*Previously Recorded by Phyllis Schlafly // May 2008
President Ronald Reagan believed that America is unique among nations and is “the hope of mankind.” He felt we have a duty to protect what we have inherited. His guiding star was always individual liberty, how lucky we are to have it, and that we must preserve and protect it. Before Reagan was elected President, he spent several years giving daily radio commentaries, very similar to the ones I give.
In one of his radio broadcasts in 1976, Reagan said: “Sometimes I think we need to remind ourselves of what it is we’re trying to preserve in this country.” Reagan then told the story of a dinner at Mount Vernon in revolutionary times. The Marquis de Lafayette turned to his host and said, “General Washington, you Americans even in war and desperate times have a superb spirit. You are happy and you are confident. Why is it?” George Washington replied, “There is freedom [in America], there is space for a man to be alone and think, and there are friends who owe each other nothing but affection.”
Then Ronald Reagan added his own explanation for America’s uniqueness. He said: “I love America because people accept me for what I am. They don’t question my ancestry, my faith, my political beliefs. When I want to move from one place to another, I don’t have to ask permission. I don’t have to stand in line for hours to buy a piece of tough meat. I don’t have to pay a day’s earnings for a small chicken. I love America because America trusts me. My mail isn’t censored and my conversation with friends isn’t reported to the secret police. … The United States is the first nation on earth deliberately dedicated to letting people choose what they want and giving them a chance to get it. … It is the only nation founded on a moral dream… The greatest of all gifts the Americans have given us is hope.”
Those are the hopeful words of Ronald Reagan from one of his radio broadcasts that he wrote himself on old-fashioned yellow pads of paper.
