His resignation was refused in the United States Senate with these words, "This battle that was never fought may turn out to be the most important battle in our nation's history." Now I haven't told that story—incidentally there is to this day and I hope there always will be a [[USS Ingraham]] in the United States Navy.		[[John_Dalberg-Acton\|Lord Acton of England]], that same Lord Acton who said, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" would say of that document— its authors, "They had solved with astonishing ease and unexampled success two problems which had heretofore baffled the capacity of the most enlightened nations. They had contrived a system of federal government which prodigiously increased national power and yet respected local liberties and authorities and they had founded it on a principle of equality without surrendering the securities of property or freedom." Never as any society had the preeminence of the individual been so firmly established and given such a priority. In less than twenty years we would go to war because of the God-given rights of American sailors as defined in the Constitution that were being violated by a foreign power. We serve notice then in the world that all of us together would act collectively to safeguard the rights of even the least among us. but still in an older cynical world they were not convinced. The great powers of Europe still had the idea that one day this great continent would be open again to colonizing and they would come over and divide us up. But in the meantime, men who yearned to breathe free were making their way to our shores. Among them was a young refugee from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He'd been a leader in an attempt to free Hungary from Austrian rule. The attempt had failed and he had fled to escape execution. In America, this young Hungarian, [[Martin Koszta\|Koszta]] by name, became an importer by trade and took out his first citizenship papers. One day business took him to a Mediterranean port, there was a large Austrian warship under the command of an admiral in the harbor. He had a manservant with him. He had described to this manservant what the flag of his new country looked like. Word was passed to the Austrian warship that this revolutionary was there and in the night he was kidnapped and taken aboard that large ship. His man servant, desperate, walking up and down the harbor suddenly spied a flag that resembled the description he'd heard. It was on a small American war sloop. He went aboard, he told Captain Ingraham of that American war sloop his story. Ingraham went to the American consul. When the American consul learned that Koszta had only taken out his first papers, he washed his hands of the incident. Captain Ingraham said, "I am the senior officer in this port. I believe under my oath of office, I owe this man the protection of our flag." He went aboard the Austrian warship he demanded to see our pris— their prisoner, our citizen. The admiral was amused, but they brought the man on deck, he was in chains, he'd been badly beaten. Captain Ingraham said, "I can hear him better without those chains." And the chains were struck. He walked over and he said to Koszta, "I will ask you one question. Consider your answer carefully. Do you ask the protection of the American flag?" and Koszta nodded dumbly, yes. And he said, "You shall have it." He went back and told the frightened consul what he had done. Later in the day, three more Austrian ships sailed into the harbor. It looked as if the four were getting ready to leave. Captain Ingraham sent a junior officer over to the Austrian flagship to tell the admiral that any attempt to leave that harbor with our citizen aboard would be resisted with appropriate force, and he said, "I will expect a satisfactory answer by four o'clock this afternoon." As the hour, neared they were looking at each other through the glasses. As it struck four, he had them roll the cannons into the ports, he had them light the tapers with which they would set off the cannons. One little sloop, and suddenly the lookout called down and said, "They're lowering a boat," and they rowed Koszta over to the little American ship and Captain Ingraham went below and wrote his letter of resignation to the United States Navy. He said, "I did what I thought my oath of office required, but if I have embarrassed my country, I resign." His resignation was refused in the United States Senate with these words, "This battle that was never fought may turn out to be the most important battle in our nation's history." Now I haven't told that story—incidentally there is to this day and I hope there always will be a [[USS Ingraham]] in the United States Navy.

	I didn't tell that story out of any desire to be narrowly chauvinistic or to glorify aggressive militarism, but it is an example of government meeting its highest responsibility. In recent years we've been treated to a rash of noble sounding phrases, some of them sound good but they don't hold up under close analysis. Take for instance the slogan so frequently uttered by the young senator from Massachusetts. "The greatest good for the greatest number." Henry Taylor described that as having three things in common with an oil well: "It keeps— it keeps on producing something, it stinks unbelievably, and nobody knows that source's potential."		I didn't tell that story out of any desire to be narrowly chauvinistic or to glorify aggressive militarism, but it is an example of government meeting its highest responsibility. In recent years we've been treated to a rash of noble sounding phrases, some of them sound good but they don't hold up under close analysis. Take for instance the slogan so frequently uttered by the young senator from Massachusetts. "The greatest good for the greatest number." Henry Taylor described that as having three things in common with an oil well: "It keeps— it keeps on producing something, it stinks unbelievably, and nobody knows that source's potential."

Reagan admin at 17:38, 31 August 2026

2026-08-31T17:38:24Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:38, 31 August 2026
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	Well it is an honor to be here tonight I'm proud that you asked me and I feel more than a little humble in the presence of this distinguished company. Not too long ago Nancy and I also on the way to the governor's conference found ourselves as honored guests at the football game between Ole Miss and Tennessee. Ole Miss hadn't had that good a season, Tennessee was supposed to clobber them. Midway in the third quarter, it was pretty apparent that [https://collegefootballcrazy.com/the-jackson-massacre-1969/ Ole Miss was pulling the upset of the season] and was going to win and we heard a voice in the stands behind to say, "Man, if they'll play that way for him what would they have done if [[wikipedia:John_Wayne\|John Wayne]] was here."		Well it is an honor to be here tonight I'm proud that you asked me and I feel more than a little humble in the presence of this distinguished company. Not too long ago Nancy and I also on the way to the governor's conference found ourselves as honored guests at the football game between Ole Miss and Tennessee. Ole Miss hadn't had that good a season, Tennessee was supposed to clobber them. Midway in the third quarter, it was pretty apparent that [https://collegefootballcrazy.com/the-jackson-massacre-1969/ Ole Miss was pulling the upset of the season] and was going to win and we heard a voice in the stands behind to say, "Man, if they'll play that way for him what would they have done if [[wikipedia:John_Wayne\|John Wayne]] was here."

	But seriously, there are men here tonight who through their wisdom, their foresight, and their courage have earned the right to be regarded as prophets of our philosophy. Indeed they are prophets of our time. Years past when others were silent or too blind to the facts they spoke up forcefully and fearlessly for what they believed to be right. A decade has passed since [[wikipedia:Barry_Goldwater\|Barry Goldwater]] walked a lonely path across this land reminding us that even a land as rich as ours can't go on forever borrowing against the future, leaving a legacy of debt for another generation and causing a runaway inflation to erode the savings and reduce the standard of living for this generation. Voices have been raised trying to rekindle in our country all the great ideals and principles which set this nation apart from all the others that preceded us. But louder and more strident voices utter easily sold cliches and, oh, Congressman Dave Treen, what words of wisdom you gave us here in what our attitude must be it is so easy to fall into the trap of standing on the edge of the cliff, ready to jump off, with the flag flying and go down arguing. How much better it is if we turn persuasive and leave the strident voices to the others on the other side. We are the ones who can do the persuasive job that has to be done. Cartoonists with acid tip pen portray some of the reminders of our heritage, I know, and our destiny is old-fashioned. They say that we're trying to retreat into a past that actually never existed. Looking to the past in an effort to keep our country from repeating the errors of history is termed, by them, as taking the country back to McKinley. Which I've never found that was so bad under McKinley— under McKinley, we freed Cuba.		But seriously, there are men here tonight who through their wisdom, their foresight, and their courage have earned the right to be regarded as prophets of our philosophy. Indeed they are prophets of our time. Years past when others were silent or too blind to the facts they spoke up forcefully and fearlessly for what they believed to be right. A decade has passed since [[wikipedia:Barry_Goldwater\|Barry Goldwater]] walked a lonely path across this land reminding us that even a land as rich as ours can't go on forever borrowing against the future, leaving a legacy of debt for another generation and causing a runaway inflation to erode the savings and reduce the standard of living for this generation. Voices have been raised trying to rekindle in our country all the great ideals and principles which set this nation apart from all the others that preceded us. But louder and more strident voices utter easily sold cliches and, oh, Congressman Dave Treen, what words of wisdom you gave us here in what our attitude must be it is so easy to fall into the trap of standing on the edge of the cliff, ready to jump off, with the flag flying and go down arguing. How much better it is if we turn persuasive and leave the strident voices to the others on the other side. We are the ones who can do the persuasive job that has to be done. Cartoonists with acid tip pen portray some of the reminders of our heritage, I know, and our destiny is old-fashioned. They say that we're trying to retreat into a past that actually never existed. Looking to the past in an effort to keep our country from repeating the errors of history is termed, by them, as taking the country back to [[wikipedia:William_McKinley\|McKinley]]. Which I've never found that was so bad under McKinley— under McKinley, we freed [[Cuba]].

