Say what you will about Ronald Reagan, nobody knew how to play the American Republican like a fiddle better than this actor-turned-president. During his time in politics (and his time in Hollywood), Reagan commanded attention and knew what to say, and how to say it to draw a laugh and achieve his personal and political goals.

Since his time in politics, Regan has become a golden idol to millions of Americans. His political ideology, showmanship, and personal ethics have become the yardstick by which many citizens of this country measure the worth and patriotism of their neighbors.

Yet, like every human being, Reagan was deeply flawed, and as one achieves higher levels of power and notoriety, those flaws become much more pronounced and have much more permanent and long-lasting effects. The America we live in today was heavily influenced by the actions and beliefs of Ronald Reagan, so in order to truly understand how we got to where we are today (for better or worse) it would behoove us to better understand one of the most influential men in the recent past.

To help with that, we found 33 of some of the most insightful, useful, and interesting Reagan quotes that every 70-year-old needs to hear.

Why Are We Talking About This?

Humans have a short memory and when we don’t learn from our mistakes we tend to repeat them. No political ideology, party, or philosophy is perfect and we are constantly improving as a species. Those who are 70 years old and older still retain the right to vote in this country, and they (or you) have a responsibility to educate themselves about the state of the world, and our country, and make informed decisions on how to improve and preserve it for future generations.

#1 “Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, leave the rest to God.”

This is generally good life advice no matter who said it or why. If we want to build a country and a society that will persist through the generations, it must be built on a foundation of love, generosity, kindness, and deep care.

We could spend the whole article focusing just on this advice, and it would match what you might find in a spiritual book or religious presentation. This makes sense since Reagan was very open about his religion and inserted it into almost all his public statements and speeches.

#2 “We must never remain silent in the face of bigotry. We must condemn those who seek to divide us. In all quarters and at all times, we must teach tolerance and denounce racism, anti-Semitism and all ethnic or religious bigotry wherever they exist as unacceptable evils. We have no place for haters in America — none, whatsoever.”

Reagan’s time in the spotlight wasn’t that long ago, yet many Americans seem to have forgotten that this was a common truth we all agreed on. It highlights just how fast societies and morals can change over so short a time. The flag-bearer of a political party was vehemently denouncing bigotry and racism just a couple of decades ago, and now a man in the same position is loudly preaching the exact opposite.

The tentacles of hatred can sneak in when we don’t pay attention and constantly tend to the garden of our society.

#3 “We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.”

Too often we will leave important work undone because it might seem insignificant or too small, but we forget that the impact of any act of charity can mean the world to just one person. We should never forgo doing something helpful or kind simply because it won’t change the world.

#4 “The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally – not a 20 percent traitor.”

It is normal for us to look for differences in other people, especially in those we don’t know. We live in a unique time in which cable news, radio hosts, podcasters, and internet celebrities can convince thousands of people to hate and despise people they’ve never even met. They teach us to look for even the smallest difference between us and turn that into a reason to ostracize them from society. We seek conformity at all costs.

We have to remind ourselves that there is always more that unites us than divides us.

#5 “One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It’s very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project, most people are a little reluctant to oppose anything that suggests medical care for people who possibly can’t afford it.”

Reagan was a product of his time, a time in which the harbinger of all evil and the bogeyman of every red-blooded American was the dreaded philosophy of socialism. Evil and misinformed people use the specter of socialism to push their own agendas of every type. For Reagan, this was everything under the sun. If Reagan wanted something done, he used the threat of socialism to convince people to support him. This included his resistance to accessible healthcare.

Unfortunately, Reagan’s opposition to giving access to affordable healthcare to everyone has cost the lives of thousands of people, and this type of thinking hasn’t passed away yet. How many times do we pass on a good or worthwhile idea because we have been convinced, through fear, that it might be scary?

#6 “I’ve always believed that a lot of the trouble in the world would disappear if we were talking to each other instead of about each other.”

There is wisdom that defies Reagan’s legacy in this quote. In a world in which we have unmatched access to information, we also have a greater insight into the people who share this world with us, unfortunately, we hardly reach out to talk to these people, leading to prejudice, fear, and resentment. The more we talk with people and understand them, the less we want to hurt them.

#7 “I do not believe in taking away the right of the citizen for sporting, for hunting and so forth, or for home defense. But I do believe that an AK-47, a machine gun, is not a sporting weapon or needed for defense of a home.”

Too many people hold up people or ideas as idols without fully understanding that person or idea. There are those who deify Reagan as a champion of conservative politics yet don’t know that even he didn’t support unfettered access to firearms. He retained at least a little common sense and knew that there was no reason for anyone to own weapons like these.

#8 “Illegal immigrants in considerable numbers have become productive members of our society and are a basic part of our work force. Those who have established equities in the United States should be recognized and accorded legal status. At the same time, in so doing, we must not encourage illegal immigration.”

