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Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan Quotes

40th U.S. President

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Famous Ronald Reagan Quotes

“As long as there are guns, the individual that wants a gun for a crime is going to have one and going to get it. The only person who's going to be penalized and have difficulty is the law-abiding citizen, who then cannot have [it] if he wants protection -- the protection of a weapon in his home.”

IfsWantPersonsLongHomeLawIndividualCrimeCitizensWeaponsGunDifficultyProtectionAbidingLaw Abiding Citizen
Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Ronald Reagan, 1986
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“The same technology transforming our lives can solve the greatest problem of the 20th century. A security shield can one day render nuclear weapons obsolete and free mankind from the prison of nuclear terror. America met one historic challenge and went to the Moon. Now America must meet another: to make our strategic defense real for all the citizens of planet Earth.”

RealProblemEarthAmericaChallengesTechnologyOur LivesMankindCenturySecurityPlanetsCitizensMetsOne DayMoonWeaponsPrisonTerrorSolveDefenseNuclearNuclear Weapons20th CenturyHistoricTransformingShieldsStrategicObsoletePlanet Earth
Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Ronald Reagan, 1986
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“Cannot swords be turned to plowshares? Can we and all nations not live in peace? In our obsession with antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all the members of humanity. Perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to make us recognize this common bond. I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world. And yet, I ask you, is not an alien force already among us? What could be more alien to the universal aspirations of our peoples than war and the threat of war?”

IfsThinkingWorldNeedsWarMomentsHumanityAsksForceNationsDifferencesForgetCommonThis WorldMembersUniversalThreatObsessionAliensAspirationAntagonism
Book:Ronald Reagan
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“The full consequences of a default or even the serious prospect of default by the United States are impossible to predict and awesome to contemplate. Denigration of the full faith and credit of the United States would have substantial effects on the domestic financial markets and on the value of the dollar in exchange markets. The Nation can ill afford to allow such a result. The risks, the cost, the disruptions, and the incalculable damage lead me to but one conclusion: the Senate must pass this legislation before the Congress adjourns.”

StatesValuesNationsUnitedResultsUnited StatesImpossibleRiskEffectsSeriousCostConsequenceDollarsFinancialCongressIllCreditConclusionDamageSenateContemplatingLegislationDefaultDisruptionLeading MeFinancial Markets
Author:Ronald Reagan
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“To many of us now, computers, silicon chips, data processing, cybernetics, and all the other innovations of the dawning high technology age are as mystifying as the workings of the combustion engine must have been when that first Model T rattled down Main Street, U.S.A. But as surely as America's pioneer spirit made us the industrial giant of the 20th century, the same pioneer spirit today is opening up on another vast front of opportunity, the frontier of high technology.”

FirstsHas BeensMadeAgeTodayAmericaSpiritOpportunityTechnologyStreetsCenturyFrontsComputerModelsInnovationOpeningDataGiantsEngines20th CenturyChipsFrontiersPioneersProcessingSiliconOpening UpCyberneticsMain StreetCombustionHigh TechnologyPioneer SpiritModel T
Author:Ronald Reagan
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“By outlawing Solidarity, a free trade organization to which an overwhelming majority of Polish workers and farmers belong, they have made it clear that they never had any intention of restoring one of the most elemental human rights the right to belong to a free trade union.”

HumansMadeClearRightsOrganizationTradeMajorityUnionsIntentionWorkersHuman RightsMade ItFarmersOverwhelmingSolidarityPolishFree TradeRestoringElementalsTrade Unions
Book:Ronald Reagan
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“Although I held public office for a total of sixteen years, I also thought of myself as a citizen-politician, not a career one. Every now and then when I was in government, I would remind my associates that "When we start thinking of government as 'us' instead of 'them,' we've been here too long." By that I mean that elected officeholders need to retain a certain skepticism about the perfectibility of government.”

