Quotes of Ronald Reagan

Quotes of Ronald Reagan

"One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It's very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project ...

James Madison in 1788 ... said ... 'There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations' ...

What can we do about this? ... We can write to our congressmen and our senators ... Say right now that we want no further encroachment on these individual liberties and freedoms ... We do not want socialized medicine ...

If you don't, this program I promise you will pass ... and behind it will come other federal programs that will invade every area of freedom as we have known ... until, one day ... we will awake to find that we have socialism.

And ... you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children, what it once was like in America when men were free."

"Henry David Thoreau was right: that government is best which governs least."
"I suggest to you there is no left or right, only an up or down. Up to the maximum of individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism; and regardless of their humanitarian purpose, those who would sacrifice freedom for security have, whether they know it or not, chosen this downward path."

"Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid. That's why the Marxist vision of man without God must eventually be seen as an empty and a false faith -- the second oldest in the world -- first proclaimed in the Garden of Eden with whispered words ...'Ye shall be as gods.' The crisis of the Western world ... exists to the degree in which it is indifferent to God."
"I have seen the rise of fascism and communism. Both philosophies glorify the arbitrary power of the state ... But both theories fail. Both deny those God-given liberties that are the inalienable right of each person on this planet, indeed, they deny the existence of God."

"Our liberty springs from and depends upon an abiding faith in God."

“By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation
Of the many influences that have shaped the United States of America into a distinctive Nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible.

Deep religious beliefs stemming from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible inspired many of the early settlers of our country, providing them with the strength, character, convictions, and faith necessary to withstand great hardship and danger in this new and rugged land.

These shared beliefs helped forge a sense of common purpose among the widely dispersed colonies — a sense of community which laid the foundation for the spirit of nationhood that was to develop in later decades.

The Bible and its teachings helped form the basis for the Founding Fathers' abiding belief in the inalienable rights of the individual, rights which they found implicit in the Bible's teachings of the inherent worth and dignity of each individual.

This same sense of man patterned the convictions of those who framed the English system of law inherited by our own Nation, as well as the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
For centuries the Bible's emphasis on compassion and love for our neighbor has inspired institutional and governmental expressions of benevolent outreach such as private charity, the establishment of schools and hospitals, and the abolition of slavery ...

Many of our greatest national leaders — among them Presidents Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, and Wilson — have recognized the influence of the Bible on our country's development.

The plainspoken Andrew Jackson referred to the Bible as no less than ‘the rock on which our Republic rests.’

Today our beloved America and, indeed, the world, is facing a decade of enormous challenge. As a people we may well be tested as we have seldom, if ever, been tested before. We will need resources of spirit even more than resources of technology, education, and armaments.

There could be no more fitting moment than now to reflect with gratitude, humility, and urgency upon the wisdom revealed to us in the writing that Abraham Lincoln called ‘the best gift God has ever given to man … But for it we could not know right from wrong.’

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 requested the President to designate the year 1983 as the ‘Year of the Bible.’

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, in recognition of the contributions and influence of the Bible on our Republic and our people, do hereby proclaim 1983 the Year of the Bible in the United States.

I encourage all citizens, each in his or her own way, to reexamine and rediscover its priceless and timeless message. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this third day of February, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and seventh.”
"I was pleased to proclaim 1983 the Year of the Bible. But, you know, a group called the ACLU severely criticized me for doing that. Well, I wear their indictment like a badge of honor. I believe I stand in pretty good company. Abraham Lincoln called the Bible 'the best gift God has given to man. But for it,' he said, 'we could not know right from wrong.'"

“No greater truth shines through than the one Christians live by every day: that preserving America must begin with faith in the God who has blessed our land.

And we don't have the answers; He does. Isaiah reminded us that 'the Lord opens His gates and keeps in peace the nation that trusts in Him ...'

"Nelle Reagan, my mother, God rest her soul, had an unshakable faith in God's goodness. And while I may not have realized it in my youth, I know now that she planted that faith very deeply in me.

She made the most difficult Christian message seem very easy. And, like you, she knew you could never repay one bad deed with another. Her way was forgiveness and goodness, and both began with love ...

Well, thanks to Nelle Reagan, I believe in intercessory prayer. And I know that those prayers are giving me strength that I otherwise would not possess ..."

"The Founding Fathers believed that faith in God was the key to our being a good people and America's becoming a great nation. George Washington kissed the Bible at his inauguration.

And to those who would have government separate from religion, he had these words: 'Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principles...'"

"And Benjamin Franklin, at the time when they were struggling with what was to be the American Constitution, finally one day said to those who were working with him that, 'Without God's help, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.'

And if we ever forget that, we're lost ..."

"I pray that we won't lose that idea, and that's why I was motivated to proclaim or designate 1983 the Year of the Bible ...

And I hope we will also recognize the true meaning of the First Amendment. Its words were meant to guarantee freedom of religion to everyone.

But I believe the First Amendment has been twisted to the point that freedom of religion is in danger of becoming freedom from religion ..."

“Let me just say a few words about another part of freedom that is under siege: sie the sanctity of human life. Either the law protects human beings, or it doesn't ...

Will she be denied her chance for love and life because someone decides shee's too weak to warrant our help, or because someone has taken it upon himself or herself to decide the quality of her life doesn't justify keeping her alive?

Is that not God's decision to make? And isn't it our duty to serve even the least of these, for in so doing we serve Him?"

Lincoln recognized that we could not survive as a free land when some men could decide that others were not fit to be free and should be slaves ...Likewise, we cannot survive as a free nation when some men decide that others are not fit to live and should be abandoned to abortion.

Within the covers of that single Book are all the answers to all the problems that face us today, if we'd only look there. ‘The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever.’

It's my firm belief that the enduring values, as I say, presented in its pages have a great meaning for each of us and for our nation. The Bible can touch our hearts, order our minds, refresh our souls.

Now, I realize it's fashionable in some circles to believe that no one in government should ... encourage others to read the Bible ... We're told that will violate the constitutional separation of church and state established by the founding fathers in the First Amendment.

Well, it might interest those critics to know that none other than the father of our country, George Washington, kissed the Bible at his inauguration. And he also said words to the effect that there could be no real morality in a society without the Christian religion.

I wanted to leave with you these words from an old Netherlands folk song:

‘We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;
We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant,
And pray that Thou still our Defender wilt be.
Let Thy congregation escape tribulation:
Thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!’

To which I would only add a line from another song:

‘America, America, God shed His grace on thee.’"