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Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan Quotes

40th U.S. President

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Famous Ronald Reagan Quotes

“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.”

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Author:Ronald Reagan
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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.”

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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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“You know, by the time you reach my age, you've made plenty of mistakes if you've lived your life properly. So you learn. You put things in perspective. You pull your energies together. You change. You go forward. My fellow Americans, I have a great deal that I want to accomplish with you and for you over the next two years. And, the Lord willing, that's exactly what I intend to do.”

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Author:Ronald Reagan
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“Those who advocate more and more government regulation have been experimenting for 40 years, trying to create an economic system in which everyone can somehow be made more prosperous by the toil of someone else.”

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Book:Actor, Ideologue, Politician: The Public Speeches of Ronald Reagan
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“Either [Jesus] was what he said he was or he was the world's greatest liar. It is impossible for me to believe a liar or charlatan could have had the effect on mankind that he has had for 2000 years. We could ask, would even the greatest of liars carry his lie through the crucifixion, when a simple confession would have saved him? ... Did he allow us the choice... to believe in his teaching but reject his statements about his own identity?”

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Author:Ronald Reagan
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“I have seen the rise and fall of Nazi tyranny, the subsequent cold war and the nuclear nightmare that for fifty years haunted the dreams of children everywhere. During that time my generation defeated totalitarianism. As a result, your world is poised for better tomorrows. What will you do on your journey?”

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Author:Ronald Reagan
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“One day, a pretty, fresh-faced young lady - intelligent and sincerely concerned - asked me if abortion wasn't preferable to making a young, unmarried girl have a baby she didn't want and which would, therefore, grow up unloved and probably turn out to be a criminal. I gave an answer which apparently she hadn't considered. I told her there were literally millions of people in this country who wanted but could not have children and who waited eagerly, sometimes for years, to adopt the baby she had described.”

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Author:Ronald Reagan
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“It's silly talking about how many years we will have to spend in the jungles of Vietnam when we could pave the whole country and put parking stripes on it and still be home by Christmas.”

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Book:I goofed: the wise and curious sayings of Ronald Reagan, 33rd Governor of California
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“You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.”

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Book:The Greatest Speeches of Ronald Reagan
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“More than a decade ago, a Supreme Court decision literally wiped off the books of fifty states statutes protecting the rights of unborn children. Abortion on demand now takes the lives of up to 1.5 million unborn children a year. Human life legislation ending this tragedy will some day pass the Congress, and you and I must never rest until it does. Unless and until it can be proven that the unborn child is not a living entity, then its right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness must be protected.”

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Author:Ronald Reagan
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“And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was 8 years ago. But more than that: After 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.”

YearsStillsTwoMatterHomeNightLostStrongCitiesDarknessCenturyYears AgoNo Matter WhatWinterStormSecurePatriotismPatrioticSteadyProsperousPilgrimMagnetBeaconsRidgesGraniteStand StrongWinter Night
Author:Ronald Reagan
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“Well, it [evolution] is a theory, it is a scientific theory only, and it has in recent years been challenged in the world of science and is not yet believed in the scientific community to be as infallible as it once was believed. But if it was going to be taught in the schools, then I think that also the biblical theory of creation, which is not a theory but the biblical story of creation, should also be taught.”

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Author:Ronald Reagan
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“Supporters of this fundamental change in immigration policy say we need to import more well-educated talent if we're to stay competitive. But exactly whose competitiveness are we talking about? Not the competitiveness of, say, American-born computer engineers. Adjusted for inflation, their earnings haven't gone anywhere in years. That's in part because American companies have been sending so much of their high-tech work abroad. Bringing more foreign-born engineers here under an expanded H1-B visa program, or a point system for that matter, will just depress wages even further.”

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Author:Ronald Reagan
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“In 1992, the federal Government actually issued more work authorizations to immigrants and temporary foreign workers than the net number of new jobs created by our economy. Something is fundamentally wrong when we have millions of American citizens and legal residents begging for jobs, and yet we are admitting thousands and thousands of immigrants a year with virtually no consideration to our employment needs or their employment skills.”

NeedsYearsGovernmentJobsNumbersMillionsEconomyCitizensSkillsWorkersImmigrationEmploymentConsiderationImmigrantsTemporaryFederal GovernmentBeggingAdmittingAmerican CitizensResidentsNew Job
Author:Ronald Reagan
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“The Congress of the United States, in recognition of the unique contribution of the Bible in shaping the history and character of this Nation, and so many of its citizens, has by Senate Joint Resolution 165 authorized and requested the President to designate the year 1983 as the 'Year of the Bible.'”

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Book:Ronald Reagan
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“I have flown twice over Mount St. Helens out on our West Coast. I'm not a scientist and I don't know the figures, but I have a suspicion that that one little mountain has probably released more sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere of the world than has been released in the last ten years of automobile driving or things of that kind that people are so concerned about.”