You can reduce illegal immigration while still helping those who are already here to have a better life. This is the humane and American thing to do. Crossing the border illegally does not make anyone a bad person or immoral, stuffing them into planes and deporting them back to the place they fled does. Deportation is not the answer.

#9 “Americans are hungering to feel proud and patriotic again.”

The idea that the “good old days” are in the past and that we have to work to bring them back is not a new idea. Whether it be “Make America great again”, “Restore the German Empire”, or “Make Rome great again”, politicians and demagogues have been using our rosy view of the past to motivate the masses to action.

This is a great litmus test for any political movement. If it is constantly looking back instead of forward, ruminating in a time that didn’t really exist instead of working for progress, then it is probably a movement or party or ideology that doesn’t actually make society better.

#10 “Preservation of our environment is not a liberal or conservative challenge, it’s common sense.”

Bad people will try to use anything to make their viewers and followers angry. This includes something as simple and as basic as the land we live on. Somehow, some people have convinced not a small group that taking care of the Earth is a liberal idea instead of an idea that we all should care about. Reagan knew this, and the more we understand that and stop fighting over silly things, the better we can take care of our shared home.

#11 “This is a matter of vital importance to the public safety … While we recognize that assault-weapon legislation will not stop all assault-weapon crime, statistics prove that we can dry up the supply of these guns, making them less accessible to criminals.”

Reagan understood the reality of gun violence, even if too many people around him did not. Even if we can’t stop all gun crime, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. He knew (and statistics proved) that sensible legislation can help save lives and make our country safer for everyone.

#12 “Certain forms of ammunition have no legitimate sporting, recreational, or self-defense use and thus should be prohibited.”

Unrestricted access to any type of firearm and any kind of ammunition is dangerous and foolish. It is not what our Founding Fathers intended, nor could any sensible person say that they would look at the state of gun laws today and support what is happening. Too many people, too many children, are dying from our worship of free access to guns.

#13 “For one, we very much need in any immigration bill – we need protection for people who are in this country and who have not become citizens, for example, that they are protected and legitimized and given permanent residency here. And we want to see some things of that kind added to the immigration bill.”

Reagan supported legislation that provided protection to illegal immigrants and gave them a path to citizenship. Locking them in cages and forcing them to live in camps on the border is not what he supported, not what any human being should support. This is common sense and basic humanity.

#14 “We don’t lump people by groups or special interests. And let me add, in the party of Lincoln there is no room for intolerance and not even a small corner for anti-Semitism or bigotry of any kind. Many people are welcome in our house, but not the bigots.”

Turning any group of people into a monolith and demonizing them is a tool of evil ideologies and evil people. Bigots and power-hungry individuals will take advantage of our innate prejudices if we are not careful. For too many in this country, it is too late. Their entire worldview and ideology are based on the exclusion of other people and races.

#15 “We establish no religion in this country. We command no worship. We mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are and must remain separate.”

For some reason, overzealous people keep trying to mandate religious beliefs or practices by way of government power or legislation. Whether this be forcing prayer or recognition of certain beliefs, or mandating that schools display religious symbols. We must remember that the strength of our country relies partly on the fact that religion has no part in our lawmaking process.

#16 “I believe in a sound, strong environmental policy that protects the health of our people and a wise stewardship of our nation’s natural resources.”

The world doesn’t belong to us, it belongs to our children. The way we treat our planet today will impact their lives for thousands of years. Besides this, it is generally a good practice to take care of the place you live in. Our home is not a resource to be used and discarded, it is our companion through history that should be guarded and protected.

#17 “Where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost.”

Boy, howdy, if there isn’t something modern Americans have diverged on more than the value of unions, then I don’t know what it is. The king of conservatives preached the importance of free and powerful unions from the national pulpit, yet just a couple of decades later his own party is trying desperately to wipe them from the face of the Earth. What changed? What happened? What powerful corporate interests are behind the movement to weaken unions?

Perhaps the rise of megacorporations and global monopolies has something to do with it, and those who support the weakening of unions are only playing to the tune of their fiddle.

#18 “Respect for human rights is not social work; it is not merely an act of compassion. It is the first obligation of government and the source of its legitimacy.”

Caring about human rights is not a liberal or conservative priority, it is a human priority. According to Reagan the very first goal, priority, and obligation of government is to protect all human rights (not just the right to bear arms), and any government gains its legitimacy from how well it does in that work.

#19 “Every year, an average of 9,200 Americans are murdered by handguns, according to Department of Justice statistics. This does not include suicides or the tens of thousands of robberies, rapes and assaults committed with handguns. This level of violence must be stopped.”

