Ronald Reagan at Notre Dame

Paul Kengor, National Review Online May 16, 2011

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Paul Kengor

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May 16, 2011 4:00 A.M.

For those of us fascinated by Cold War history, the last few months have been a treat, with recognition of two 20th-century giants who played a huge role in peacefully taking down an Evil Empire and ending the longest-running conflict of a bloody century. In February, Americans marked the centennial of the birth of Pres. Ronald Reagan. This May, Catholics marked the beatification of Pope John Paul II.

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Even then, that’s just the tip of the historical iceberg. We’re at the 30-year mark of a bunch of events that conservatives in particular should reflect on, instead of just hopping from news cycle to news cycle. The founders of our movement, with the founding editor of National Review among them, would want us to stand athwart history yelling “Stop”; that is, to pause and pay recognition.

In January 1981, Ronald Reagan was inaugurated president. Mere weeks later, on March 30, he was shot. On May 13, John Paul II likewise was shot. Both men, we learned only later, came perilously close to bleeding to death during emergency surgery. Those events would convince the president and the pope that God had spared them for a special — indeed, historical — purpose.

Some of this has been acknowledged in retrospectives in recent weeks. What will not get its due, however, was a special speech given by President Reagan on May 17, 1981, at Notre Dame. And here, I encourage conservatives to listen up and take notes.

The occasion was Notre Dame’s commencement, and Reagan gave the assembled undergrads a lesson to remember, including one of his first presidential predictions on the demise of Communism:

The years ahead are great ones for this country, for the cause of freedom and the spread of civilization. The West won’t contain Communism, it will transcend Communism. . . . It will dismiss it as some bizarre chapter in human history whose last pages are even now being written.

The visionary quality of Reagan’s words is evident only in retrospect. Though no one else was making such audacious predictions, and though many scoffed at Reagan, those last pages were indeed being written. Unbeknownst to the world, Communism’s grip on Eastern Europe would not survive the decade. Even the USSR would disintegrate peacefully. On Dec. 25, 1991, a helpless Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as leader of the USSR, formally turning out the lights.

For Reagan, that process was aided by an indispensable ally, John Paul II, who had been shot only four days before the Notre Dame speech. Reagan asked the Notre Dame faithful to pray for John Paul, and commended him for his recent encyclical attacking Communism.

The Notre Dame speech was crafted by chief speechwriter Tony Dolan, with a few edits from the president, as can be seen in a marked-up draft at the Reagan Presidential Library (“Presidential Speeches,” Box 1, Folder 7). As Dolan is always quick to acknowledge, the speech is “Reagan’s,” as it was written quintessentially for Reagan alone, based on his ideas, his voice, and with phrases he himself had used. Dolan could not have written such a speech for anyone but Reagan, nor would anyone but Reagan have signed off on it.

In fact, the speech as delivered was highly personal, begun with lengthy extemporaneous remarks by Reagan. It wove together quotes and anecdotes, impromptu and prewritten, establishing Reagan’s theme of a larger cause and challenge — a challenge for all of America. It was a complex, enigmatic speech that can only be fully understood today, long after Reagan’s presidency and with current knowledge of what Reagan was secretly pursuing behind the scenes. Reagan telegraphed its unorthodox nature in these opening lines:

The temptation is great to use this forum as an address on a great international or national issue. . . . Indeed, this is somewhat traditional. So, I wasn’t surprised when I read in several reputable journals that I was going to deliver an address on foreign policy and the economy. I’m not going to talk about either.

This wasn’t quite true. Or maybe it was. Reagan’s objective was much larger — yes, untraditional — as if transcending the economy and foreign policy. Reagan drew upon dramatic remarks by Winston Churchill: “When great causes are on the move in the world, we learn we are spirits, not animals, and that something is going on in space and time, and beyond space and time, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty.”

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bobo

05/16/11 17:17

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While Reagan was in office people made such degrading comments about him. Many liberals still do. They just cannot accept the fact that he was right about nearly everything. He had incredible vision for America.

anthony dolan

05/16/11 16:00

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Paul Kengor is fast establishing himself as the "go to" historian of the Reagan Era. But here I must rush into print and say he is too generous about my role in this speech. Though the archives don't show it (they can be deceiving ) the Gipper did a complete rewrite of my draft on this one. (And then called me to apologize. Geez.) His familiar voice is there in phrases like "Now it's only a game..." The students loved him that day. So did I. As I guess almost everybody does now. This text speaks to why. Incidentally, a while back when Obama went to Notre Dame, Vince Haley hauled this out storage and gave it the You Tube title "Source of All Strength." Still there for the viewing

conigliolo

05/16/11 15:07

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Thank you Mr. Kengor for the post and the reminder. A service to us all.

ddot

05/16/11 14:12

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What a contrast between a President Reagan and a President Obama. One a visionary American, the other a visionary Utopian. One a stalwart leader of the West, keenly aware of the indispensable value of our unique ideas and institutions, the other a devoted follower of an undefined something else, which must be better.

Conserve

05/16/11 13:28

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Make no mistake, Gnu, about the perceived lack of "religion" of the Soviet Union. Their god was the State, and they worshipped it just as fanatically as Islamic terrorists worship Allah. The key word, in my opinion, is "totalitarian." That word makes it not just easy, but necessary to apply Reagan today. His principles are just as true and applicable today as ever, whether facing the Soviets, or some power-hungry mullah.

Larmeau

05/16/11 13:18

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Here's the link:

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The Gnu

05/16/11 11:38

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This shows why its hard to apply Reagan today. It is difficult to apply a vision of man with God to inspire a cause greater than ourselves against tyranny that bases itself on Islam to defend a belief in a secular order. We cannot easily stand athwart against history with a medieval opponent until we can give an account one fits with the other.

RobL

05/16/11 09:46

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Such a contrast...

Thinking in football metaphors, President Reagan truly was the Gipper, he had full command and control of his game and willed his nation to victory.

President Obama on the other hand does not. He could have transformed his presidency following the gutsy and successful call to kill Bin Laden. Within a day though he wavered on the photo release while charging forward with operation detail releases (likely breaking some OPSEC rules along way). He trumpeted about not spiking the football exactly as he attempted to spike the football but couldn't as his team changed the details hourly.

Instead of an overtime game winning touchdown to highlight his presidency, President Obama has fumbled the football with these blatant self serving shenanigans and likely his presidency as well.

Ronald Reagan will be remembered as a legendary president, no Hall of Fame awaits President Obama.

vulcan

05/16/11 09:20

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Mr. Reagans speech at Notre Dame was one of the best(Commencement) Presidential speeches I've heard in my lifetime. It was an address given by a MAN, so I don't expect the powers that be at NRO to accept it for it's importance.

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