	But on the span of history we're still thought of as a young upstart country celebrating soon only our second century as a nation, and yet we're the oldest continuing republic in the world. And so I thought that perhaps tonight, rather than talking on the subjects we're trying to find something new to say about the very things that you're discussing, it might be appropriate to reflect a bit on our heritage. Now you can call it mysticism if you want to but I've always believed that there was some divine plan that placed this great continent between two oceans to be sought out by those who were possessed of an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage. Now this was true of those who pioneered the great wilderness in the beginning of this country, but it was also true and is true of those later immigrants who were willing to leave the land of their birth and come to a land where even the language was unknown to them. Call it chauvinistic but our heritage does set us apart. Some years ago a writer, he happened to be an avid student of history, told me a story and it happened to be a story about that little day, or, that day in the little hall in Philadelphia where honorable men hard-pressed by a king who was flouting the very law they were willing to obey debated whether they should take the fateful step of declaring their independence from that king. I was told by this man that the story could be found in the writings of Jefferson. I confess I've never researched or made an effort to verify it, perhaps it's only legend, but story or legend, he described the atmosphere the strain the debate and that— that grew heated as men for the first time faced the consequences of such an irretrievable act. The walls resounded with the dread word of treason and its price, the gallows and the headsman's axe, and as the day wore on the issue hung in the balance, and then according to the story, a man rose in the small gallery he was not a young man he was obviously calling on all the energy he could muster. Citing the grievances that had brought them to this moment he said,		But on the span of history we're still thought of as a young upstart country celebrating soon only our second century as a nation, and yet we're the oldest continuing republic in the world. And so I thought that perhaps tonight, rather than talking on the subjects we're trying to find something new to say about the very things that you're discussing, it might be appropriate to reflect a bit on our heritage. Now you can call it mysticism if you want to but I've always believed that there was some divine plan that placed this great continent between two oceans to be sought out by those who were possessed of an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage. Now this was true of those who pioneered the great wilderness in the beginning of this country, but it was also true and is true of those later immigrants who were willing to leave the land of their birth and come to a land where even the language was unknown to them. Call it chauvinistic but our heritage does set us apart. Some years ago a writer, he happened to be an avid student of history, [[The_Speech_of_the_Unknown\|told me a story and it happened to be a story about that little day, or, that day in the little hall in Philadelphia]] where honorable men hard-pressed by a king who was flouting the very law they were willing to obey debated whether they should take the fateful step of declaring their independence from that king. I was told by this man that the story could be found in the writings of Jefferson. I confess I've never researched or made an effort to verify it, perhaps it's only legend, but story or legend, he described the atmosphere the strain the debate and that— that grew heated as men for the first time faced the consequences of such an irretrievable act. The walls resounded with the dread word of treason and its price, the gallows and the headsman's axe, and as the day wore on the issue hung in the balance, and then according to the story, a man rose in the small gallery. He was not a young man he was obviously calling on all the energy he could muster. Citing the grievances that had brought them to this moment he said,

	<BLOCKQUOTE>''"Sign that parchment. They may turn every tree into a gallows, every home into a grave and yet the words of that parchment can never die. For the mechanic in his workshop, they will be words of hope, to the slave in the mines — freedom."'' And he added, ''"If my hands were freezing in death, I would sign that parchment with my last ounce of strength. Sign, sign if the next moment the noose is around your neck, sign even if the hall is ringing with the sound of headman’s axe, for that parchment will be the textbook of freedom, the bible of the rights of man forever."''</BLOCKQUOTE>		<BLOCKQUOTE>''"Sign that parchment. They may turn every tree into a gallows, every home into a grave and yet the words of that parchment can never die. For the mechanic in his workshop, they will be words of hope, to the slave in the mines — freedom."'' And he added, ''"If my hands were freezing in death, I would sign that parchment with my last ounce of strength. Sign, sign if the next moment the noose is around your neck, sign even if the hall is ringing with the sound of headman’s axe, for that parchment will be the textbook of freedom, the bible of the rights of man forever."''</BLOCKQUOTE>

Reagan admin at 15:08, 31 August 2026

2026-08-31T15:08:14Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:08, 31 August 2026
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	Ed, I'm sorry!		Ed, I'm sorry!

	Well, I might as well sit down I can't do any better than that in the remainder of the evening. Well you know to be here, this is a spot to know that I am midway in the seminars that you've been holding. ~~the~~ idea of what subject, knowing the audience, I would be addressing and not knowing which of those subjects you have explored thoroughly already in your seminars or which are on the schedule for your... the rest of your meetings leaves me hard put to find a subject and it isn't helped any but the fact that every once in a while I have when I needed material, cribbed from M. Stanton Evans and he's sitting here tonight, so I can't even do that.		Well, I might as well sit down I can't do any better than that in the remainder of the evening. Well you know to be here, this is a spot to know that I am midway in the seminars that you've been holding. The idea of what subject, knowing the audience I would be addressing and not knowing which of those subjects you have explored thoroughly already in your seminars or which are on the schedule for your... the rest of your meetings leaves me hard put to find a subject and it isn't helped any but the fact that every once in a while I have when I needed material, cribbed from [[wikipedia:M._Stanton_Evans\|M. Stanton Evans]] and he's sitting here tonight, so I can't even do that.

