“We're at war with the most dangerous enemy that has ever faced mankind in his long climb from the swamp to the stars, and it's been said if we lose that war, and in so doing lose this way of freedom of ours, history will record with the greatest astonishment that those who had the most to lose did the least to prevent its happening.”

—  Ronald Reagan

1960s, A Time for Choosing (1964)
Context: As for the peace that we would preserve, I wonder who among us would like to approach the wife or mother whose husband or son has died in South Vietnam and ask them if they think this is a peace that should be maintained indefinitely. Do they mean peace, or do they mean we just want to be left in peace? There can be no real peace while one American is dying some place in the world for the rest of us. We're at war with the most dangerous enemy that has ever faced mankind in his long climb from the swamp to the stars, and it's been said if we lose that war, and in so doing lose this way of freedom of ours, history will record with the greatest astonishment that those who had the most to lose did the least to prevent its happening. Well I think it's time we ask ourselves if we still know the freedoms that were intended for us by the Founding Fathers.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update April 22, 2024. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "We're at war with the most dangerous enemy that has ever faced mankind in his long climb from the swamp to the stars, a…" by Ronald Reagan?
Ronald Reagan photo
Ronald Reagan 264
American politician, 40th president of the United States (i… 1911–2004

Related quotes

Rob Enderle photo

“We're creatures of habit. We lined up for the old Batman and Star Wars films long after they stopped being great, and we'll pay Apple the same courtesy if it loses its mojo.”

Rob Enderle (1954) American financial analyst

How many times can Apple bottle lightning? The challenges of staying on top http://digitaltrends.com/apple/rob-enderle-apple in Digital Trends (8 September 2012)

Michael T. Flynn photo

“Most Americans mistakenly believe that peace is the normal condition of mankind, while war is some weird aberration. Actually, it’s the other way around. Most of human history has to do with war, and preparations for the next one. But we Americans do not prepare for the next war, are invariably surprised when it erupts, and, since we did not take prudent steps when it would have been relatively simple to prevail, usually end up fighting on our enemies’ more difficult and costly terms.”

Michael T. Flynn (1958) 25th United States National Security Advisor

Introduction
The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies (2016)

Barack Obama photo

“For if we lose that faith — if we dismiss it as silly or naïve; if we divorce it from the decisions that we make on issues of war and peace — then we lose what's best about humanity. We lose our sense of possibility. We lose our moral compass.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2009, Nobel Prize acceptance speech (December 2009)
Context: We do not have to think that human nature is perfect for us to still believe that the human condition can be perfected. We do not have to live in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will make it a better place. The non-violence practiced by men like Gandhi and King may not have been practical or possible in every circumstance, but the love that they preached — their fundamental faith in human progress — that must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey.
For if we lose that faith — if we dismiss it as silly or naïve; if we divorce it from the decisions that we make on issues of war and peace — then we lose what's best about humanity. We lose our sense of possibility. We lose our moral compass.
Like generations have before us, we must reject that future. As Dr. King said at this occasion so many years ago, "I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the 'isness' of man's present condition makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal 'oughtness' that forever confronts him."
Let us reach for the world that ought to be — that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls.

Christopher Paolini photo

“The greatest enemy is one that has nothing to lose.”

Christopher Paolini book Eragon

Source: Eragon

John Irving photo

“I write repeatedly—against my will—of those things I fear most happening. Losing a loved one, losing a parent, losing a child. I'm in terror of losing a child. It's never happened to me, but I am clearly compelled to write about it over and over again, and in a way I think, psychologically at least, this says more about me autobiographically as a novelist than the fact that Danny Angel goes to the Iowa Writers Workshop and has Kurt Vonnegut as a teacher, which I also did.”

John Irving (1942) American novelist and screenwriter

The Best of The Sunday Edition, CBC.ca, CBC, Michael Enright, October 25, 2009, November 5, 2009 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/sundayedition_20091026_22073.mp3,

Jimmy Lai photo

“The intention of the Chinese government taking away our freedom is so obvious that we know, if we don't fight, we will lose everything...When you lose the freedom, you lose everything. What do you have?”

Jimmy Lai (1948) Hong Kong businessman

October 13, 2019 What keeps the months-long, massive Hong Kong protests going? https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hong-kong-protests-60-minutes-on-the-streets-of-hong-kong-with-pro-democracy-demonstrators-2019-10-13/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7d&linkId=75253573

George Orwell photo

“The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it.”

George Orwell (1903–1950) English author and journalist
Ron English photo

“Pacifists lose the war; aggressors lose the peace.”

Ron English (1959) American artist

Ron English's Fauxlosophy (2016)

Ann Coulter photo

“The greatest threat to the war on terrorism isn't the Islamic insurgency — our military can handle the savages. It's traitorous liberals trying to lose the war at home.”

Ann Coulter (1961) author, political commentator

"When Will NYT Reveal One of al Qaeda's Secret Programs?" http://humanevents.com/2006/06/28/when-will-nyt-reveal-one-of-al-qaedas-secret-programs/ (28 June 2006).
2006

Related topics