Reagan's 'tear down this wall' speech
still teaches how to confront Russia
Fox News,
by
Christopher Burkett
Original Article
Posted By: Imright,
6/12/2022 8:05:07 AM
June 12 marks the anniversary of perhaps the most memorable moment of the presidency of Ronald Reagan — his famed "tear down this wall" speech, which he delivered in West Berlin 35 years ago today. Few speeches have been as critical to the perseverance of freedom and democracy across the globe as was this one. With the utterance of one simple global rallying cry — "tear down this wall!" — Reagan ignited a flame that would destroy the Berlin Wall, dissolve the Soviet Union, and kindle free elections that ousted communist regimes throughout Eastern Europe just a few years later.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
bpl40 6/12/2022 8:23:10 AM (No. 1183457)
IMO the most relevant of Regan's sayings today is that freedom is just one election away.
8 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
seamusm 6/12/2022 9:17:44 AM (No. 1183512)
While elections SHOULD matter here - elsewhere freedom usually requires the blood of martyrs. Gratefully, the number of police willing to mow down their countrymen including women and children isn't numberless. But make no mistake, the tree of liberty grows only as fertilized by that sacrifice. Those of us who know that to be true and a part of our own US history fight for the 2nd Amendment to make certain we remain able to maintain our freedoms and defend our God-endowed rights. Because our feckless politicians and immoral academics cannot be trusted to do the same.
3 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
MDConservative 6/12/2022 10:00:16 AM (No. 1183550)
Reagan was one of a historic triad of strong leaders, including Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II. Reagan's speech came years after Solidarity and Lech Walesa sparked resistance to Communist rule and challenged the Russians to invade, which they did not after Polish imposition of martial law.
Reagan's speech in 1987 galvanized because it was a direct challenge to Perestroika and Mikhail Gorbachev amid the turmoil. They were badly losing the image war. The Soviets also faced a strong, prepared NATO. They had little choice - they were potentially exposed as the second-rate weakling they were (and apparently still are). Eventually, it all unraveled and the USSR and the Warsaw Pact spun apart.
The real lesson of "Ukraine" is that it is past time for the United States to let Europe be Europe, without our defense umbrella allowing these effete "allies" to largely freeload. It has been 35 years since Reagan and 77 years since the end of WW2. We are NOT a European power. We are interlopers, still pretending to be the "Leader of the Free World", stumbling into "intrigues" that are ultimately not our business, whether in Ukraine or the Balkans. Meanwhile, our allies prove themselves empty uniforms, including our besties, the British and Germans. That nasty Bear isn't so tough, either.
It's also past time for the US to reassess its foreign policy. Actually, it has none except to stumble around the world defending everyone's "freedom" while our own collapses, our border violated. Mexico and Central America laugh as they send their caravans north to the American welcome committees as "refugees". What would Reagan say about that? Well, let's not forget he supposedly got snookered by Teddy Kennedy to largely build the framework for the current situation.
6 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
NOTHING_NEW 6/12/2022 11:49:00 AM (No. 1183691)
Such neocon nation building BS: does anyone believe that the Democrats still believe in "ask not what your country can do for you". Reagan did not advocate a NATO invasion of eastern Europe, nor the use of NATO assets in five wars after Russia pulled back. The articles' view that we should stand up to Russia ignores the fact that we are the murderers/war mongers; the only people to benefit from our foreign policy since the dissolution of the Soviet Union has been the military-industrial complete; think leaving $90b in weapons in Afghanistan or 40b to Ukraine. Think how much good we could have done in the US by withdrawing from Europe and not waging NATO wars in Jugoslavia, Libya, Sumalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Also, no one but an idiot thinks we can win against Russia; we never could; we could only achieve MAD. Who wants to die for a corrupt government and country that didn't even exist before the 20th Century. Kiev was once the Capital of Russia before the Mongol invasion.
1 person likes this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
stablemoney 6/12/2022 1:54:37 PM (No. 1183827)
I have no desire to confront Russia. I want to confront Biden and the Democrats about the 2020 stolen election, and remove all the illegal ballots from the count.
2 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Italiano 6/12/2022 3:36:25 PM (No. 1183907)
Forget confronting Russia. They are the lesser enemy.
Confront Washington D.C.
1 person likes this.
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