	I think the only story that would describe my situation is one that I've told as some of you, I know, before, but then you have to remember that if life begins at 40 so does lumbago, arthritis and the tendency to tell stories three or four times. It was a fellow in the picture business who aspired to an operatic career, saved his money so he could go to Italy and study for opera, and after a few years of study there he was invited to sing at [[wikipedia:La_Scala\|La Scala]], the very spiritual fountainhead of opera. They were doing [[wikipedia:Pagliacci\|Pagliacci]] and he sang the beautiful aria [[wikipedia:Vesti_la_giubba\|Vesti la Giubba]] and the applause was so thunderous and so sustained that they couldn't continue the opera until he repeated Vesti la Giubba as an encore and again the same sustained thunderous applause and again he stepped center stage and sang the aria. This went on till finally he motioned for quiet and he tried to tell them how full his heart was and what this welcome in his first appearance in opera, in that almost sacred place meant to him. but he said, "I have sung Vesti la Giubba now nine times. My voice is gone I cannot do it again." And a voice from the balcony says, "You'll do it till you get it right."		I think the only story that would describe my situation is one that I've told as some of you, I know, before, but then you have to remember that if life begins at 40 so does lumbago, arthritis and the tendency to tell stories three or four times. It was a fellow in the picture business who aspired to an operatic career, saved his money so he could go to Italy and study for opera, and after a few years of study there he was invited to sing at [[wikipedia:La_Scala\|La Scala]], the very spiritual fountainhead of opera. They were doing [[wikipedia:Pagliacci\|Pagliacci]] and he sang the beautiful aria [[wikipedia:Vesti_la_giubba\|Vesti la Giubba]] and the applause was so thunderous and so sustained that they couldn't continue the opera until he repeated Vesti la Giubba as an encore and again the same sustained thunderous applause and again he stepped center stage and sang the aria. This went on till finally he motioned for quiet and he tried to tell them how full his heart was and what this welcome in his first appearance in opera, in that almost sacred place meant to him. but he said, "I have sung Vesti la Giubba now nine times. My voice is gone I cannot do it again." And a voice from the balcony says, "You'll do it till you get it right."
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	You know, Reverend, I think I ought to tell you that when we were coming east here we ran into some weather. We were circling up there on the fog and being vectored into a landing pattern and things were getting a little hairy and a little bumpy and there was a clergyman on board and Nancy turned to him across the aisle and said, "Can't you do something about this?" and he said, "I'm with sales not management."		You know, Reverend, I think I ought to tell you that when we were coming east here we ran into some weather. We were circling up there on the fog and being vectored into a landing pattern and things were getting a little hairy and a little bumpy and there was a clergyman on board and Nancy turned to him across the aisle and said, "Can't you do something about this?" and he said, "I'm with sales not management."

	~~just~~ a couple of nights ago, Nancy and I had the great pleasure of being up in New Hampshire in Governor Mel Thompson's state and I heard a wonderful story there about full of political philosophy and all. A quite elderly little lady left her doctor's office one day and hurried directly down the street to the registrar of voters, went in, and said, "I want to re-register democrat." This man in that little town had known her all his life said, "How can you do that? You've been a Republican all your life. Your parents were Republicans. Your Grandparents were Republicans." She said, "I know, I've just left the doctor's office and he told me my days were numbered. and if I've got to go I'd rather it was one of them than one of us."		Just a couple of nights ago, Nancy and I had the great pleasure of being up in New Hampshire, in Governor Mel Thompson's state, and I heard a wonderful story there about full of political philosophy and all. A quite elderly little lady left her doctor's office one day and hurried directly down the street to the registrar of voters, went in, and said, "I want to re-register democrat." This man in that little town had known her all his life said, "How can you do that? You've been a Republican all your life. Your parents were Republicans. Your Grandparents were Republicans." She said, "I know, I've just left the doctor's office and he told me my days were numbered, and if I've got to go I'd rather it was one of them than one of us."

	Well it is an honor to be here tonight I'm proud that you asked me and I feel more than a little humble in the presence of this distinguished company. Not too long ago Nancy and I also on the way to the governor's conference found ourselves as honored guests at the football game between Ole Miss and Tennessee. Ole Miss hadn't had that good a season, Tennessee was supposed to clobber them. Midway in the third quarter, it was pretty apparent that [https://collegefootballcrazy.com/the-jackson-massacre-1969/ Ole Miss was pulling the upset of the season] and was going to win and we heard a voice in the stands behind to say, "Man, if they'll play that way for him what would they have done if [[wikipedia:John_Wayne\|John Wayne]] was here."		Well it is an honor to be here tonight I'm proud that you asked me and I feel more than a little humble in the presence of this distinguished company. Not too long ago Nancy and I also on the way to the governor's conference found ourselves as honored guests at the football game between Ole Miss and Tennessee. Ole Miss hadn't had that good a season, Tennessee was supposed to clobber them. Midway in the third quarter, it was pretty apparent that [https://collegefootballcrazy.com/the-jackson-massacre-1969/ Ole Miss was pulling the upset of the season] and was going to win and we heard a voice in the stands behind to say, "Man, if they'll play that way for him what would they have done if [[wikipedia:John_Wayne\|John Wayne]] was here."

	But seriously, there are men here tonight who through their wisdom, their foresight, and their courage have earned the right to be regarded as prophets of our philosophy. Indeed they are prophets of our time. Years past when others were silent or too blind to the facts they spoke up forcefully and fearlessly for what they believed to be right. A decade has passed since Barry Goldwater walked a lonely path across this land reminding us that even a land as rich as ours can't go on forever borrowing against the future, leaving a legacy of debt for another generation and causing a runaway inflation to erode the savings and reduce the standard of living for this generation. Voices have been raised trying to rekindle in our country all the great ideals and principles which set this nation apart from all the others that preceded us. But louder and more strident voices utter easily sold cliches and, oh, Congressman Dave Treen, what words of wisdom you gave us here in what our attitude must be it is so easy to fall into the trap of standing on the edge of the cliff, ready to jump off, with the flag flying and go down arguing. How much better it is if we turn persuasive and leave the strident voices to the others on the other side. We are the ones who can do the persuasive job that has to be done. Cartoonists with acid tip pen portray some of the reminders of our heritage, I know, and our destiny is old-fashioned. They say that we're trying to retreat into a past that actually never existed. Looking to the past in an effort to keep our country from repeating the errors of history is termed, by them, as taking the country back to McKinley. Which I've never found that was so bad under McKinley— under McKinley, we freed Cuba.		But seriously, there are men here tonight who through their wisdom, their foresight, and their courage have earned the right to be regarded as prophets of our philosophy. Indeed they are prophets of our time. Years past when others were silent or too blind to the facts they spoke up forcefully and fearlessly for what they believed to be right. A decade has passed since [[wikipedia:Barry_Goldwater\|Barry Goldwater]] walked a lonely path across this land reminding us that even a land as rich as ours can't go on forever borrowing against the future, leaving a legacy of debt for another generation and causing a runaway inflation to erode the savings and reduce the standard of living for this generation. Voices have been raised trying to rekindle in our country all the great ideals and principles which set this nation apart from all the others that preceded us. But louder and more strident voices utter easily sold cliches and, oh, Congressman Dave Treen, what words of wisdom you gave us here in what our attitude must be it is so easy to fall into the trap of standing on the edge of the cliff, ready to jump off, with the flag flying and go down arguing. How much better it is if we turn persuasive and leave the strident voices to the others on the other side. We are the ones who can do the persuasive job that has to be done. Cartoonists with acid tip pen portray some of the reminders of our heritage, I know, and our destiny is old-fashioned. They say that we're trying to retreat into a past that actually never existed. Looking to the past in an effort to keep our country from repeating the errors of history is termed, by them, as taking the country back to McKinley. Which I've never found that was so bad under McKinley— under McKinley, we freed Cuba.

