"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem. From time to time we've been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?"
--Ronald Reagan, First Inaugural Address, January 20, 1981

Brilliant man. Wish we had more like him these days and not the phony non-producing elitist impediments who think government is the solution to all.

Or a true conservative. Agree or not, at least you knew where Reagan stood.

Sad to say that Reagan came from a better and simpler time and his standards and attitudes reflected that.

Social evolution is inevitable but it’s too bad that the quality of peoples’ characters have to be so negatively impacted by peripheral events that I think has resulted in making strong principled persons in such short supply these days.

I was interested to read Dan’s take on the Reagan Ranch. The simplicity and more Spartan lifestyle reflected in such a modest abode seem to point to the tastes of a couple who grew up through the Depression and who were molded in a time where excess was not the rule.

There is a danger in looking back too much, I think. That said I feel there are so many great lessons in simplicity and responsibility to be learned from that generation. They just seem to have gotten things right on so many fronts.