What would Ronald Reagan Say?
A fictional speech.
I belong to a few Reaganite political groups, and a repeated question I see is: What would Reagan say about our current political moment?
As I was reading back my last poetry drop, I thought…. “Hmm, this sounds a little like Reagan." This would make sense because I have read and watched so much about him over the last four months.
So I reimagined the poem in a brief Reagan Speech.
Enjoy!
My fellow Americans,
Today, as ever, we find ourselves at a crossroads.
Everything in life– every tool, every discovery, every idea– can be a toy, a tool, or a weapon. The choice is ours.
Man is free. Free to cooperate. Free to build. Free to fight. Free to destroy.
But man is also imperfect.
Sometimes we forget that those we disagree with are not our enemies. We judge quickly. We condemn harshly. We struggle to forgive.
Yet, when we forgive, when we listen, when we take the time to learn what others know, something wonderful happens: freedom flourishes.
Today, too many in politics choose fear over hope, isolation over community. They build walls of resentment–– and then wonder why trust falls.
But walls do not make us safer. They make us strangers. They make us weaker.
America was built by those who dared to climb walls, not build them higher. By those who cooperated, who believed that liberty demands trust, not suspicion.
Every man and woman in this great country must ask: Who do we want to be? Who do we want to follow?
Will we be led by fear and isolation? Or by love, community, and the hard, good work of self-government and freedom?
I still believe–I know– that Americans will choose wisely. Because in every generation, when the night grew dark, the American people lit a brighter flame.
It's time to choose again.
Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
Peace & Love,
Jeff Mayhugh