	But on the span of history we're still thought of as a young upstart country celebrating soon only our second century as a nation, and yet we're the oldest continuing republic in the world. And so I thought that perhaps tonight, rather than talking on the subjects we're trying to find something new to say about the very things that you're discussing, it might be appropriate to reflect a bit on our heritage. Now you can call it mysticism if you want to but I've always believed that there was some divine plan that placed this great continent between two oceans to be sought out by those who were possessed of an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage. Now this was true of those who pioneered the great wilderness in the beginning of this country, but it was also true and is true of those later immigrants who were willing to leave the land of their birth and come to a land where even the language was unknown to them. Call it chauvinistic but our heritage does set us apart. Some years ago a writer, he happened to be an avid student of history, told me a story and it happened to be a story about that little day, or, that day in the little hall in Philadelphia where honorable men hard-pressed by a king who was flouting the very law they were willing to obey debated whether they should take the fateful step of declaring their independence from that king. I was told by this man that the story could be found in the writings of Jefferson. I confess I've never researched or made an effort to verify it, perhaps it's only legend, but story or legend, he described the atmosphere the strain the debate and that— that grew heated as men for the first time faced the consequences of such an irretrievable act. The walls resounded with the dread word of treason and its price, the gallows and the headsman's axe, and as the day wore on the issue hung in the balance, and then according to the story, a man rose in the small gallery he was not a young man he was obviously calling on all the energy he could muster. Citing the grievances that had brought them to this moment he said,		But on the span of history we're still thought of as a young upstart country celebrating soon only our second century as a nation, and yet we're the oldest continuing republic in the world. And so I thought that perhaps tonight, rather than talking on the subjects we're trying to find something new to say about the very things that you're discussing, it might be appropriate to reflect a bit on our heritage. Now you can call it mysticism if you want to but I've always believed that there was some divine plan that placed this great continent between two oceans to be sought out by those who were possessed of an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage. Now this was true of those who pioneered the great wilderness in the beginning of this country, but it was also true and is true of those later immigrants who were willing to leave the land of their birth and come to a land where even the language was unknown to them. Call it chauvinistic but our heritage does set us apart. Some years ago a writer, he happened to be an avid student of history, told me a story and it happened to be a story about that little day, or, that day in the little hall in Philadelphia where honorable men hard-pressed by a king who was flouting the very law they were willing to obey debated whether they should take the fateful step of declaring their independence from that king. I was told by this man that the story could be found in the writings of Jefferson. I confess I've never researched or made an effort to verify it, perhaps it's only legend, but story or legend, he described the atmosphere the strain the debate and that— that grew heated as men for the first time faced the consequences of such an irretrievable act. The walls resounded with the dread word of treason and its price, the gallows and the headsman's axe, and as the day wore on the issue hung in the balance, and then according to the story, a man rose in the small gallery he was not a young man he was obviously calling on all the energy he could muster. Citing the grievances that had brought them to this moment he said,

Reagan admin at 20:13, 8 June 2026

2026-06-08T20:13:32Z

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	Thank you. Thank you very much. Please.		Thank you. Thank you very much. Please.

	Thank you. Well, thank you all very much for a very heartwarming welcome and Buzz, I thank you for your very generous words. Reverend, clergy, [[wikipedia:Meldrim_Thomson_Jr. Governor Thompson]], [[wikipedia:Dave_Treen\|Congressman Treen]], our toastmaster [[wikipedia:William_A._Rusher\|Bill Rusher]], the other distinguished guests here at the table. Any speaker, in these first few seconds on his feet is always questioning what should be the first thing of the opening remark, the audience catcher so to speak, but Bill Rusher and [[wikipedia:Donald_%22Buz%22_Lukens\|Buzz Lukens]] have set the pace for me, I might as well get back in the act and introduce someone myself. As a matter of fact, there are two men here tonight I'm very proud to introduce. It was a year ago this coming February when this country had its spirits lifted as they have never been lifted in many, many years when planes began landing on American soil and in the Philippines bringing back men who had lived with honor for miserable years in the prison camps of Vietnam and two of those men are here tonight, [[wikipedia:John_McCain\|John McCain]] and [[wikipedia:William_P._Lawrence\|Bill Lawrence]].		Thank you. Well, thank you all very much for a very heartwarming welcome and Buzz, I thank you for your very generous words. Reverend, clergy, [[wikipedia:Meldrim_Thomson_Jr.\|Governor Thompson]], [[wikipedia:Dave_Treen\|Congressman Treen]], our toastmaster [[wikipedia:William_A._Rusher\|Bill Rusher]], the other distinguished guests here at the table. Any speaker, in these first few seconds on his feet is always questioning what should be the first thing of the opening remark, the audience catcher so to speak, but Bill Rusher and [[wikipedia:Donald_%22Buz%22_Lukens\|Buzz Lukens]] have set the pace for me, I might as well get back in the act and introduce someone myself. As a matter of fact, there are two men here tonight I'm very proud to introduce. It was a year ago this coming February when this country had its spirits lifted as they have never been lifted in many, many years when planes began landing on American soil and in the Philippines bringing back men who had lived with honor for miserable years in the prison camps of Vietnam and two of those men are here tonight, [[wikipedia:John_McCain\|John McCain]] and [[wikipedia:William_P._Lawrence\|Bill Lawrence]].

	[Applause]		[Applause]

Reagan admin at 20:12, 8 June 2026

2026-06-08T20:12:18Z

Reagan admin at 14:27, 15 May 2022

2022-05-15T14:27:10Z

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	I didn't tell that story out of any desire to be narrowly chauvinistic or to glorify aggressive militarism, but it is an example of government meeting its highest responsibility. In recent years we've been treated to a rash of noble sounding phrases, some of them sound good but they don't hold up under close analysis. Take for instance the slogan so frequently uttered by the young senator from Massachusetts. "The greatest good for the greatest number." Henry Taylor described that as having three things in common with an oil well: "It keeps— it keeps on producing something, it stinks unbelievably, and nobody knows that source's potential."		I didn't tell that story out of any desire to be narrowly chauvinistic or to glorify aggressive militarism, but it is an example of government meeting its highest responsibility. In recent years we've been treated to a rash of noble sounding phrases, some of them sound good but they don't hold up under close analysis. Take for instance the slogan so frequently uttered by the young senator from Massachusetts. "The greatest good for the greatest number." Henry Taylor described that as having three things in common with an oil well: "It keeps— it keeps on producing something, it stinks unbelievably, and nobody knows that source's potential."

	Certainly under that slogan, no modern day Captain Ingraham would risk even the smallest craft and crew for a single citizen. Every dictator who ever lived has justified the enslavement of his people on the theory of what was good for the majority. [Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes] reminded us that, "catchwords can obscure truth for countless years." We're not a warlike people nor is our history filled with tales of aggressive adventures and imperialism, which might come as a shock to some of the placard painters in our modern demonstrations. We fought wars with citizen soldiers and volunteer dollar a year men. We haven't casually declared that men are expendable to improve some fancied political position. but in the last decade or two, the greatest good philosophy has prevailed far more than it should. The USS Ingraham has been riding rather low in the water. These same strident voices would have us believe that the uniform itself is the cause, not the result of war. The lesson of Vietnam, I think, should be that never again will young Americans be asked to fight and possibly die for a cause unless that cause is so meaningful that we as a nation pledge our full resources to achieve victory as quickly as possible.		Certainly under that slogan, no modern day Captain Ingraham would risk even the smallest craft and crew for a single citizen. Every dictator who ever lived has justified the enslavement of his people on the theory of what was good for the majority. [[Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes]] reminded us that, "catchwords can obscure truth for countless years." We're not a warlike people nor is our history filled with tales of aggressive adventures and imperialism, which might come as a shock to some of the placard painters in our modern demonstrations. We fought wars with citizen soldiers and volunteer dollar a year men. We haven't casually declared that men are expendable to improve some fancied political position. but in the last decade or two, the greatest good philosophy has prevailed far more than it should. The USS Ingraham has been riding rather low in the water. These same strident voices would have us believe that the uniform itself is the cause, not the result of war. The lesson of Vietnam, I think, should be that never again will young Americans be asked to fight and possibly die for a cause unless that cause is so meaningful that we as a nation pledge our full resources to achieve victory as quickly as possible.

