Week Five: Ronald Reagan's First Inaugural Address
“How can we love our country and not love our countrymen, and loving them, reach out a hand when they fall, heal them when they are sick, and provide opportunities to make them self-sufficient so they will be equal in fact and not just in theory?”
President Reagan’s first inaugural address began with his admiration for our long tradition of an orderly transfer of power. In a section of the speech that has never really gotten the attention it deserves; President Reagan went on to acknowledge our shared responsibility for one another. But, in a phrase that got much more attention and set the path for subsequent Republican administrations, he also declared that “… government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” With that oft-quoted phrase, the 40th President of the United States launched what many have called the “Reagan Revolution.” Is that what Americans want to hear on January 20, a dramatic redefinition of the role of the public sector? The address runs slightly more than 20 minutes.
The War Memorial is a non-partisan organization.
“In the eyes of many in the world, this every-4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.”