Ronald Reagan Quotes About Optimism
-
In closing, let me thank you, the American people, for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your president. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that day may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.
→ -
Great nations which fail to meet their responsibilities are consigned to the dustbin of history. We grew from that small, weak republic which had as its assets spirit, optimism, faith in God and an unshakeable belief that free men and women could govern themselves wisely. We became the leader of the free world, an example for all those who cherish freedom.
→ -
And we're also remembering the guiding light of our Judeo-Christian tradition. All of us here today are descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, sons and daughters of the same God. I believe we are bound by faith in our God, by our love for family and neighborhood, by our deep desire for a more peaceful world, and by our commitment to protect the freedom which is our legacy as Americans. These values have given a renewed sense of worth to our lives. They are infusing America with confidence and optimism that many thought we had lost.
→ -
Yet optimism is in order, because day by day democracy is proving itself to be a not-at-all-fragile flower. From Stettin on the Baltic to Varna on the Black Sea, the regimes planted by totalitarianism have had more than 30 years to establish their legitimacy. But none - not one regime - has yet been able to risk free elections. Regimes planted by bayonets do not take root.
→ -
I've always thought New Year's Day was an especially American tradition, full of the optimism and hope we're famous for in our daily lives -- an energy and confidence we call the American spirit. Perhaps because we know we control our own destiny, we believe deep down inside that working together we can make each new year better than the old.
→ -
When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this county of ours and eternal optimism for its future.
→ -
We're approaching the end of a bloody century plagued by a terrible political invention, totalitarianism. Optimism comes less easily today, not because democracy is less vigorous, but because democracy's enemies have refined their instruments of repression.
→ -
May all of you as Americans never forget your heroic origins, never fail to seek Divine guidance, and never lose your natural God-given optimism.
→
Related Authors
-
Barack Obama 44th U.S. President -
Nancy Reagan Former First Lady of the United States -
Franklin D. Roosevelt 32nd U.S. President -
Hillary Clinton Former United States Secretary of State -
Dwight D. Eisenhower 34th U.S. President -
Richard M. Nixon 37th U.S. President -
Donald Trump 45th President of the United States -
John F. Kennedy 35th U.S. President -
Lyndon B. Johnson 36th U.S. President -
Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil rights activist -
John McCain United States Senator -
George H. W. Bush 41st U.S. President -
Margaret Thatcher Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom -
George W. Bush 43rd U.S. President -
George Washington 1st U.S. President -
William J. Clinton 42nd U.S. President -
Ron Reagan Radio host -
Jimmy Carter 39th U.S. President -
Abraham Lincoln 16th U.S. President -
Gerald R. Ford 38th U.S. President