	I realized that such a pronouncement of course would possibly belay one open to the charge of warmongering but that would be ridiculous. My generation has paid a higher price for freedom and fought harder for freedom than any generation that ever lived. We have known four wars in a single lifetime. All were horrible and all could have been avoided if at a particular moment in time, we had made it plain that we subscribed to the words of [https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/679-war-is-an-ugly-thing-but-not-the-ugliest-of John Stuart Mill], when he said that, "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth a war, is much worse. ... A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."		I realized that such a pronouncement of course would possibly belay one open to the charge of warmongering but that would be ridiculous. My generation has paid a higher price for freedom and fought harder for freedom than any generation that ever lived. We have known four wars in a single lifetime. All were horrible and all could have been avoided if at a particular moment in time, we had made it plain that we subscribed to the words of [https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/679-war-is-an-ugly-thing-but-not-the-ugliest-of John Stuart Mill], when he said that, "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth a war, is much worse. ... A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

Reagan admin at 20:45, 21 April 2022

2022-04-21T20:45:58Z

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	Well it is an honor to be here tonight I'm proud that you asked me and I feel more than a little humble in the presence of this distinguished company. Not too long ago Nancy and I also on the way to the governor's conference found ourselves as honored guests at the football game between Ole Miss and Tennessee. Ole Miss hadn't had that good a season, Tennessee was supposed to clobber them. Midway in the third quarter, it was pretty apparent that [https://collegefootballcrazy.com/the-jackson-massacre-1969/ Ole Miss was pulling the upset of the season] and was going to win and we heard a voice in the stands behind to say, "Man, if they'll play that way for him what would they have done if [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne John Wayne] was here."		Well it is an honor to be here tonight I'm proud that you asked me and I feel more than a little humble in the presence of this distinguished company. Not too long ago Nancy and I also on the way to the governor's conference found ourselves as honored guests at the football game between Ole Miss and Tennessee. Ole Miss hadn't had that good a season, Tennessee was supposed to clobber them. Midway in the third quarter, it was pretty apparent that [https://collegefootballcrazy.com/the-jackson-massacre-1969/ Ole Miss was pulling the upset of the season] and was going to win and we heard a voice in the stands behind to say, "Man, if they'll play that way for him what would they have done if [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne John Wayne] was here."

	But seriously, there are men here tonight who through their wisdom, their foresight, and their courage have earned the right to be regarded as prophets of our philosophy. Indeed they are prophets of our time. Years past when others were silent or too blind to the facts they spoke up forcefully and fearlessly for what they believed to be right. A decade has passed since Barry Goldwater walked a lonely path across this land reminding us that even a land as rich as ours can't go on forever borrowing against the future, leaving a legacy of debt for another generation and causing a runaway inflation to erode the savings and reduce the standard of living for this generation. Voices have been raised trying to rekindle in our country all the great ideals and principles which set this nation apart from all the others that preceded us. But louder and more strident voices utter easily sold cliches and, oh, Congressman Dave ~~Trine~~, what words of wisdom you gave us here in what our attitude must be it is so easy to fall into the trap of standing on the edge of the cliff, ready to jump off, with the flag flying and go down arguing. How much better it is if we turn persuasive and leave the strident voices to the others on the other side. We are the ones who can do the persuasive job that has to be done. Cartoonists with acid tip pen portray some of the reminders of our heritage, I know, and our destiny is old-fashioned. They say that we're trying to retreat into a past that actually never existed. Looking to the past in an effort to keep our country from repeating the errors of history is termed, by them, as taking the country back to McKinley. Which I've never found that was so bad under McKinley— under McKinley, we freed Cuba.		But seriously, there are men here tonight who through their wisdom, their foresight, and their courage have earned the right to be regarded as prophets of our philosophy. Indeed they are prophets of our time. Years past when others were silent or too blind to the facts they spoke up forcefully and fearlessly for what they believed to be right. A decade has passed since Barry Goldwater walked a lonely path across this land reminding us that even a land as rich as ours can't go on forever borrowing against the future, leaving a legacy of debt for another generation and causing a runaway inflation to erode the savings and reduce the standard of living for this generation. Voices have been raised trying to rekindle in our country all the great ideals and principles which set this nation apart from all the others that preceded us. But louder and more strident voices utter easily sold cliches and, oh, Congressman Dave Treen, what words of wisdom you gave us here in what our attitude must be it is so easy to fall into the trap of standing on the edge of the cliff, ready to jump off, with the flag flying and go down arguing. How much better it is if we turn persuasive and leave the strident voices to the others on the other side. We are the ones who can do the persuasive job that has to be done. Cartoonists with acid tip pen portray some of the reminders of our heritage, I know, and our destiny is old-fashioned. They say that we're trying to retreat into a past that actually never existed. Looking to the past in an effort to keep our country from repeating the errors of history is termed, by them, as taking the country back to McKinley. Which I've never found that was so bad under McKinley— under McKinley, we freed Cuba.

	But on the span of history we're still thought of as a young upstart country celebrating soon only our second century as a nation, and yet we're the oldest continuing republic in the world. And so I thought that perhaps tonight, rather than talking on the subjects we're trying to find something new to say about the very things that you're discussing, it might be appropriate to reflect a bit on our heritage. Now you can call it mysticism if you want to but I've always believed that there was some divine plan that placed this great continent between two oceans to be sought out by those who were possessed of an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage. Now this was true of those who pioneered the great wilderness in the beginning of this country, but it was also true and is true of those later immigrants who were willing to leave the land of their birth and come to a land where even the language was unknown to them. Call it chauvinistic but our heritage does set us apart. Some years ago a writer, he happened to be an avid student of history, told me a story and it happened to be a story about that little day, or, that day in the little hall in Philadelphia where honorable men hard-pressed by a king who was flouting the very law they were willing to obey debated whether they should take the fateful step of declaring their independence from that king. I was told by this man that the story could be found in the writings of Jefferson. I confess I've never researched or made an effort to verify it, perhaps it's only legend, but story or legend, he described the atmosphere the strain the debate and that— that grew heated as men for the first time faced the consequences of such an irretrievable act. The walls resounded with the dread word of treason and its price, the gallows and the headsman's axe, and as the day wore on the issue hung in the balance, and then according to the story, a man rose in the small gallery he was not a young man he was obviously calling on all the energy he could muster. Citing the grievances that had brought them to this moment he said,		But on the span of history we're still thought of as a young upstart country celebrating soon only our second century as a nation, and yet we're the oldest continuing republic in the world. And so I thought that perhaps tonight, rather than talking on the subjects we're trying to find something new to say about the very things that you're discussing, it might be appropriate to reflect a bit on our heritage. Now you can call it mysticism if you want to but I've always believed that there was some divine plan that placed this great continent between two oceans to be sought out by those who were possessed of an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage. Now this was true of those who pioneered the great wilderness in the beginning of this country, but it was also true and is true of those later immigrants who were willing to leave the land of their birth and come to a land where even the language was unknown to them. Call it chauvinistic but our heritage does set us apart. Some years ago a writer, he happened to be an avid student of history, told me a story and it happened to be a story about that little day, or, that day in the little hall in Philadelphia where honorable men hard-pressed by a king who was flouting the very law they were willing to obey debated whether they should take the fateful step of declaring their independence from that king. I was told by this man that the story could be found in the writings of Jefferson. I confess I've never researched or made an effort to verify it, perhaps it's only legend, but story or legend, he described the atmosphere the strain the debate and that— that grew heated as men for the first time faced the consequences of such an irretrievable act. The walls resounded with the dread word of treason and its price, the gallows and the headsman's axe, and as the day wore on the issue hung in the balance, and then according to the story, a man rose in the small gallery he was not a young man he was obviously calling on all the energy he could muster. Citing the grievances that had brought them to this moment he said,

