Ronald Reagan Quotes

Democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man.

~ Ronald Reagan

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government IS the problem. It isn't so much that liberals are ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so.

~ Ronald Reagan

You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man's age-old dream -- the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order --or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. Regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would sacrifice freedom for security have embarked on this downward path.

~ Ronald Reagan

Nothing lasts longer than a temporary government program.

~ Ronald Reagan

Let me speak plainly: The United States of America is and must remain a nation of openness to people of all beliefs. Our very unity has been strengthened by this pluralism. That's how we began; this is how we must always be. The ideals of our country leave no room whatsoever for intolerance, anti-Semitism, or bigotry of any kind -- none. The unique thing about America is a wall in our Constitution separating church and state. It guarantees there will never be a state religion in this land, but at the same time it makes sure that every single American is free to choose and practice his or her religious beliefs or to choose no religion at all. Their rights shall not be questioned or violated by the state.-- Remarks at the International Convention of B'nai B'rith, 6 September 1984

~ Ronald Reagan

I was not a great communicator, but I communicated great things.

~ Ronald Reagan

I discovered that night (in his college's student politics) that an audience has a feel to it, and, in the parlance of the theater, that audience and I were together.

~ Ronald Reagan

I hope we once again have reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts.

~ Ronald Reagan

Our natural, inalienable rights are now considered to be a dispensation from government, and freedom has never been so fragile, so close to slipping from our grasp as it is at this moment.

~ Ronald Reagan

A troubled and afflicted mankind looks to us, pleading for us to keep our rendezvous with destiny; that we will uphold the principles of self-reliance, self-discipline, morality, and, above all, responsible liberty for every individual that we will become that shining city on a hill.

~ Ronald Reagan

Getting shot hurts. Still my fear was growing because no matter how hard I tried to breath it seemed I was getting less & less air. I focused on that tiled ceiling and prayed. But I realized I couldn't ask for Gods help while at the same time I felt hatred for the mixed up young man who had shot me. Isn't that the meaning of the lost sheep? We are all Gods children & therefore equally beloved by him. I began to pray for his soul and that he would find his way back to the fold.

~ Ronald Reagan

They had that special grace, that special spirit that says, 'Give me a challenge and I'll meet it with joy. on Challenger disaster

~ Ronald Reagan

Heroes may not be braver than anyone else. They're just braver 5 minutes longer.

~ Ronald Reagan

Christmas can be celebrated in the school room with pine trees, tinsel and reindeers, but there must be no mention of the man whose birthday is being celebrated. One wonders how a teacher would answer if a student asked why it was called Christmas.

~ Ronald Reagan

We do not deny any nation's legitimate interest in security. But protecting the security of one nation by robbing another of its national independence and national traditions is not legitimate. In the long run, it is not even secure.

~ Ronald Reagan

Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the democrats believe every day is April 15.

~ Ronald Reagan

The federal government did not create the states, the states created the federal government.

~ Ronald Reagan

Socialists ignore the side of man that is the spirit. They can provide you shelter, fill your belly with bacon and beans, treat you when you're ill, all the things guaranteed to a prisoner or a slave. They don't understand that we also dream.

~ Ronald Reagan

Information is the oxygen of the modern age. It seeps through the walls topped by barbed wire, it wafts across the electrified borders. ... The Goliath of totalitarianism will be brought down by the David of the microchip.

~ Ronald Reagan

There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect.

~ Ronald Reagan

I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism.

~ Ronald Reagan

Trees, how many of 'em do we need to look at?

~ Ronald Reagan

Government is like a baby: an alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.

~ Ronald Reagan

Abortion is advocated only by persons who have themselves been born.

~ Ronald Reagan

We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone.

~ Ronald Reagan

We should declare war on North Vietnam. We could pave the whole country and put parking strips on it, and still be home by Christmas.

~ Ronald Reagan

History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.

~ Ronald Reagan

If we love our country, we should also love our countrymen.

~ Ronald Reagan

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.

~ Ronald Reagan

It's true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why take the chance?

~ Ronald Reagan

My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose - somehow we win out.

~ Ronald Reagan

The taxpayer - that's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.

~ Ronald Reagan

Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music.

~ Ronald Reagan

Thomas Jefferson once said, 'We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.' And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying.

~ Ronald Reagan

There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder.

~ Ronald Reagan

The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would steal them away.

~ Ronald Reagan

You can tell alot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jellybeans.

~ Ronald Reagan

It's difficult to believe that people are still starving in this country because food isn't available.

~ Ronald Reagan

Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.

~ Ronald Reagan

We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.

~ Ronald Reagan