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Author:Ronald Reagan
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“The years ahead will be great ones for our country, for the cause of freedom and the spread of civilization. The West will not contain Communism, it will transcend Communism. We will not bother to denounce it, we'll dismiss it as a sad, bizarre chapter in human history whose last pages are even now being written.”

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Author:Ronald Reagan
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“If we look to the answer as to why for so many years we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on earth, it was because here in this land we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before. Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on earth. The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.”

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Author:Ronald Reagan
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“When a business or an individual spends more than it makes, it goes bankrupt. When government does it, it sends you the bill. And when government does it for 40 years, the bill comes in two ways: higher taxes and inflation. Make no mistake about it, inflation is a tax and not by accident.”

WayYearsDoeTwoGovernmentIndividualMistakeHigherTaxesBillsAccidentsBudgetsInflationTwo Ways
Book:Actor, Ideologue, Politician: The Public Speeches of Ronald Reagan
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“The task that has fallen to us as Americans is to move the conscience of the world, to keep alive the hope and dream of freedom. For if we fail or falter, there'll be no place for the world's oppressed to flee to. This is not a role we sought. We preach no manifest destiny. But like the Americans who brought a new nation into the world 200 years ago, history has asked much of us in our time. Much we've already given; much more we must be prepared to give.”

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Book:Ronald Reagan
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“Israel exists; it has a right to exist in peace behind secure and defensible borders; and it has a right to demand of its neighbors that they recognize those facts. I have personally followed and supported Israel's heroic struggle for survival, ever since the founding of the State of Israel 34 years ago. In the pre-1967 borders Israel was barely 10 miles wide at its narrowest point. The bulk of Israel's population lived within artillery range of hostile Arab armies. I am not about to ask Israel to live that way again.”

WayYearsStatesFactsAsksBehindsStruggleDemandSurvivalYears AgoArmyPopulationIsraelWideNeighborMilesSecureRangePresidentialBordersHeroicFoundingHostileArtilleryStruggle For Survival
Author:Ronald Reagan
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“I've always thought New Year's Day was an especially American tradition, full of the optimism and hope we're famous for in our daily lives -- an energy and confidence we call the American spirit. Perhaps because we know we control our own destiny, we believe deep down inside that working together we can make each new year better than the old.”

KnowsYearsBelieveTogetherSpiritEnergyDestinyTraditionOptimismWorking TogetherDaily LifeNew YearDeep DownTogether We CanAmerican SpiritAmerican TraditionOptimism And Hope
Book:Ronald Reagan
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“On Father's Day, we pay tribute to all in our society who have taken on the responsibilities and joys of fatherhood. Whether our fathers are near at hand or a continent away, with their families or watching from the light of eternity, we take this day to remember them, to say our thanks for the years they have given us, and to ask that they receive God's blessings.”

YearsHandsLightRememberJoyAsksFatherGivenPayTakenBlessingEternityThanksOur SocietyThis DayContinentsFatherhoodOur FatherTributeDay To Remember
Author:Ronald Reagan
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“Today, we're taking a break from the concerns and the bustle of the work-a-day world. But we're also making a new beginning... Let us renew our faith that as free men and women we still have the power to better our lives, and let us resolve to face the challenges of the new year holding that conviction firmly in our hearts. That, after all, is our greatest strength and our greatest gift as Americans.”

MenWorldYearsHeartStillsTodayFacesChallengesBreakOur LivesMen And WomenConcernConvictionResolveNew YearNew BeginningsGreatest GiftsFree ManBustleTaking A Break
Book:Ronald Reagan
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“I was 21 and looking for work in 1932, one of the worst years of the Great Depression. And I can remember one bleak night in the thirties when my father learned on Christmas Eve that he'd lost his job. To be young in my generation was to feel that your future had been mortgaged out from under you, and that's a tragic mistake we must never allow our leaders to make again.”

FeelsYearsI CanJobsRememberYoungNightFatherLostMistakeLeaderGenerationsWorstTragicOur FutureYour FutureMy GenerationGreat DepressionBleakBe YoungChristmas EveLooking For Work
Book:Ronald Reagan
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“One day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

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Book:A Time for Choosing: The Speeches of Ronald Reagan, 1961-1982
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“Today, we're taking a break from the concerns and the bustle of the work-a-day world. But we're also making a new beginning. As we gather around our dining room tables for the midday meal, let us thank God for life and the blessings He's put before us. High among them are our families, our freedom, and the opportunities of a new year.”

WorldYearsTodayOpportunityRoomsBreakBlessingConcernTablesOur FamilyMealsThank GodNew YearNew BeginningsDiningBustleDining RoomsTaking A Break
Book:Ronald Reagan
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