Reagan admin at 20:41, 21 April 2022

2022-04-21T20:41:22Z

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	Well, I might as well sit down I can't do any better than that in the remainder of the evening. Well you know to be here, this is a spot to know that I am midway in the seminars that you've been holding. the idea of what subject, knowing the audience, I would be addressing and not knowing which of those subjects you have explored thoroughly already in your seminars or which are on the schedule for your... the rest of your meetings leaves me hard put to find a subject and it isn't helped any but the fact that every once in a while I have when I needed material, cribbed from M. Stanton Evans and he's sitting here tonight, so I can't even do that.		Well, I might as well sit down I can't do any better than that in the remainder of the evening. Well you know to be here, this is a spot to know that I am midway in the seminars that you've been holding. the idea of what subject, knowing the audience, I would be addressing and not knowing which of those subjects you have explored thoroughly already in your seminars or which are on the schedule for your... the rest of your meetings leaves me hard put to find a subject and it isn't helped any but the fact that every once in a while I have when I needed material, cribbed from M. Stanton Evans and he's sitting here tonight, so I can't even do that.

	I think the only story that would describe my situation is one that I've told as some of you, I know, before, but then you have to remember that if life begins at 40 so does lumbago, arthritis and the tendency to tell stories three or four times. It was a fellow in the picture business who aspired to an operatic career, saved his money so he could go to Italy and study for opera, and after a few years of study there he was invited to sing at La Scala a very spiritual fountainhead of opera. They were doing Pagliacci and he sang the beautiful aria Vesti la Giubba and the applause was so thunderous and so sustained that they couldn't continue the opera until he repeated Vesti la Giubba as an encore and again the same sustained thunderous applause and again he stepped center stage and sang the aria. This went on till finally he motioned for quiet and he tried to tell them how full his heart was and what this welcome in his first appearance in opera, in that almost sacred place meant to him. but he said, "I have sung Vesti la Giubba now nine times. My voice is gone I cannot do it again." And a voice from the balcony says, "You'll do it till you get it right."		I think the only story that would describe my situation is one that I've told as some of you, I know, before, but then you have to remember that if life begins at 40 so does lumbago, arthritis and the tendency to tell stories three or four times. It was a fellow in the picture business who aspired to an operatic career, saved his money so he could go to Italy and study for opera, and after a few years of study there he was invited to sing at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Scala La Scala], the very spiritual fountainhead of opera. They were doing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagliacci Pagliacci] and he sang the beautiful aria [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesti_la_giubba Vesti la Giubba] and the applause was so thunderous and so sustained that they couldn't continue the opera until he repeated Vesti la Giubba as an encore and again the same sustained thunderous applause and again he stepped center stage and sang the aria. This went on till finally he motioned for quiet and he tried to tell them how full his heart was and what this welcome in his first appearance in opera, in that almost sacred place meant to him. but he said, "I have sung Vesti la Giubba now nine times. My voice is gone I cannot do it again." And a voice from the balcony says, "You'll do it till you get it right."

	You know, Reverend, I think I ought to tell you that when we were coming east here we ran into some weather. We were circling up there on the fog and being vectored into a landing pattern and things were getting a little hairy and a little bumpy and there was a clergyman on board and Nancy turned to him across the aisle and said, "Can't you do something about this?" and he said, "I'm with sales not management."		You know, Reverend, I think I ought to tell you that when we were coming east here we ran into some weather. We were circling up there on the fog and being vectored into a landing pattern and things were getting a little hairy and a little bumpy and there was a clergyman on board and Nancy turned to him across the aisle and said, "Can't you do something about this?" and he said, "I'm with sales not management."
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	just a couple of nights ago, Nancy and I had the great pleasure of being up in New Hampshire in Governor Mel Thompson's state and I heard a wonderful story there about full of political philosophy and all. A quite elderly little lady left her doctor's office one day and hurried directly down the street to the registrar of voters, went in, and said, "I want to re-register democrat." This man in that little town had known her all his life said, "How can you do that? You've been a Republican all your life. Your parents were Republicans. Your Grandparents were Republicans." She said, "I know, I've just left the doctor's office and he told me my days were numbered. and if I've got to go I'd rather it was one of them than one of us."		just a couple of nights ago, Nancy and I had the great pleasure of being up in New Hampshire in Governor Mel Thompson's state and I heard a wonderful story there about full of political philosophy and all. A quite elderly little lady left her doctor's office one day and hurried directly down the street to the registrar of voters, went in, and said, "I want to re-register democrat." This man in that little town had known her all his life said, "How can you do that? You've been a Republican all your life. Your parents were Republicans. Your Grandparents were Republicans." She said, "I know, I've just left the doctor's office and he told me my days were numbered. and if I've got to go I'd rather it was one of them than one of us."

	Well it is an honor to be here tonight I'm proud that you asked me and I feel more than a little humble in the presence of this distinguished company. Not too long ago Nancy and I also on the way to the governor's conference found ourselves as honored guests at the football game between Ole Miss and Tennessee. ~~ole~~ Miss hadn't had that good a season, Tennessee was supposed to clobber them. Midway in the third quarter, it was pretty apparent that Ole Miss was pulling the upset of the season and was going to win and we heard a voice in the stands behind to say, "Man, if they'll play that way for him what would they have done if John Wayne was here."		Well it is an honor to be here tonight I'm proud that you asked me and I feel more than a little humble in the presence of this distinguished company. Not too long ago Nancy and I also on the way to the governor's conference found ourselves as honored guests at the football game between Ole Miss and Tennessee. Ole Miss hadn't had that good a season, Tennessee was supposed to clobber them. Midway in the third quarter, it was pretty apparent that [https://collegefootballcrazy.com/the-jackson-massacre-1969/ Ole Miss was pulling the upset of the season] and was going to win and we heard a voice in the stands behind to say, "Man, if they'll play that way for him what would they have done if [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne John Wayne] was here."

	But seriously, there are men here tonight who through their wisdom, their foresight, and their courage have earned the right to be regarded as prophets of our philosophy. Indeed they are prophets of our time. Years past when others were silent or too blind to the facts they spoke up forcefully and fearlessly for what they believed to be right. A decade has passed since Barry Goldwater walked a lonely path across this land reminding us that even a land as rich as ours can't go on forever borrowing against the future, leaving a legacy of debt for another generation and causing a runaway inflation to erode the savings and reduce the standard of living for this generation. Voices have been raised trying to rekindle in our country all the great ideals and principles which set this nation apart from all the others that preceded us. But louder and more strident voices utter easily sold cliches and, oh, Congressman Dave Trine, what words of wisdom you gave us here in what our attitude must be it is so easy to fall into the trap of standing on the edge of the cliff, ready to jump off, with the flag flying and go down arguing. How much better it is if we turn persuasive and leave the strident voices to the others on the other side. We are the ones who can do the persuasive job that has to be done. Cartoonists with acid tip pen portray some of the reminders of our heritage, I know, and our destiny is old-fashioned. They say that we're trying to retreat into a past that actually never existed. Looking to the past in an effort to keep our country from repeating the errors of history is termed, by them, as taking the country back to McKinley. Which I've never found that was so bad under McKinley— under McKinley, we freed Cuba.		But seriously, there are men here tonight who through their wisdom, their foresight, and their courage have earned the right to be regarded as prophets of our philosophy. Indeed they are prophets of our time. Years past when others were silent or too blind to the facts they spoke up forcefully and fearlessly for what they believed to be right. A decade has passed since Barry Goldwater walked a lonely path across this land reminding us that even a land as rich as ours can't go on forever borrowing against the future, leaving a legacy of debt for another generation and causing a runaway inflation to erode the savings and reduce the standard of living for this generation. Voices have been raised trying to rekindle in our country all the great ideals and principles which set this nation apart from all the others that preceded us. But louder and more strident voices utter easily sold cliches and, oh, Congressman Dave Trine, what words of wisdom you gave us here in what our attitude must be it is so easy to fall into the trap of standing on the edge of the cliff, ready to jump off, with the flag flying and go down arguing. How much better it is if we turn persuasive and leave the strident voices to the others on the other side. We are the ones who can do the persuasive job that has to be done. Cartoonists with acid tip pen portray some of the reminders of our heritage, I know, and our destiny is old-fashioned. They say that we're trying to retreat into a past that actually never existed. Looking to the past in an effort to keep our country from repeating the errors of history is termed, by them, as taking the country back to McKinley. Which I've never found that was so bad under McKinley— under McKinley, we freed Cuba.

