英语演讲A Time for Choosing.docx

英语演讲A Time for Choosing.docx

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英语演讲ATimeforChoosing

RonaldReagan:

"ATimeforChoosing"（aka"TheSpeech"）

delivered27October1964,LosAngeles,CA

ProgramAnnouncer:

Ladiesandgentlemen,wetakeprideinpresentingathoughtfuladdressbyRonaldReagan.Mr.Reagan:

Reagan:

Thankyou.Thankyouverymuch.Thankyouandgoodevening.Thesponsorhasbeenidentified,butunlikemosttelevisionprograms,theperformerhasn'tbeenprovidedwithascript.Asamatteroffact,Ihavebeenpermittedtochoosemyownwordsanddiscussmyownideasregardingthechoicethatwefaceinthenextfewweeks.

IhavespentmostofmylifeasaDemocrat.Irecentlyhaveseenfittofollowanothercourse.Ibelievethattheissuesconfrontinguscrosspartylines.Now,onesideinthiscampaignhasbeentellingusthattheissuesofthiselectionarethemaintenanceofpeaceandprosperity.Thelinehasbeenused,"We'veneverhaditsogood."

ButIhaveanuncomfortablefeelingthatthisprosperityisn'tsomethingonwhichwecanbaseourhopesforthefuture.Nonationinhistoryhaseversurvivedataxburdenthatreachedathirdofitsnationalincome.Today,37centsoutofeverydollarearnedinthiscountryisthetaxcollector'sshare,andyetourgovernmentcontinuestospend17milliondollarsadaymorethanthegovernmenttakesin.Wehaven'tbalancedourbudget28outofthelast34years.We'veraisedourdebtlimitthreetimesinthelasttwelvemonths,andnowournationaldebtisoneandahalftimesbiggerthanallthecombineddebtsofallthenationsoftheworld.Wehave15billiondollarsingoldinourtreasury;wedon'townanounce.Foreigndollarclaimsare27.3billiondollars.Andwe'vejusthadannouncedthatthedollarof1939willnowpurchase45centsinitstotalvalue.

Asforthepeacethatwewouldpreserve,IwonderwhoamonguswouldliketoapproachthewifeormotherwhosehusbandorsonhasdiedinSouthVietnamandaskthemiftheythinkthisisapeacethatshouldbemaintainedindefinitely.Dotheymeanpeace,ordotheymeanwejustwanttobeleftinpeace?

TherecanbenorealpeacewhileoneAmericanisdyingsomeplaceintheworldfortherestofus.We'reatwarwiththemostdangerousenemythathaseverfacedmankindinhislongclimbfromtheswamptothestars,andit'sbeensaidifwelosethatwar,andinsodoinglosethiswayoffreedomofours,historywillrecordwiththegreatestastonishmentthatthosewhohadthemosttolosedidtheleasttopreventitshappening.WellIthinkit'stimeweaskourselvesifwestillknowthefreedomsthatwereintendedforusbytheFoundingFathers.

Nottoolongago,twofriendsofmineweretalkingtoaCubanrefugee,abusinessmanwhohadescapedfromCastro,andinthemidstofhisstoryoneofmyfriendsturnedtotheotherandsaid,"Wedon'tknowhowluckyweare."AndtheCubanstoppedandsaid,"Howluckyyouare?

Ihadsomeplacetoescapeto."Andinthatsentencehetoldustheentirestory.Ifwelosefreedomhere,there'snoplacetoescapeto.Thisisthelaststandonearth.

Andthisideathatgovernmentisbeholdentothepeople,thatithasnoothersourceofpowerexceptthesovereignpeople,isstillthenewestandthemostuniqueideainallthelonghistoryofman's relationtoman.

Thisistheissueofthiselection:

Whetherwebelieveinourcapacityforself-governmentorwhetherweabandontheAmericanrevolutionandconfessthatalittleintellectualeliteinafar-distantcapitolcanplanourlivesforusbetterthanwecanplanthemourselves.

YouandIaretoldincreasinglywehavetochoosebetweenaleftorright.WellI'dliketosuggestthereisnosuchthingasaleftorright.There'sonlyanupordown--[up]man'sold--old-ageddream,theultimateinindividualfreedomconsistentwithlawandorder,ordowntotheantheapoftotalitarianism.Andregardlessoftheirsincerity,theirhumanitarianmotives,thosewhowouldtradeourfreedomforsecurityhaveembarkedonthisdownwardcourse.

Inthisvote-harvestingtime,theyusetermslikethe"GreatSociety,"orasweweretoldafewdaysagobythePresident,wemustacceptagreatergovernmentactivityintheaffairsofthepeople.Butthey'vebeenalittlemoreexplicitinthepastandamongthemselves;andallofthethingsInowwillquotehaveappearedinprint.ThesearenotRepublicanaccusations.Forexample,theyhavevoicesthatsay,"Thecoldwarwillendthroughouracceptanceofanotundemocraticsocialism."Anothervoicesays,"Theprofitmotivehasbecomeoutmoded.Itmustbereplacedbytheincentivesofthewelfarestate."Or,"Ourtraditionalsystemofindividualfreedomisincapableofsolvingthecomplexproblemsofthe20thcentury."SenatorFullbrighthassaidatStanfordUniversitythattheConstitutionisoutmoded.HereferredtothePresidentas"ourmoralteacherandourleader,"andhesaysheis"hobbledinhistaskbytherestrictionsofpowerimposedonhimbythisantiquateddocument."Hemust"befreed,"sothathe"candoforus"whatheknows"isbest."AndSenatorClarkofPennsylvania,anotherarticulatespokesman,definesliberalismas"meetingthematerialneedsofthemassesthroughthefullpowerofcentralizedgovernment."

