Flashback: Ronald Reagan’s 1988 Thanksgiving Address Extolls The Virtue Of Freedom

In a radio address to the nation on November 19th, 1988, President Ronald Reagan spoke of three things missing from America under the current President - Prayer, prosperity, and freedom.

In a radio address to the nation the week of Thanksgiving, 1988, President Ronald Reagan spoke of three things that are missing from America under the current President in our time – Prayer, prosperity, and freedom.

At a time where religious devotees are frequently mocked in the media, the economy is in shambles, and people are having their livelihoods ripped from them, and when freedom is seemingly a thing of the past as mindless liberals force masks and mandates upon the people, Reagan’s words take on new meaning.

Nostalgic meaning. About what America once was.

Take a look …

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Reagan’s Thanksgiving Message

President Ronald Reagan’s speeches are unparalleled when it comes to their connection with the American people and singing the praises of the greatest nation on Earth.

This radio address was no different.

On Prayer

Reagan spoke of families sitting down at the Thanksgiving dinner table to say “grace,” asking for the “Lord’s blessing,” and how “God has kissed” this nation with peace and abundance.

On Prosperity

In his message, Reagan pointed out that, “We Americans have so much for which to be thankful” due to the “great expanse of our nation” and “the rolling hills of our immense farmland.”

And he reminds us that prosperity yields positive results in other facets of life.

“Prosperity is not an end in itself. It helps us pay attention to the more important things: raising our children as we want them to be raised, helping others in need, and bringing nations together in peace,” he said.

On Freedom

Reagans’s words on freedom, something America has always been a beacon for throughout the world, seem more powerful in the pandemic era.

“We will give thanks for these and one thing more: our freedom,” the late, great President says.

“Yes, in America, freedom seems like the air around us: It’s there; it’s sweet, though we rarely give it a thought,” he added.

“Yet as the air fills our lungs, freedom fills our souls. It gives breath to our laughter and joy. It gives voice to our songs. It gives us strength as we race for our dreams.”

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Economic Freedom

Reagan’s Thanksgiving radio address notes that economic prosperity is linked to freedom.

“Think of how many countries where to dream of striking out on your own and starting a business is to take a chance not on a better life for yourself and your children but on a long stay in a prison cell,” he states. “And then think of how blessed we are to be Americans.”

Today, President Biden is fighting desperately to penalize businesses and fire employees who don’t care to submit to his vaccine mandates.

We were far more blessed under Reagan than we are under this latest regime.

In a radio address by Reagan in 1986, the Republican President celebrated the generous spirit of Americans over the ‘generosity’ of the federal government.

In it, he highlighted how benevolence from the private sector trumped the expansion of programs from the feds.

Citing a poll at the time, Reagan said, “No matter how big government gets and no matter how many services it provides, it can never take the place of volunteers.”

In his address to the nation on Thanksgiving of 1985, Reagan made mention of God, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and limited government – all values that our current President has worked diligently to erode during his first ten months in the White House.

“Today, while religion is suppressed in perhaps one-third of the world, we Americans are free to worship the Almighty as we choose,” he said to the people.

Added Reagan, “While entire nations must endure the yoke of tyranny, we are free to speak our minds, to enjoy an unfettered and vigorous press, and to make government abide by the limits we deem just.”

Perhaps most prescient, he speaks of restraints during the holiday that Americans at that time did not endure.

“While millions live behind walls, we remain free to travel throughout the land to share this precious day with those we love most deeply – the members of our families,” he said.

 

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Rusty Weiss has been covering politics for over 15 years. His writings have appeared in the Daily Caller, Fox... More about Rusty Weiss

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