quotes by Ronald Reagan

"Government always finds a need for whatever money it gets.

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— 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

"A nation that cannot control its borders is not a nation."
— Ronald Reagan

"Fascism was really the basis for the New Deal. It was Mussolini's success in Italy, with his government-directed economy, that led the early New Dealers to say "But Mussolini keeps the trains running on time."
— Ronald Reagan

"The federal government did not create the states; the states created the federal government."
— Ronald Reagan

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

"No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!
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— 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

"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

"The size of the federal budget is not an appropriate barometer of social conscience or charitable concern."
— Ronald Reagan

"You can’t tax business. Business doesn’t pay taxes. It collects taxes."
— Ronald Reagan

"Government is not a solution to our problem government is the problem."
— Ronald Reagan

"The miracle of life is given by One greater than ourselves, but once given, each life is ours to nurture and preserve, to foster, not only for today's world but for a better one to come. There is no purpose more noble than for us to sustain and celebrate life in a turbulent world, and that is what we must do now. We have no higher duty, no greater cause as humans. Life and the preservation of freedom to live it in dignity is what we are on this Earth to do. Everything we work to achieve must seek that end so that some day our prime ministers, our premiers, our presidents, and our general secretaries will talk not of war and peace, but only of peace."
— Ronald Reagan (The Quest for Peace, the Cause of Freedom)

"If there's one observation that rings true in today's changing world, it is that freedom and peace go hand in hand."
— Ronald Reagan (The Quest for Peace, the Cause of Freedom)

"Since I came to the White House, I've gotten two hearing aids, had a colon operation, a prostate operation, skin cancer, and I've been shot...damn thing is, I've never felt better."
— Ronald Reagan (Speaking My Mind: Selected Speeches)

"Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world, but the Marines don't have that problem. "
— Ronald Reagan

"Government does not solve problems. It subsidizes them."
— Ronald Reagan

"Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have."
— Ronald Reagan

"We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace."
— Ronald Reagan (The Quest for Peace, the Cause of Freedom)

"Let us not forget who we are. Drug abuse is a repudiation of everything America is."
— 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

"Entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States.
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— Ronald Reagan

"Unemployment insurance is a pre-paid vacation for freeloaders.

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— Ronald Reagan

"If history teaches anything, it teaches that self-delusion in the face of unpleasant facts is folly."
— Ronald Reagan

"All great change in America begins at the dinner table."
— 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 (The Quest for Peace, the Cause of Freedom)

"Remember that every government service, every offer of government - financed security, is paid for in the loss of personal freedom... In the days to come, whenever a voice is raised telling you to let the government do it, analyze very carefully to see whether the suggested service is worth the personal freedom which you must forgo in return for such service. "
— Ronald Reagan

"Please tell me you're Republicans.
  (to doctors preparing to operate after assassination attempt)"
— Ronald Reagan (Speaking My Mind: Selected Speeches)

"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

""I've noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born." "
— Ronald Reagan

"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'

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— Ronald Reagan

"I've always believed that a lot of the trouble in the world would disappear if we were talking to each other instead of about each other."
— Ronald Reagan

"...the future doesn't belong to the faint of heart...
...it belongs to the brave...
- from his speech following the Challenger disaster"
— Ronald Reagan

"It isn't so much that liberals are ignorant. It's just that they know so many things that aren't so."
— Ronald Reagan

"If we ever forget that we're One nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under"
— Ronald Reagan

"Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we've ever known."
— Ronald Reagan

"In this springtime of hope, some lights seem eternal; America's is."
— Ronald Reagan

"Regimes planted by bayonets do not take root... Our military strength is a prerequisite to peace, but let it be clear we maintain this strength in the hope it will never be used, for the ultimate determinant in the struggle that's now going on in the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of wills and ideas, a trial of spiritual resolve, the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish, the ideals to which we are dedicated."
— Ronald Reagan (The Quest for Peace, the Cause of Freedom)

"There are no such things as limits to growth, because there
are no limits to the human capacity for intelligence,
imagination, and wonder."
— Ronald Reagan

"Trust, but verify."
— Ronald Reagan

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We
didn't pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be
fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one
day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our
children's children what it was once like in the United States where
men were free."
— Ronald Reagan

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.
Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we've never lost an astronaut in flight. We've never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle. But they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together.
For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, "Give me a challenge, and I'll meet it with joy." They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.
We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and, perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.
And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's take-off. I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them.
I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program. And what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute.
We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue.
I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA, or who worked on this mission and tell them: "Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it."
There's a coincidence today. On this day three hundred and ninety years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, "He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it." Well, today, we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."
Thank you."
— Ronald Reagan

"Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement. "
— Ronald Reagan

"What would this country be without this great land of ours."
— Ronald Reagan

"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves. "
— Ronald Reagan

"If we love our country, we should also love our countrymen. "
— Ronald Reagan

"Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music."
— Ronald Reagan

"I heard one presidential candidate say that what this country needed was a president for the nineties. I was set to run again. I thought he said a president IN his nineties."
— Ronald Reagan (Speaking My Mind: Selected Speeches)

"If you think you can - you can!"
— Ronald Reagan

"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first."
— Ronald Reagan