Well,I,forone,resentitwhenarepresentativeofthepeoplereferstoyouandme,thefreemenandwomenofthiscountry,as"themasses."Thisisatermwehaven'tappliedtoourselvesinAmerica.Butbeyondthat,"thefullpowerofcentralizedgovernment"--thiswastheverythingtheFoundingFatherssoughttominimize.Theyknewthatgovernmentsdon'tcontrolthings.Agovernmentcan'tcontroltheeconomywithoutcontrollingpeople.Andtheyknowwhenagovernmentsetsouttodothat,itmustuseforceandcoerciontoachieveitspurpose.Theyalsoknew,thoseFoundingFathers,thatoutsideofitslegitimatefunctions,governmentdoesnothingaswelloraseconomicallyastheprivatesectoroftheeconomy.

Now,wehavenobetterexampleofthisthangovernment'sinvolvementinthefarmeconomyoverthelast30years.Since1955,thecostofthisprogramhasnearlydoubled.One-fourthoffarminginAmericaisresponsiblefor85%ofthefarmsurplus.Three-fourthsoffarmingisoutonthefreemarketandhasknowna21%increaseinthepercapitaconsumptionofallitsproduce.Yousee,thatone-fourthoffarming--that'sregulatedandcontrolledbythefederalgovernment.Inthelastthreeyearswe'vespent43dollarsinthefeedgrainprogramforeverydollarbushelofcornwedon'tgrow.

SenatorHumphreylastweekchargedthatBarryGoldwater,asPresident,wouldseektoeliminatefarmers.Heshoulddohishomeworkalittlebetter,becausehe'llfindoutthatwe'vehadadeclineof5millioninthefarmpopulationunderthesegovernmentprograms.He'llalsofindthattheDemocraticadministrationhassoughttogetfromCongress[an]extensionofthefarmprogramtoincludethatthree-fourthsthatisnowfree.He'llfindthatthey'vealsoaskedfortherighttoimprisonfarmerswhowouldn'tkeepbooksasprescribedbythefederalgovernment.TheSecretaryofAgricultureaskedfortherighttoseizefarmsthroughcondemnationandresellthemtootherindividuals.Andcontainedinthatsameprogramwasaprovisionthatwouldhaveallowedthefederalgovernmenttoremove2millionfarmersfromthesoil.

Atthesametime,there'sbeenanincreaseintheDepartmentofAgricultureemployees.There'snowoneforevery30farmsintheUnitedStates,andstilltheycan'ttellushow66shiploadsofgrainheadedforAustriadisappearedwithoutatraceandBillieSolEstesneverleftshore.

Everyresponsiblefarmerandfarmorganizationhasrepeatedlyaskedthegovernmenttofreethefarmeconomy,buthow--whoarefarmerstoknowwhat'sbestforthem?

Thewheatfarmersvotedagainstawheatprogram.Thegovernmentpasseditanyway.Nowthepriceofbreadgoesup;thepriceofwheattothefarmergoesdown.

Meanwhile,backinthecity,underurbanrenewaltheassaultonfreedomcarrieson.Privatepropertyrights[are]sodilutedthatpublicinterestisalmostanythingafewgovernmentplannersdecideitshouldbe.Inaprogramthattakesfromtheneedyandgivestothegreedy,weseesuchspectaclesasinCleveland,Ohio,amillion-and-a-half-dollarbuildingcompletedonlythreeyearsagomustbedestroyedtomakewayforwhatgovernmentofficialscalla"morecompatibleuseoftheland."ThePresidenttellsushe'snowgoingtostartbuildingpublichousingunitsinthethousands,whereheretoforewe'veonlybuilttheminthehundreds.ButFHA[FederalHousingAuthority]andtheVeteransAdministrationtellustheyhave120,000housingunitsthey'vetakenbackthroughmortgageforeclosure.Forthreedecades,we'vesoughttosolvetheproblemsofunemploymentthroughgovernmentplanning,andthemoretheplansfail,themoretheplannersplan.ThelatestistheAreaRedevelopmentAgency.

They'vejustdeclaredRiceCounty,Kansas,adepressedarea.RiceCounty,Kansas,hastwohundredoilwells,andthe14,000peopletherehaveover30milliondollarsondepositinpersonalsavingsintheirbanks.Andwhenthegovernmenttellsyouyou'redepressed,liedownandbedepressed.

Wehavesomanypeoplewhocan'tseeafatmanstandingbesideathinonewithoutcomingtotheconclusionthefatmangotthatwaybytakingadvantageofthethinone.Sothey'regoingtosolvealltheproblemsofhumanmiserythroughgovernmentandgovernmentplanning.Well,now,ifgovernmentplanningandwelfarehadtheanswer--andthey'vehadalmost30yearsofit--shouldn'tweexpectgovernmenttoreadthescoretousonceinawhile?

Shouldn'ttheybetellingusaboutthedeclineeachyearinthenumberofpeopleneedinghelp?

Thereductionintheneedforpublichousing?

Butthereverseistrue.Each