Reagan admin at 20:22, 21 April 2022

2022-04-21T20:22:27Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:22, 21 April 2022
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	Thank you. Thank you very much. Please.		Thank you. Thank you very much. Please.

	Thank you. Well, thank you all very much for a very heartwarming welcome and Buzz, I thank you for your very generous words. Reverend, clergy, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meldrim_Thomson_Jr. Governor Thompson], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Treen Congressman Treen], our toastmaster [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A._Rusher Bill Rusher], the other distinguished guests here at the table. Any speaker, in these first few seconds on his feet is always questioning what should be the first thing of the opening remark, the audience catcher so to speak, but Bill Rusher and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_~~"Buz"_Lukens~~ Buzz Lukens] have set the pace for me, I might as well get back in the act and introduce someone myself. As a matter of fact, there are two men here tonight I'm very proud to introduce. It was a year ago this coming February when this country had its spirits lifted as they have never been lifted in many, many years when planes began landing on American soil and in the Philippines bringing back men who had lived with honor for miserable years in the prison camps of Vietnam and two of those men are here tonight, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain John McCain] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_P._Lawrence Bill Lawrence].		Thank you. Well, thank you all very much for a very heartwarming welcome and Buzz, I thank you for your very generous words. Reverend, clergy, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meldrim_Thomson_Jr. Governor Thompson], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Treen Congressman Treen], our toastmaster [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A._Rusher Bill Rusher], the other distinguished guests here at the table. Any speaker, in these first few seconds on his feet is always questioning what should be the first thing of the opening remark, the audience catcher so to speak, but Bill Rusher and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_%22Buz%22_Lukens Buzz Lukens] have set the pace for me, I might as well get back in the act and introduce someone myself. As a matter of fact, there are two men here tonight I'm very proud to introduce. It was a year ago this coming February when this country had its spirits lifted as they have never been lifted in many, many years when planes began landing on American soil and in the Philippines bringing back men who had lived with honor for miserable years in the prison camps of Vietnam and two of those men are here tonight, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain John McCain] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_P._Lawrence Bill Lawrence].

	[Applause]		[Applause]

Reagan admin at 21:00, 24 February 2022

2022-02-24T21:00:38Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:00, 24 February 2022
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			[[Category:Speeches]]
	== Audio ==		== Audio ==
	[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/169489077 Available through the National Archives] (Audio includes introductory speeches)		[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/169489077 Available through the National Archives] (Audio includes introductory speeches)

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:12, 8 June 2026
Line 10:		Line 10:
	Thank you. Thank you very much. Please.		Thank you. Thank you very much. Please.

	Thank you. Well, thank you all very much for a very heartwarming welcome and Buzz, I thank you for your very generous words. Reverend, clergy, [~~https~~:~~//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/~~Meldrim_Thomson_Jr. Governor Thompson], [~~https~~:~~//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/~~Dave_Treen Congressman Treen], our toastmaster [~~https~~:~~//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/~~William_A._Rusher Bill Rusher], the other distinguished guests here at the table. Any speaker, in these first few seconds on his feet is always questioning what should be the first thing of the opening remark, the audience catcher so to speak, but Bill Rusher and [~~https~~:~~//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/~~Donald_%22Buz%22_Lukens Buzz Lukens] have set the pace for me, I might as well get back in the act and introduce someone myself. As a matter of fact, there are two men here tonight I'm very proud to introduce. It was a year ago this coming February when this country had its spirits lifted as they have never been lifted in many, many years when planes began landing on American soil and in the Philippines bringing back men who had lived with honor for miserable years in the prison camps of Vietnam and two of those men are here tonight, [~~https~~:~~//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/~~John_McCain John McCain] and [~~https~~:~~//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/~~William_P._Lawrence Bill Lawrence].		Thank you. Well, thank you all very much for a very heartwarming welcome and Buzz, I thank you for your very generous words. Reverend, clergy, [[wikipedia:Meldrim_Thomson_Jr. Governor Thompson]], [[wikipedia:Dave_Treen\|Congressman Treen]], our toastmaster [[wikipedia:William_A._Rusher\|Bill Rusher]], the other distinguished guests here at the table. Any speaker, in these first few seconds on his feet is always questioning what should be the first thing of the opening remark, the audience catcher so to speak, but Bill Rusher and [[wikipedia:Donald_%22Buz%22_Lukens\|Buzz Lukens]] have set the pace for me, I might as well get back in the act and introduce someone myself. As a matter of fact, there are two men here tonight I'm very proud to introduce. It was a year ago this coming February when this country had its spirits lifted as they have never been lifted in many, many years when planes began landing on American soil and in the Philippines bringing back men who had lived with honor for miserable years in the prison camps of Vietnam and two of those men are here tonight, [[wikipedia:John_McCain\|John McCain]] and [[wikipedia:William_P._Lawrence\|Bill Lawrence]].

	[Applause]		[Applause]

	Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Wait a minute! I can add another one! [~~https~~:~~//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/~~Edward_H._Martin Ed Martin], right here to join that wonderful crew.		Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Wait a minute! I can add another one! [[wikipedia:Edward_H._Martin\|Ed Martin]], right here to join that wonderful crew.

	Thank you.		Thank you.
Line 22:		Line 22:
	Well, I might as well sit down I can't do any better than that in the remainder of the evening. Well you know to be here, this is a spot to know that I am midway in the seminars that you've been holding. the idea of what subject, knowing the audience, I would be addressing and not knowing which of those subjects you have explored thoroughly already in your seminars or which are on the schedule for your... the rest of your meetings leaves me hard put to find a subject and it isn't helped any but the fact that every once in a while I have when I needed material, cribbed from M. Stanton Evans and he's sitting here tonight, so I can't even do that.		Well, I might as well sit down I can't do any better than that in the remainder of the evening. Well you know to be here, this is a spot to know that I am midway in the seminars that you've been holding. the idea of what subject, knowing the audience, I would be addressing and not knowing which of those subjects you have explored thoroughly already in your seminars or which are on the schedule for your... the rest of your meetings leaves me hard put to find a subject and it isn't helped any but the fact that every once in a while I have when I needed material, cribbed from M. Stanton Evans and he's sitting here tonight, so I can't even do that.