This violence must be stopped. You heard the man! While Reagan has been known to play fast and loose with statistics, he can be forgiven in this instance since the loss of just one life to gun violence should be enough to motivate us to make changes to our laws.

#20 “Well, I think there has to be some (gun) control.”

Some gun control is better than no gun control. Unrestricted access to firearms and weapons is not freedom, it is dangerous and foolishness. Let us all take a note from Reagan and start to implement some common-sense legislation.

#21 “I supported this bill. I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and who have lived here even though sometime back they may have entered illegally.”

Breaking a law does not make someone immoral, and laws are not inherently moral or immoral. The best way to fix the situation of illegal immigrants living in our country is to turn them into citizens. It is best for them and for our country.

#22 “I’m proud of having been one of the first to recognize that states and the federal government have a duty to protect our natural resources from the damaging effects of pollution that can accompany industrial development.”

It is not a worthwhile pastime to care for our environment, it is our duty, according to Reagan. He said he was proud of recognizing this duty, and we all benefit from reminding ourselves of this duty, despite how easy it is to forget.

#23 “I now have absolute proof that smoking even one marijuana cigarette is equal in brain damage to being on Bikini Island during an H-bomb blast.”

If we’re making a list of Ronald Reagan quotes, then of course we have to include one of the many blunders and silly things he said. And of all the goofs he made, this has to be one of the most ridiculous. Even at the time, scientists knew that cannabis was nowhere near this dangerous and even began understanding some of the health benefits of this miracle plant.

This is an important reminder that no matter how highly you may think of an individual, we are all human and we all make mistakes. When we combine that human fallibility with preconceived prejudices or moral crusades, then we set ourselves up for dangerous hyperbole.

#25 “Perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to make us recognize this common bond. I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world.”

This is one of those quotes that make us sit back and think about what truly unites us and what we choose to use as an excuse to divide ourselves. This is often the moral of many Hollywood movies. While on the other hand, it is often the same logic that leaders use to unite their followers to violence against their political enemies.

#26 “The arts and humanities teach us who we are and what we can be. They lie at the very core of the culture of which we’re a part.”

It is unfortunate that some influential personalities think that the arts and humanities are, at best, a distraction, and at worst a waste of time and a sign of femininity. Even Reagan understood that the arts and humanities are the whole point of being alive, the whole reason our society exists in the first place.

#27 “If we’ve learned any lessons during the past few decades, perhaps the most important is that preservation of our environment is not a partisan challenge; it’s common sense. Our physical health, our social happiness, and our economic well-being will be sustained only by all of us working in partnership as thoughtful, effective stewards of our natural resources.”

Readers may be surprised to see how often and powerfully Reagan spoke about the importance of taking care of the environment. While it may or may not have been just lip service, the quote remains just as true as it did back then.

#28 “Anybody from any corner of the world can come to America to live and become an American.”

America is a home to everyone. There is no one ethnic group, religion, or philosophy that makes anyone “American”. Simply living here and respecting the right of everyone else to do the same is enough to make you an American.

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

While this is not necessarily true, it does highlight the point Reagan was trying to make: nuclear power is a fantastic, safe, and cheaper alternative to fossil fuels. The waste it generates is significantly less than coal, gas, or oil, all while being much safer than all other forms of energy.

#30 “We will never recognize the true value of our own lives until we affirm the value in the life of others.”

All people have value. All human beings are deserving of love and respect. It is impossible to recognize that worth and value within ourselves unless we learn to see it in everyone else, even those we have been told to hate and despise.

#31 “I favor the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and it must be enforced at gunpoint if necessary.”

For a man given to strong hyperbole and forceful rhetoric, this is particularly strong language about something we don’t typically associate with Reagan: civil rights. While this quote contradicts other statements he made, the fact remains that he still made it. We should be prepared to protect the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through violence.

#32 “If we love our country, we should also love our countrymen.”

Do you love your country more than the people who live in it? Do you demonize your neighbors and political opponents? We all live here, and no sensible person wants to destroy the place they live in, we all want to leave a better home for our children.

#33 “Don’t let the doom criers and the cynics persuade you that the best is past.”

This is another example of Reagan contradicting himself, but the quote remains true. The best is not past, the best is now, and it will always be now. There is always room to improve to make tomorrow better than today. The more we sit around thinking that yesterday was better is a sure way to find ourselves stagnant and resentful.

#34 “Could there be anything but widespread misery, where a privileged few controlled a nation’s wealth, while millions labored for a pittance, and millions more were desperate for want of employment?”

Wow, if only Reagan could have lived to see the world we live in today. Even in the few years since his death, America has spiraled into levels of wealth inequality never before seen in the history of the world. A handful of people own all of the wealth while millions struggle to put food on the table. Our system is broken, and it was broken when Reagan was in power. He recognized it, yet the problem persists and grows worse every day.

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