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Ronald Reagan

 

Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911–2004) was an American politician who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Prior to his presidency, he was a Hollywood actor and union leader before serving as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 to 1975.

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A President Speaks to Youth About the Christian Life

THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON

 June 23, 1982

 On a recent May weekend I had the privilege and pleasure of attending my 50th class reunion and giving the commencement address at Eureka College. During that very nostalgic weekend, I was reminded of the differences between the challenges which my class of ’32 had to meet and the problems that confront today’s college students.

 While we spent our college years in the midst of a severe depression, our generation thrived in the special spirit of sharing what little we did have and that helped us to pull through those difficult days. Today, as students, you prepare to step forward into a world enduring another economic crisis, which I hope and pray my Administration can resolve. But I believe that our Nation is in the grip of another crisis that is ultimately far more serious—an era of moral decline.

 Through every public medium available, our young people are bombarded daily with assaults on the fundamental values which shaped and sustained this Nation. It is difficult to turn on a radio or television, read a newspaper, magazine or popular book, or see a movie in a neighborhood theater and not find an attack on the ethics and moral values we have been taught to cherish. Drug and alcohol abuse have taken a terrible toll on our youth.

 Great courage is needed to live a Christian life in today’s society. We know that only God can give us the courage and the guidance we so badly need. Challenges to faith today are legion, and you may find yourself faced with choices that another generation could not have imagined—and the right choice will not always be the popular choice.

 I am convinced, however, that hope is the essence of belief. The struggle to maintain the faith is arduous, but life’s storms are over at the last and faith finds the strong ship at anchor in a calm sea. We must always remember that we are created in God’s image, that we will never be abandoned if we seek our solace and optimism in trust and in prayer.

 I wish all of you success in your studies. I wish you every happiness and good fortune in the future. I wish you God’s blessings today, tomorrow and always.

 Sincerely,
Ronald Reagan

  

“Foreword.” The Intellectuals Speak out About God. (1984: xvii-xviii). Reprinted with permission from Roy Abraham Varghese, ed.

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