	I think the only story that would describe my situation is one that I've told as some of you, I know, before, but then you have to remember that if life begins at 40 so does lumbago, arthritis and the tendency to tell stories three or four times. It was a fellow in the picture business who aspired to an operatic career, saved his money so he could go to Italy and study for opera, and after a few years of study there he was invited to sing at [~~http~~:~~//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/~~La_Scala La Scala], the very spiritual fountainhead of opera. They were doing [~~http~~:~~//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/~~Pagliacci Pagliacci] and he sang the beautiful aria [~~http~~:~~//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/~~Vesti_la_giubba Vesti la Giubba] and the applause was so thunderous and so sustained that they couldn't continue the opera until he repeated Vesti la Giubba as an encore and again the same sustained thunderous applause and again he stepped center stage and sang the aria. This went on till finally he motioned for quiet and he tried to tell them how full his heart was and what this welcome in his first appearance in opera, in that almost sacred place meant to him. but he said, "I have sung Vesti la Giubba now nine times. My voice is gone I cannot do it again." And a voice from the balcony says, "You'll do it till you get it right."		I think the only story that would describe my situation is one that I've told as some of you, I know, before, but then you have to remember that if life begins at 40 so does lumbago, arthritis and the tendency to tell stories three or four times. It was a fellow in the picture business who aspired to an operatic career, saved his money so he could go to Italy and study for opera, and after a few years of study there he was invited to sing at [[wikipedia:La_Scala\|La Scala]], the very spiritual fountainhead of opera. They were doing [[wikipedia:Pagliacci\|Pagliacci]] and he sang the beautiful aria [[wikipedia:Vesti_la_giubba\|Vesti la Giubba]] and the applause was so thunderous and so sustained that they couldn't continue the opera until he repeated Vesti la Giubba as an encore and again the same sustained thunderous applause and again he stepped center stage and sang the aria. This went on till finally he motioned for quiet and he tried to tell them how full his heart was and what this welcome in his first appearance in opera, in that almost sacred place meant to him. but he said, "I have sung Vesti la Giubba now nine times. My voice is gone I cannot do it again." And a voice from the balcony says, "You'll do it till you get it right."

	You know, Reverend, I think I ought to tell you that when we were coming east here we ran into some weather. We were circling up there on the fog and being vectored into a landing pattern and things were getting a little hairy and a little bumpy and there was a clergyman on board and Nancy turned to him across the aisle and said, "Can't you do something about this?" and he said, "I'm with sales not management."		You know, Reverend, I think I ought to tell you that when we were coming east here we ran into some weather. We were circling up there on the fog and being vectored into a landing pattern and things were getting a little hairy and a little bumpy and there was a clergyman on board and Nancy turned to him across the aisle and said, "Can't you do something about this?" and he said, "I'm with sales not management."
Line 28:		Line 28:
	just a couple of nights ago, Nancy and I had the great pleasure of being up in New Hampshire in Governor Mel Thompson's state and I heard a wonderful story there about full of political philosophy and all. A quite elderly little lady left her doctor's office one day and hurried directly down the street to the registrar of voters, went in, and said, "I want to re-register democrat." This man in that little town had known her all his life said, "How can you do that? You've been a Republican all your life. Your parents were Republicans. Your Grandparents were Republicans." She said, "I know, I've just left the doctor's office and he told me my days were numbered. and if I've got to go I'd rather it was one of them than one of us."		just a couple of nights ago, Nancy and I had the great pleasure of being up in New Hampshire in Governor Mel Thompson's state and I heard a wonderful story there about full of political philosophy and all. A quite elderly little lady left her doctor's office one day and hurried directly down the street to the registrar of voters, went in, and said, "I want to re-register democrat." This man in that little town had known her all his life said, "How can you do that? You've been a Republican all your life. Your parents were Republicans. Your Grandparents were Republicans." She said, "I know, I've just left the doctor's office and he told me my days were numbered. and if I've got to go I'd rather it was one of them than one of us."

	Well it is an honor to be here tonight I'm proud that you asked me and I feel more than a little humble in the presence of this distinguished company. Not too long ago Nancy and I also on the way to the governor's conference found ourselves as honored guests at the football game between Ole Miss and Tennessee. Ole Miss hadn't had that good a season, Tennessee was supposed to clobber them. Midway in the third quarter, it was pretty apparent that [https://collegefootballcrazy.com/the-jackson-massacre-1969/ Ole Miss was pulling the upset of the season] and was going to win and we heard a voice in the stands behind to say, "Man, if they'll play that way for him what would they have done if [~~https~~:~~//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/~~John_Wayne John Wayne] was here."		Well it is an honor to be here tonight I'm proud that you asked me and I feel more than a little humble in the presence of this distinguished company. Not too long ago Nancy and I also on the way to the governor's conference found ourselves as honored guests at the football game between Ole Miss and Tennessee. Ole Miss hadn't had that good a season, Tennessee was supposed to clobber them. Midway in the third quarter, it was pretty apparent that [https://collegefootballcrazy.com/the-jackson-massacre-1969/ Ole Miss was pulling the upset of the season] and was going to win and we heard a voice in the stands behind to say, "Man, if they'll play that way for him what would they have done if [[wikipedia:John_Wayne\|John Wayne]] was here."

	But seriously, there are men here tonight who through their wisdom, their foresight, and their courage have earned the right to be regarded as prophets of our philosophy. Indeed they are prophets of our time. Years past when others were silent or too blind to the facts they spoke up forcefully and fearlessly for what they believed to be right. A decade has passed since Barry Goldwater walked a lonely path across this land reminding us that even a land as rich as ours can't go on forever borrowing against the future, leaving a legacy of debt for another generation and causing a runaway inflation to erode the savings and reduce the standard of living for this generation. Voices have been raised trying to rekindle in our country all the great ideals and principles which set this nation apart from all the others that preceded us. But louder and more strident voices utter easily sold cliches and, oh, Congressman Dave Treen, what words of wisdom you gave us here in what our attitude must be it is so easy to fall into the trap of standing on the edge of the cliff, ready to jump off, with the flag flying and go down arguing. How much better it is if we turn persuasive and leave the strident voices to the others on the other side. We are the ones who can do the persuasive job that has to be done. Cartoonists with acid tip pen portray some of the reminders of our heritage, I know, and our destiny is old-fashioned. They say that we're trying to retreat into a past that actually never existed. Looking to the past in an effort to keep our country from repeating the errors of history is termed, by them, as taking the country back to McKinley. Which I've never found that was so bad under McKinley— under McKinley, we freed Cuba.		But seriously, there are men here tonight who through their wisdom, their foresight, and their courage have earned the right to be regarded as prophets of our philosophy. Indeed they are prophets of our time. Years past when others were silent or too blind to the facts they spoke up forcefully and fearlessly for what they believed to be right. A decade has passed since Barry Goldwater walked a lonely path across this land reminding us that even a land as rich as ours can't go on forever borrowing against the future, leaving a legacy of debt for another generation and causing a runaway inflation to erode the savings and reduce the standard of living for this generation. Voices have been raised trying to rekindle in our country all the great ideals and principles which set this nation apart from all the others that preceded us. But louder and more strident voices utter easily sold cliches and, oh, Congressman Dave Treen, what words of wisdom you gave us here in what our attitude must be it is so easy to fall into the trap of standing on the edge of the cliff, ready to jump off, with the flag flying and go down arguing. How much better it is if we turn persuasive and leave the strident voices to the others on the other side. We are the ones who can do the persuasive job that has to be done. Cartoonists with acid tip pen portray some of the reminders of our heritage, I know, and our destiny is old-fashioned. They say that we're trying to retreat into a past that actually never existed. Looking to the past in an effort to keep our country from repeating the errors of history is termed, by them, as taking the country back to McKinley. Which I've never found that was so bad under McKinley— under McKinley, we freed Cuba.