Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
6 Quotes: Ronald Reagan on freedom
6 Quotes: Ronald Reagan on freedom
Feb 23, 2026 3:11 AM

Today is the 106th birthday of Ronald Reagan, the fortieth president of the United States. Reagan wasa great lover of America and one of the most eloquent advocates of liberty in modern history

In honor of his birthday, here are six quotes on freedom by President Reagan:

“Freedom is the right to question and change the established way of doing things. It is the continuing revolution of the marketplace. It is the understanding that allows us to recognize ings and seek solutions. It is the right to put forth an idea, scoffed at by the experts, and watch it catch fire among the people. It is the right to dream — to follow your dream or stick to your conscience, even if you’re the only one in a sea of doubters. Freedom is the recognition that no single person, no single authority or government has a monopoly on the truth, but that every individual life is infinitely precious, that every one of us put on this world has been put there for a reason and has something to offer.” (Source)

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” (Source)

“If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on Earth. And this idea that government is beholden to the people, that it has no other source of power except to sovereign people, is still the newest and most unique idea in all the long history of man’s relation to man. This is the issue of this election. Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.” (Source)

“With regard to the freedom of the individual for choice with regard to abortion, there’s one individual who’s not being considered at all. That’s the one who is being aborted. And I’ve noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born.” (Source)

“If we look to the answer as to why for so many years we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on earth, it was because here in this land we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before. Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on earth. The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay the price.” (Source)

“The dreams of people may differ, but everybody wants their dreams e true. And America, above all places, gives us the freedom to do that.” (Source)

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Ecology and Economy
I just finished writing a review of Robert H. Nelson’s book, The New Holy Wars: Economic Religion vs. Environmental Religion in Contemporary America (Penn State University Press, 2010) that will appear later this year in Calvin Theological Journal. It is a good book. It is a timely book. There are flaws, but overall there is much to learn from Nelson’s analysis. I found a good summary passage that appears as a footnote on p. 171: The terms ecology and economics...
Acton on Tap: Tolkien and the Free Society
A reminder that tonight’s Acton on Tap promises to be another good one. Jonathan Witt, writer and Research Fellow at the Acton Institute, will lead a discussion about J.R.R. Tolkien’s views on freedom, capitalism, socialism, and distributism, and he will look at some of the ways those views have been misrepresented. The event takes place from 6-8 p.m. at the Derby Station in East Grand Rapids, Mich. (Map it here.) No advance registration is required. The only cost is your...
Acton Lecture Series: Alinsky for Dummies
Joseph Morris at Acton Lecture Series We’re posting the audio from Mr. Joseph Morris’ excellent May 6 Acton Lecture Series presentation, Alinsky for Dummies: His Persistent Influence and Its Meaning for American Society and Politics. As Lord Acton warned that power corrupts, Saul Alinsky — the father of modern munity organizing” — rejoiced that corruption empowers. Saul Alinsky As Morris pointed out, decades after Alinsky’s death his ideas and teaching continue to shape the American political and social landscape. Barack...
Acton Commentary — Europe: The Unjust Continent
This week’s Acton Commentary from Research Director Samuel Gregg. +++++++++ Europe: The Unjust Continent By Samuel Gregg In recent months, the European social model has been under the spotlight following Greece’s economic meltdown and the fumbling efforts of European politicians to prop up other tottering European economies. To an unprecedented extent, the post-war European model’s sustainability is being questioned. Even the New York Times has conceded something is fundamentally wrong with the model they and the American Left have been...
Acton Commentary: Unity or Unanimity at Reformed Council?
This week’s Acton Commentary from Jordan Ballor: Unity or Unanimity at Reformed Council? By Jordan Ballor Global es to Grand Rapids, Mich., this weekend in the form of the Uniting General Council of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). Thousands of delegates, exhibitors, and volunteers will gather on the campus of Calvin College to mark the union of two Reformed ecumenical groups, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC). This new global ecumenical...
Acton Lecture Series: Does Capitalism Destroy Culture?
Michael Miller at Acton Lecture Series In this new Acton Lecture Series audio, Acton’s Michael Miller discusses why many blame capitalism as the primary source of cultural disintegration. Miller, director of programs and Acton Media, asks: Does capitalism destroy culture or are other forces at work? Listen to the lecture online here: [audio: From Miller’s Jan. 21 Acton Commentary, “The End of Capitalism?” At least on equal par with a juridical framework as a factor in sustaining market systems is...
Acton University: Day One
Acton University 2010 is underway. This year, 450 students and faculty from 55 countries are gathered in Grand Rapids for a deep dive into the “free and virtuous society.” Attendees this year include seminarians and college students — groups that have studied at Acton conferences for two decades now — but also presidents of colleges, corporate executives, Christian missionaries, entrepreneurs, physicians, lawyers, business leaders, retired people and a few high school students. Acton also es 44 Protestant seminary professors who...
Review: William F. Buckley Jr.
Lee Edwards calls William F. Buckley Jr. “The St. Paul of the conservative movement.” No other 20th century figure made such a vast contribution to the intellectual force of political conservatism. He paved the way for the likes of Ronald Reagan and all of those political children of Reagan who credit the former president for bringing them into politics. He achieved what no other had done and that was his ability to bring traditional conservatives, libertarians, and munists together under...
Public Schools: Adult Employment Programs
I’ve long argued that school choice is the quintessential bipartisan cause, with boundless potential to transform American primary and secondary education. Yet, for various reasons (all of them bad), it has failed to live up to that potential—its significant successes in various places notwithstanding. One more anecdote to file away on this es from Rich Lowry at NRO: the travails of Eva Moskowitz in New York City. Favorite quote: It’s amazing what you can plish, she says, when you design...
Lewis on the Free Society
Last week Acton research fellow Jonathan Witt treated the topic of Tolkien and the free society at the June “Acton on Tap.” I was reminded of this theme when I finished reading C. S. Lewis’ novel, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Ed. note: The lack of a serial, or so-called ma in that title bothers me.) to my son last night. There’s a beautiful passage towards the end that illustrates what Lewis thought good government looks like: These...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved