Ronald Reagan begins his historical speech with - ironically - a history, mentioning how he is continuing a presidential tradition of speaking in beautiful Berlin. Very quickly he mentions his motivation for speaking: freedom. To the citizens of Eastern Europe, he gives a special message saying that the city of Berlin should not be divided. The Berlin Wall behind Ronald Reagan at the time of his speech is a glaring symbol of the lack of freedom in Berlin. He goes on to explain that forty years prior, the Marshall Plan was put into place as an action against “hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos”(Reagan). The freedom given by the Marshall Plan served as a catalyst for the growth of many nations. Reagan then fast-forwards to present day Berlin,
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Reagan details the failures of those who are against the concept of freedom, and cleverly asks the rhetorical question, “Are these the beginnings of profound changes in the Soviet state? Or are they token gestures, intended to raise false hopes in the West, or to strengthen the Soviet system without changing it?”(Reagan). Reagan then states that the Soviets should tear down their wall as a demonstration of their commitment to freedom. The crowd becomes crazed by this statement, so he quickly adds, “To be sure, we in the West must resist Soviet expansion… Yet we seek peace; so we must strive to reduce arms on both sides” (Reagan). This simple statement is enough to redirect their energy against their leadership’s decision making ability back towards enforcing arms restrictions on both sides. This is a pristine transition into the arms reductions debate. Reagan incorporates a story to continue his second point, as he After dispelling the idea of violence, Reagan dispels the idea of ignorance as well. He mentions that even in the midst of these arms restrictions, the United States is to remain strong in their defense mechanisms because they know that threats are still present. He soon circles back to how freedom is transforming the globe through these advances, and, continuing the trend of referencing freedom before transitioning, he moves on to his next
Reagan details the failures of those who are against the concept of freedom, and cleverly asks the rhetorical question, “Are these the beginnings of profound changes in the Soviet state? Or are they token gestures, intended to raise false hopes in the West, or to strengthen the Soviet system without changing it?”(Reagan). Reagan then states that the Soviets should tear down their wall as a demonstration of their commitment to freedom. The crowd becomes crazed by this statement, so he quickly adds, “To be sure, we in the West must resist Soviet expansion… Yet we seek peace; so we must strive to reduce arms on both sides” (Reagan). This simple statement is enough to redirect their energy against their leadership’s decision making ability back towards enforcing arms restrictions on both sides. This is a pristine transition into the arms reductions debate. Reagan incorporates a story to continue his second point, as he After dispelling the idea of violence, Reagan dispels the idea of ignorance as well. He mentions that even in the midst of these arms restrictions, the United States is to remain strong in their defense mechanisms because they know that threats are still present. He soon circles back to how freedom is transforming the globe through these advances, and, continuing the trend of referencing freedom before transitioning, he moves on to his next