Throwback Thursdays

President Reagan believed in morality and a code of honor – in the essence of knowing right from wrong, and then doing what’s right. Here are President Reagan's remarks at a Luncheon for Recipients of the Medal of Freedom on November 10th, 1988.

As you perhaps recall, in the late 1970's, the energy crisis was in full swing. The price of gasoline and oil were soaring as we waited hours in gas lines and worried about a shortage of heating oil in the winter. Demands for more energy ran up against serious environmental concerns. Sound familiar? Over a 5 year period, Governor Reagan, then out of office, delivered 85 broadcasts on the energy problem and environment – we’ll listen to two of them today…one entitled OIL I and the other entitled OPEC.

We’ve said this before, and we’ll say it again – Ronald Reagan stood for freedom and democracy. Here are President Reagan's Remarks on Signing the Captive Nations Week Proclamation in 1984.

40 years ago on April 15, 1982, President Reagan met with reporters in the Oval Office to announce his plans to speak to the United Nations’ Arms Limitation Conference in June. He also suggested that General Secretary Brezhnev of the Soviet Union would do the same. And he hoped he could meet with the elusive Soviet Leader during the Conference. Ultimately, Brezhnev did not attend the Conference but sent Andrei Gromyko, the Soviet Foreign Minister, in his place. Rumors were that Brezhnev was in poor health, and yes, ultimately confirmed by his death five months later in November 1982. But just a few days after President Reagan met with those reporters in the Oval Office in April, he felt compelled to report to the American people his approach and his strong beliefs on the subject of nuclear war and delivered this radio address on April 17th.

While Ronald Reagan was President of the United States, America’s foreign policy objectives were clear and consistent. We stood by our friends and did not back down when adversaries tried to spread their oppressive systems.

As the world watches the Soviet Union march through Ukraine, terrorizing and pillaging, we’ll go back to the words of Ronald Reagan in his autobiography when he noted that in the 70’s, the Soviets interpreted our hesitation and reluctance to act, along with our reduced sense of National self-confidence, as a weakness and exploited it to the fullest, to create a communist dominated world.

Ronald Reagan wanted nothing more than freedom around the world for peoples everywhere. He often spoke out about Tyranny, Communism and Totalitarianism.

Russian aggression is top of mind today with their tragic invasion of Ukraine. Sadly, it’s not a new topic if you look at the Reagan archives where citizen Reagan was speaking to Americans. Let’s go back to these words from his speech in October 1964, 58 years ago.

Ronald Reagan was a man of action. He believed that you shouldn’t wait for the government to provide handouts; rather you should put in the work to make change for yourself and your community.

Today’s podcast continues on the theme of Taiwan and China, but we’re moving up to 1984. In the spring of 1984, President Reagan spent six days in the People’s Republic of China, visiting Beijing and Shanghai. This visit followed Premier Zhao Ziyang’s visit to Washington DC in January 1984, clearing the diplomatic path for the President to visit China.