Ronald Reagan's Quotes

Politics is just like show business. You have a hell of an opening, coast for a while, and then have a hell of a close.

Ronald Reagan

We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone.

Ronald Reagan

It's silly talking about how many years we will have to spend in the jungles of Vietnam when we could pave the whole country and put parking stripes on it and still be home by Christmas.

Ronald Reagan

We should declare war on North Vietnam. We could pave the whole country and put parking strips on it, and still be home by Christmas.

Ronald Reagan

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.

Ronald Reagan

Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.

Ronald Reagan

Let us ask ourselves, 'What kind of people do we think we are?' And let us answer, 'Free people, worthy of freedom and determined not only to remain so but to help others gain their freedom as well.'

Ronald Reagan

Man is not free unless government is limited.

Ronald Reagan

I noticed words crudely spray-painted upon the wall, perhaps by a young Berliner: 'This wall will fall. Beliefs become reality.' Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall. For it cannot withstand faith; it cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom.

Ronald Reagan

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.

Ronald Reagan

Don't be afraid to see what you see.

Ronald Reagan

Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.

Ronald Reagan

If we love our country, we should also love our countrymen.

Ronald Reagan

The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave.

Ronald Reagan

While I take inspiration from the past, like most Americans, I live for the future.

Ronald Reagan

If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.

Ronald Reagan

We are never defeated unless we give up on God.

Ronald Reagan

There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder.

Ronald Reagan

All great change in America begins at the dinner table.

Ronald Reagan

I call upon the scientific community in our country, those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace: to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete.

Ronald Reagan

Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.

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 most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

Ronald Reagan

Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.

Ronald Reagan

Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.

Ronald Reagan

The problem is not that people are taxed too little, the problem is that government spends too much.

Ronald Reagan

Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.

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!

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

Today, if you invent a better mousetrap, the government comes along with a better mouse.

Ronald Reagan

The taxpayer - that's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.

Ronald Reagan

Protecting the rights of even the least individual among us is basically the only excuse the government has for even existing.

Ronald Reagan

Government always finds a need for whatever money it gets.

Ronald Reagan

If the federal government had been around when the Creator was putting His hand to this state, Indiana wouldn't be here. It'd still be waiting for an environmental impact statement.

Ronald Reagan

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

Ronald Reagan

One way to make sure crime doesn't pay would be to let the government run it.

Ronald Reagan

Democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man.

Ronald Reagan

History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.

Ronald Reagan

When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat.

Ronald Reagan

The British people know that, given strong leadership, time, and a little bit of hope, the forces of good ultimately rally and triumph over evil.

Ronald Reagan

Trust, but verify.

Ronald Reagan

Recession is when a neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours.

Ronald Reagan

I've never been able to understand why a Republican contributor is a 'fat cat' and a Democratic contributor of the same amount of money is a 'public-spirited philanthropist'.

Ronald Reagan

Inflation is as violent as a mugger, as frightening as an armed robber and as deadly as a hit man.

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

Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.

Ronald Reagan

For the sake of peace and justice, let us move toward a world in which all people are at last free to determine their own destiny.

Ronald Reagan

Politics I supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.

Ronald Reagan

A people free to choose will always choose peace.

Ronald Reagan

All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk.

Ronald Reagan