Mikayla Rosenthal
Miss Marcuccio & Mr. Humphreys
APLC & APUSH
2 February 2015
Religion and the Evil Empire Every human is born with gifts and talents. Some are born great athletes, while others are born great mathematicians, and even others are born great speakers. Ronald Reagan is one who possesses the talents of a great speaker. He had the ability of comparing two polar opposite topics in a way that causes his audience to believe they were meant to be related. Reagan does not disappoint while speaking on our country's past, present, and future struggles. He compares religion to communism using a common link of sin and evil. Therefore, Ronald Reagan shocked and amused some while inspiring others in his audience as he spoke on the evils
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Unfortunately, at this time in history, public schools had already eliminated religion within their walls, but Reagan was an advocate who wanted to bring religion back to school. He said, "Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged," meaning that we are not truly free until we can express our religion. Reagan then continued by explaining how our country was founded on faith using examples such as our currency, which states "In God We Trust". Other examples Reagan provides include our Declaration of Independence mentioning a supreme being multiple times and Congress opening each session with prayer. Reagan believed there was a spiritual awakening occurring in the United States. An awakening that would bring religion back into schools and would be advocated by various religious groups. Religion was foundational in Reagan's life, he believed that it should be foundational for our …show more content…
He spoke with a laid back, but authoritative tone. This was accomplished in various ways. For example, when Reagan began speaking he did not get to his point until a few minutes into his speech. Instead, he began by telling jokes and stories, to ensure his audience was more relaxed. However, Reagan had another purpose for telling stories. He used it as a tool of persuasion to make him seem more down to earth and relatable, knowing that the members of his audience would be more likely to support him if the members could relate to him. Once this was accomplished he spoke in parts addressing three evils of our world, with his main evil, the threat of communism and the Soviet Union, coming last. Reagan also addresses our nation's past struggles of racism and anti-semitism, our present struggles of abortion, infanticide, and communism, and the future struggles we will face if we do not embrace freedom of religion. He states, "The real crisis we face today is a spiritual one; at root, it is a rest of moral will and faith." Therefore, Reagan reiterates his belief that we are not free if we cannot express religion. Finally, Reagan, with his speech writer Peggy Noonan, coined the term "Evil Empire" to describe the Soviet Union. This term has stuck around since then when referring to Reagan's view of the Soviets and
She announces that he inspired America, that he introduced new opportunities, that he turned America’s enemies into allies. By inducing her audience, Thatcher illuminate the efforts Reagan took to make the United States a better place. Presented in the order of increasing significance, the three ideas that Thatcher specifies creates the effect of showing that Reagan was more than capable of making a positive change. These feats were only a small fraction of what Reagan actually accomplished. By doing this, she advances her argument that Reagan was crucial to the development of the United States.
Reagans Ethical & Moral Dilemmas: Ronald Reagan made commitments to reduce the size and influence of the federal government during his political campaign which conflicted the political intervention in a labor strike involving a federal agency (FAA). National security and public safety were in mind when Reagan was guaranteeing public safety and the operation of national airspace while believing that the air traffic controllers strike was illegal and threatened national
She contrasts “the daunting historic tasks” that Reagan faced with his “lightness of spirit” and “cheerful and invigorating presence.” By juxtaposing Reagan’s challenges as president with his jolly demeanor, Thatcher demonstrates that, in spite of leading the most powerful nation in the world, Reagan managed to keep his spirits high. The author’s juxtaposition highlights one of the president’s greatest traits, his optimism. However, Reagan’s positive attitude wasn’t his only admirable quality.
Reagan’s faith played a unique and powerful role in presidency. He found no problem with the church and state working together. President Reagan once said, “Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged”. Reagan incorporated prayer into his leadership and didn 't compromise his moral truths when taking office. In 1983 when U.S Marines were being brutally killed in Lebanon, Reagan demanded his national security adviser, Bill Clark to notify him regardless of the time of day so they could pray over the fallen soldier and their families.
Reagan showed the logical understanding by addressing the fact that sometimes painful things happen with exploration and discovery. He also illustrated his character very effectively during his address to the nation. His personality really shined through. Reagan showed us the type of person he was and how much of a Godly man he was. Reagan showed his emotions by giving his condolences to the family of the crew members that died on the shuttle.
He believed in her strength, her values, her traditions, her future. " These questions encourage the audience to consider the values and beliefs that Reagan held dear, and help to illustrate the depth of his commitment to his country. Additionally, Thatcher asks, "What did he do? He restored America's confidence, her economy, and her standing in the world.
Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan was a character who optimized many of the people when things went very poorly. Many people said his personality was courage, courage that was natural to him, and a courage that was ultimately contagious. He also did do so much more like creating Reaganomics, strengthening nations, and improving many things in the economy. He also did many things that helped out the people, which was his main goal.
Thatcher believed that Reagan had made historic accomplishments such as “freeing the slaves of communism”. Reagan had policies that were optimistic and gave a sense of freshness. She pegged Reagan as a comic recollecting his assassination attempt, Reagan kept his composure and cracked jokes giving reassurance to a scared world. This simple brief history she gives conveys the idea that Reagan was a strong leader.
The Rise of Ronald Reagan and Republican Conservatism Conservatism and liberalism are two of the most dominant political philosophies and ideologies during the post-Enlightenment era (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). As an ideology, conservatism served as a blueprint in the society which promoted the idea of retaining traditional social institutions, beliefs, cultures and discourage social changes. Although the United States of America during the present day promotes liberalism, there was one portion of the country’s history that conservatism was promoted due to several factors. This paper examines the very factors which gave rise to conservatism embodied in the candidacy of Ronald Reagan.
In this address he makes a sweeping critique of liberalism, big government, and federal payments. (Encyclopedia) In this speech, known as “A Time for Choosing” Reagan used logos, pathos, and mood to invoke people’s feelings about making the right choice when choosing their leader in order for society to have a stronger and successful future. Historical background
The first rhetorical skill that Reagan uses is ethos. In the very first sentence he implies his status and authority by stating, “I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans.” By showing us his power as President of the United States (the
Reagan sets America on a higher level than any other country when he says, “Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on earth.” He then goes on to add, “We will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.” These hopeful words such as freedom and dignity set America apart from the rest of the world. Ronald Reagan is tactfully creating a sense of nationalism and unification in his audience, giving them a sense of pride. People want to preserve and remake America in this way, because believing that we have more freedom and more opportunities than others, makes us
Reagan states, "Not until I went into the churches of America and hurt her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the greatness and the genius of America. America is good. And if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great" (1983). Ronald Reagan and the writers of the speech adapted and analyzed the audience because the audience consisted of Christians and the speech included many references to the Bible and to God. Reagan supports the Christians and keeping America good through godly works and prayers (1983).
There’s only an up or down: man’s old --old aged dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism.” This shows his ethics and the passion he has when he presents his speech. Reagan stated,”Today, 37 cents out of every dollar earned in the country is the tax collector’s share,” He also included,”We’ve raised our debt limit three times in the last twelve months, and now our national debt is one and a half times bigger than all the combined debts of all the nations of the world.” Reagan shows us that he knows about the numbers and logistics of our nation which is logos. Since he knows specific numbers, more people will listen to what he is trying to