"You and I have the courage to say to our enemies, "There is a price we will not pay." "There is a point beyond which they must not advance." And this—this is the meaning in the phrase of Barry Goldwater's "peace through strength." Winston Churchill said, "The destiny of man is not measured by material computations. When great forces are on the move in the world, we learn we're spirits—not animals." And he said, "There's something going on in time and space, and beyond time and space, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty."
"You and I have a rendezvous with destiny.
"We'll preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we'll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness. " -- October 27, 1964
Posted by gerardvanderleun at February 23, 2012 12:28 PM
We shall never see his like again.
Dammit, you made me cry for joy and sorrow.
Posted by: Joan of Argghh at February 23, 2012 12:55 PMI served during Reagan's presidency.
Illustrating his powerful message with images of soldiers is appropriate. You'd better believe that when anyone, anywhere in the world sees an American soldier, they know Reagan's words are true. We are the last, best hope for the world.
Posted by: Casey Klahn at February 23, 2012 2:29 PMDon't believe me? I was selling my wares in Bellevue about 2-3 years ago, and I got talking to a guy from Norway. He was held in Oslo in an internment camp by the Nazis when he was a boy.
He said they used to make up songs about how the Americans were going to come and rescue them. The day the war ended, the internees began to sing their national anthems, but they couldn't. They didn't have the wind or strength.
He said the same was true in eastern Europe during the USSR days. People throughout the world look to us, because of our constitution, and because especially for what we did in WWII, as a beacon of hope.
Posted by: Casey Klahn at February 23, 2012 7:20 PMThat speech was when I first became aware of Reagan. Was a believer in him and his message from then on.
Posted by: Jimmy J. at February 23, 2012 9:18 PMMy birthday is January 20 and Ronald Reagan's Inauguration in 1981 made that birthday the most memorable. The hostages held by the Iranians were freed, Carter was gone, and Reagan started to change America.
Frick liberals and their evil ways. You really must watch Ronald Reagan's "A Time For Choosing" speech. It's on Youtube. There is a wonderful DVD about Reagan called In The Face of Evil ($10 at Amazon) with lots of Reagan footage and it includes The Speech he gave for Barry Goldwater.
Posted by: Scott M at February 24, 2012 2:27 AMThey cried out in a loud voice, "Holy and true Sovereign, how long will it be before you judge and take revenge on those living on the earth who shed our blood?"
Rev 6:10
International Standard Version (©2008)
When I sought a commission in AF, it was 1979. I knew who Reagan was, but was not interested in politics. Mostly I wanted to fly jets, maybe see a bit the world I could never afford to otherwise. But a large part of my desire was anger at our country for letting a bunch of nuts in Iran push Americans around. I knew in my heart that eventually there would have to be some kind if reckoning. It still hasn't quite come. Those years Reagan was CinC were good ones in the military...we regained much of our purpose and tools to achieve it. Since then, even to some extent under Bush II, military has been suffering a wasting disease, greatly accelerated under current White House "Occupier."
Posted by: stephen b at February 24, 2012 9:02 AMPity the internet wasn't up and running during the mid-1960's.
It would have been interesting to read your take on that colonial war back when it was you who might have been fodder.
Cheers!
Posted by: Arthurstone at February 25, 2012 9:58 AM"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated to combat spam and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.
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