ThinkingNeedsYearsMeanLongGovernmentCertainCareersCitizensPoliticianOfficeNow And ThenSkepticismAssociatesSixteenPublic Office
Author:Ronald Reagan
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“This is not the time for political fun and games. This is the time for a new beginning. I ask you now to put aside any feelings of frustration or helplessness about our political institutions and join me in this dramatic but responsible plan to reduce the enormous burden of Federal taxation on you and your family.”

FeelingsPoliticalAsksGamesFunPlansResponsibleInstitutionsBurdenEnormousOur FamilyDramaticFrustrationNew BeginningsTaxationHelplessnessPolitical Institutions
Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Ronald Reagan, 1981
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“Small business is the gateway to opportunity for those who want a piece of the American dream... Well, wouldn't it be nice to hear a little more about the forgotten heroes of America - those who create most of our new jobs, like the owners of stores down the street; the faithfuls who support our churches, synagogues, schools, and communities; the brave men and women everywhere who produce our goods, feed a hungry world, and keep our families warm while they invest in the future to build a better America? That's where miracles are made, not in Washington, D.C.”

MenWorldWantWellsLittlesMadeDreamSchoolJobsAmericaOpportunityCommunityChurchSupportPiecesNiceStreetsProduceHeroMen And WomenMiracleBraveForgottenWarmStoresHungryFaithfulOur FamilyOwnersGoodsAmerican DreamBeing NiceSmall BusinessBrave ManNew JobGatewaysSynagogueContribution To SocietySchools And Community
Author:Ronald Reagan
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“I intend to go right on appointing highly qualified individuals of the highest personal integrity to the bench, individuals who understand the danger of short-circuiting the electoral process and disenfranchising the people through judicial activism.”

PeopleIndividualProcessDangerIntegrityHighestActivismQualifiedBenchesJudicialPersonal IntegrityElectoral ProcessJudicial Activism
Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Ronald Reagan, 1985
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“The freedom of thought and action we Americans enjoy today seems as natural as the air we breathe. But there is a danger we may take this freedom for granted. We must never forget it was bought for us at a great price. The brave and resourceful Americans whose sacrifices gained our Independence and preserved it for more than 200 years against formidable foes have set an example of unflinching loyalty to the ideal of liberty and justice for all.”

YearsMaySeemsTodayActionEnjoyNaturalJusticeForgetLibertySacrificeAirDangerExampleIdealsIndependenceBraveBreatheLoyaltyGrantedNever ForgetFoeForget ItFreedom Of ThoughtFormidableResourcefulThoughts And ActionsLiberty And JusticeJustice For AllLiberty And Justice For AllEnjoy Today
Author:Ronald Reagan
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“We cannot escape our destiny, nor should we try to do so. The leadership of the free world was thrust upon us two centuries ago in that little hall of Philadelphia. In the days following World War II, when the economic strength and power of America was all that stood between the world and the return to the dark ages, Pope Pius XII said, 'The American people have a great genius for splendid and unselfish actions. Into the hands of America God has placed the destinies of an afflicted mankind.' We are indeed, and we are today, the last best hope of man on earth.”

PeopleMenWorldShouldTryingLittlesSaidTwoWarHandsAgeTodayActionEarthLastsAmericaDarkDestinyEconomicMankindCenturyReturnGeniusFollowingWar Of The WorldsHallsWorld War IiWorld War IPopeOur DestinySplendidThrustDark AgesPhiladelphiaUnselfishHoping For The BestFree World
Author:Ronald Reagan
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“Some years ago a top Ford official was showing the late Walter Reuther through the very automates plant in Cleveland, Ohio and he said to him jokingly, "Walter, you'll have a hard time collecting union dues from these machines." and Walter said, "you are going to have more trouble trying to sell automobiles to them." Both of them let it stop there. There was a logical answer to that ... the owners of the machines could buy automobiles and if you increase the number of owners you increase the number of consumers.”

IfsTryingYearsSaidHardWisdomPoliticsAnswersNumbersEconomyTroubleLateYears AgoMachinesIncreaseSellsUnionsPlantDuesConsumersOfficialsHard TimesLiberalismOwnersLogicalCollectingAutomobileOhioClevelandCleveland Ohio
Author:Ronald Reagan
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“Our economic assistance must be carefully targeted, and must make maximum use of the energy and efforts of the private sector... Economic freedom is the world's mightiest engine for abundance and social justice... Developing countries need to be encouraged to experiment with a growing variety of arrangements for profit sharing and expanded capital ownership.”

