"Peace"

A radio broadcast by Ronald Reagan, recorded April 1975.

"What does it take for us to learn?"

Today is Ronald Reagan's ninety-second birthday. In honor of the occasion, here is an essay from Reagan, In His Own Hand which, I think, is very timely mutatis mutandis.

How much is it worth to not have WWIII? I'll be right back.

While in London I had an opportunity to visit with various govt. officials including those concerned with foreign affairs. Inevitably the conversation turned to the world situation & how to maintain peace. And just as inevitably the Soviet U. was automatically accepted as the possible threat to peace just as 40 yrs. ago it was Nazi Germany that loomed as the storm cloud on the horizon. And of course that storm cloud did eventually fill the sky & rain fire on all the world.

The leaders of that generation saw the growing menace & talked of it but reacted to the growing mil. might of Germany with anguished passiveness. Will it be said of today's world leaders as it was of the pre W.W.II. leaders, "they were better at surviving the catastrophe than they were at preventing it?"

W.W.II did not happen because the Nat's of the free world engaged in a massive mil. buildup. In most countries, including our own, "too little too late" described the reaction to the Nazi mil. colossus.

What does it take for us to learn? On every hand here & abroad when the suggestion is made that we strengthen the mil. capability of Nato the reply is that it's not politically expedient to incrs. spending for armaments because the people are against it. Our own Congress, which is willing to run an $80 Bil. deficit for every kind of social experiment, screams long & loud for reduction of the budget for defense. But have any of the pol. leaders laid the facts out for the people? Of course the overtaxed citizenry in Europe & America want govt. spending reduced. But if we are told the truth, namely that enough evidence of weakness or lack of willpower could tempt the Soviet U. as it once tempted Hitler & the mil. rulers of Japan, I believe our decision would be in favor of an ounce of prevention. Certainly we haven't forgotten that after W.W.II the Japanese told us they decided on war when they saw our army staging war games with wooden guns. They also took note that one month before Pearl Harbor Congress came within a single vote of abolishing the draft & sending the bulk of our army home.

It has recently been revealed that for 12 yrs. a behavioral scientist at the U. of Hawaii [Professor Rudolph Rummel] has headed up a team of distinguished colleagues in a Federally-Funded, computerized study of International behavior. Summed up in one sentence they have learned that "to abdicate power is to abdicate the right to maintain peace."

The study focused mainly upon Red China, Russia & the US. Every bit of data from trade to tourism — from threats to treaties — was fed into the computers. The findings prove conclusively that what Laurence Beilenson wrote in his book The Treaty Trap is true. "Nations that place their faith in treaties & fail to keep their hardware up don't stick around long enough to write many pages in history."

According to the report (quote) "It is not equality in power," "that reduces hostility & conflict. Rather it is power dominance or submission." — "Peace is purchased by making yourself stronger than your adversary — or by dismantling power & submitting to one's enemies." (unquote).

Power is not only sufficient military strength but it's also a sound economy, a reliable energy supply and credibility — the belief by any potential enemy that you will not choose surrender as the way to maintain peace. Thomas Jefferson said "The American people won't make a mistake if they are given all the facts."

Perhaps Cong. should be given some facts about us, namely that we'd rather prevent a war by being well armed than by surrendering. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening.

(Reagan, In His Own Hand, pp. 4ff.)

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Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Thu. 02/06/03 08:58:21 AM
Categorized as Most Notable & Ronald Reagan & Speeches and Suchlike.