7. Document A The Declaration of Independence mentions the Supreme Being no less than four times. ‘In God we trust’ is engraved on our coinage. The Supreme Court opens its proceedings with a religious invocation. And the members of Congress open their sessions with a prayer. I just happen to believe the schoolchildren of the United States are entitled to the same privileges as the Supreme Court Justices and Congressmen. Ronald Reagan, 1911 What is your opinion of Reagan’s views? Does what he say comply with a democratic society’s vision of citizens developing and defending conflicting views with each other?
11. Document F The defense policy of the United States is based on a simple premise: The United States does not start fights. We will never be an aggressor. We maintain our strength in order to deter and defend against aggression - to preserve freedom and peace. … We can't afford to believe that we will never be threatened. There have been two world wars in my lifetime. We didn't start them and, indeed, did everything we could to avoid being drawn into them. But we were ill-prepared for both - had we been better prepared, peace might have been preserved. … Some people may still ask: Would the Soviets ever use their formidable military power? Well, again, can we afford to believe they won't? There is Afghanistan, and in Poland, the Soviets denied the will of the people and, in so doing, demonstrated to the world how their military power could also be used to intimidate. Ronald Reagan, “Star Wars” Speech, 1983
12. Continued… Was the defense spending worth the cost, or did it only prolong cold war hostilities?
20. Document C OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Act] appears to be caught in a cycle of liberal presidents—who want to retain some health and safety regulatory programs, but who also need economic growth for political survival—and conservative presidents, who focus almost exclusively on the growth side of the equation Such a cycle will always tend to subordinate the need for safe and healthful workplaces to…ensuring that commitment to OSHA will only be as strong as the priorities of business will allow. William Grover, The President as Prisoner
23. Document E There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! Ronald Reagan, Words at the Brandenburg Gate before the people of the city of West Berlin, 1987 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtYdjbpBk6A&feature=related>
25. Continued Do you see any incongruity in talk of “freedom and peace” and the arms race? Are weapons fundamentally essential to maintaining a truce in the modern world?
29. Document D We were told that the only way to defeat the Sandinistas was to use the tactics the agency [the CIA] attributed to Communist insurgencies elsewhere: kill, kidnap, rob, and torture…Many civilians were killed in cold blood. Many others were tortured, mutilated raped, robbed, or otherwise abused… When I agreed to join… I had hoped that it would be an organization of Nicaraguans… [It] turned out to be an instrument of the U.S. government. Edgar Chamorro, Contra colonel, Testimony before World Court
30. Document H The President, in every possible instance, shall consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances. 1973 (War Powers Act)
