Remembering Ronald Reagan

"As we have seen many times in history, our country now stands at a crossroads."

This election comes as we enter the worst economic state our country has seen since the Carter Administration (with its double digit inflation, escalating mortgage payments, shrinking paychecks, and worries over foreign oil). What we needed then and need now more than ever are the conservative ideals that President Reagan reinstilled in our country: "Faith in the ideals of democracy, of free men and free markets, and of the extraordinary possibilities that lie within seemingly ordinary men and women." The promise that "America's best days are yet to come," and that "America remains what Emerson called her 150 years ago, 'the country of tomorrow.'"

Now as presidential candidates fight over "Joe the Plumber," we need a leader of principle like Reagan who, quoting Lincoln, stated, "'You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.'…

"As we have seen many times in history, our country now stands at a crossroads. There is widespread doubt about our public institutions and profound concern, not merely about the economy but about the overall direction of this great country." Reagan spoke those words more than 16 years ago.

The issues we face today are not unlike those we've seen before; confronting the same challenges we meet at present, Reagan said, "Let us apply our ingenuity and remarkable spirit to revolutionize education in America so that everyone among us will have the mental tools to build a better life. And while we do so, let's remember that the most profound education begins in the home.

"And let us harness the competitive energy that built America,…so that real jobs can be created … and real
hope can rise out of despair.

"Let us strengthen our health care system so that Americans of all ages can be secure in their futures without the fear of financial ruin."

Reagan first won the White House in uncertain, dangerous times when liberals cautioned against standing up to the world's aggressors, and proposed bigger, more intrusive government as the solution for their failed policies. Under Reagan's leadership, however, America won the cold war and our economy flourished with limited government.

Now, facing like challenges, let us learn from the past: let us reject the failed policies of the left and vote our conservative ideals. Then "May [we] as Americans never forget [our] heroic origins, never fail to seek divine guidance, and never lose [our] natural, God-given optimism.

"And … may every dawn be a great new beginning for America and every evening bring us closer to that shining city upon a hill."

All quotes taken from Reagan's 1992 Republican National Convention speech, Houston, Texas.