Fifty years ago today, Ronald Reagan gave a compelling speech in support of Barry Goldwater, who was running against Lyndon Johnson in the 1964 Presidential election.
You have to be of ‘a certain age’ to remember 1964, Barry Goldwater, Lyndon Johnson, or even the speaker, Ronald Reagan, even though the latter was a central factor of our public lives from 1980 through 1988.
We reread the speech today, and were stunned once again by how direct and insightful it was in nailing the circumstances and political discourse of that time. And how prescient Reagan was in characterizing the trends he saw emerging then, and where they would lead us.
Sadly, we did not take his words seriously, and we are now much, much deeper into the morass of the welfare state and other irreversible big government consequences he foresaw.
We hope you’ll take the time to either read the text of the speech, or watch the video. If the latter, you’ll be shocked by the simplicity of TV productions back then. Both are available here:
We hope you’ll agree that your time was well spent for doing so, even if you don’t agree with our ‘world view.’ The contrast between the current times and Reagan’s words should stun you, regardless of your inclinations.
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