"You know, I received an invitation that said "Please come to Ellis Island July 4th for the hundredth birthday celebration of an American institution". Somebody goofed. My birthday is not until February."

Ronald Reagan Politics See all quotes by Ronald Reagan →

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“Next Tuesday all of you will go to the polls, will stand there in the polling place and make a decision. I think when you make that decision, it might be well if you would ask yourself, are you better off than you were four years ago?”

“Every country and every people has a stake in the Afghan resistance, for the freedom fighters of Afghanistan are defending principles of independence and freedom that form the basis of global security and stability.”

“Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with conflict by peaceful means.”

“If I still have time, I might add, Mr. Trewhitt, I might add that it was Seneca or it was Cicero, I don't know which, that said, If it was not for the elders correcting the mistakes of the young, there would be no state.”

“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.”

“This is not the time for political fun and games. This is the time for a new beginning. I ask you now to put aside any feelings of frustration or helplessness about our political institutions and join me in this dramatic but responsible plan to reduce the enormous burden of Federal taxation on you and your family.”

Resonant Thoughts

"If must also be remembered that, unless men are left to their own resources, they do not know what is or what is not possible for them. If Government half a century ago had provided us all with dinner…"

— Auberon Herbert

Literature1838–1906

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"We know the country, its potential, its resources, where it was and where it could have been. We should be at the level of a Taiwan or a South Korea today, not ranked 150th in the world, even though w…"

— Reza Pahlavi

Politics1960–1980

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"I was telephoned by a man called Alexander Charles Jones, who asked me if he might bring me a box of apparatus which he said when put on frictionless casters and set in motion inside, would displace i…"

— Eric Laithwaite

Technology1921–1997

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"means I’ve reached a lot of people in a simplistic manner who would never go to a lecture or read an article on Women’s Lib. My basic audience is women who have had their heads turned around by the kn…"

— Helen Reddy

Entertainment1941–2020

#knowledge