WorldNeedsCountryUseWisdomPoliticsEnergySocialJusticeEffortEconomyGrowingEconomicSocial JusticeProfitExperimentsVarietyDevelopingAbundanceLiberalismEnginesOwnershipArrangementsAssistanceMaximumPrivate SectorBe EncouragedDeveloping CountriesEconomic FreedomProfit Sharing
Book:Ronald Reagan
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“Our Founding Fathers well understood that concentrated power is the enemy of liberty and the rights of man. They knew that the American experiment in individual liberty, free enterprise and republican self-government could succeed only if power were widely distributed. And since in any society social and political power flow from economic power, they saw that wealth and property would have to be widely distributed among the people of the country. The truth of this insight is immediately apparent.”

PeopleIfsMenWellsSelfCountryWisdomGovernmentPoliticalFatherPoliticsIndividualSocialWealthLibertyEnemyEconomySawsRightsEconomicRepublicanSucceedUnderstoodFlowPropertyInsightExperimentsLiberalismEnterpriseFoundingOur Founding FathersPolitical PowerFree EnterpriseIndividual LibertySelf-governmentEconomic Power
Author:Ronald Reagan
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“This is not to say that the government should confiscate from the "haves" and bestow upon the "have-nots", beyond the requirements of a compassionate welfare program to provide for those who cannot provide for themselves. Far from it. But it is to say that our duty is to foster a strong, vibrant wealth-producing economy which operates in such a way that new additions to wealth accrue to those who presently have little or no ownership stake in their country.”

WayShouldLittlesCountryGovernmentPoliticsStrongWealthEconomyDutyProgramWelfareLiberalismCompassionateStakesOwnershipRequirementsWelfare Programs
Author:Ronald Reagan
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“The people of Central America - and, in a broader sense, the entire developing world - need to know first-hand that freedom and opportunity are not just for the elite, but the birthright of every citizen; that property is not just something enjoyed by a few, but can be owned by any individual who works hard and makes correct decisions.”

PeopleKnowsWorldNeedsFirstsHardHandsAmericaOpportunityPoliticsIndividualDecisionEconomyHard WorkCitizensPropertyEnjoyedDevelopingLiberalismElitesBirthrightCentral America
Book:Ronald Reagan
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“The despicable North Korean attack in Rangoon deprived us of trusted advisers and friends. So many of those who died had won admirers in America as they studied with us or guided us with their counsel. I personally recall the wisdom and composure of Foreign Minister Lee, with whom I met in Washington just a few short months ago. To the families and countrymen of all those who were lost, America expresses its deep sorrow.”

AmericaLostMonthsSorrowMetsDiedMinistersUsaTrustedRecallsDeprivedKoreaNorth KoreaKoreanCountrymenAdviserDespicableAdmirerComposureNorth KoreanDeep Sorrow
Book:Ronald Reagan
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“Whatever else history may say about me when I'm gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears; to your confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty's lamp guiding your steps and opportunity's arm steadying your way.”

WayMayDreamOpportunityLibertyStepsGoneDoubtRecordsWorstArmsLampsHoping For The BestWorst Fear
Book:The Last Best Hope: The Greatest Speeches of Ronald Reagan
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“Our enemies may be irrational, even outright insane, driven by nationalism, religion, ethnicity or ideology. They do not fear the United States for its diplomatic skills or the number of automobiles and software programs it produces. They respect only the firepower of our tanks, planes and helicopter gunships.”

MayStatesUnitedNumbersEnemyUnited StatesProduceSkillsProgramDrivenInsaneIdeologyPlanesNationalismSoftwareIrrationalTanksAutomobileDiplomaticEthnicityHelicoptersDo Not Fear
Book:A Shining City: The Legacy of Ronald Reagan
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