By Jim Whitt Contributing Editor
“Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. And those in world history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.”
Those words were delivered by Ronald Reagan, the newly elected governor of California, in his inaugural address on Jan. 5, 1967.
Reagan’s two terms as governor were a preview of coming attractions for the former actor. Much of his appeal was the fact that he was not a politician. “I am an ordinary citizen with a deep-seated belief that much of what troubles us has been brought about by politicians.”
When asked about how he would perform in office while campaigning in 1966, his reply was typical of his legendary wit and humor. “I don’t know, I’ve never played a governor.”
By the time he left office, he had wiped out the budget deficit inherited from the previous administration, reformed the state’s welfare system and lowered property taxes.
Reagan righted the ship and had California headed in the right direction. Since then, the state has veered off course and run aground. As I write this, the greater Los Angeles area is literally on fire. It is an unfortunate metaphor for what has happened to the entire state. It is one of two states that have lost the most population since 2020. The other is New York. People are fleeing both states because of high taxes, ridiculous regulations, an unsustainable cost of living, high crime, illegal immigration and a bloated government. In 2024, California’s state debt was about $158.05 billion compared to $57.17 billion in 2000. Los Angeles has made budget cuts – unfortunately those cuts are to their fire and police departments. But they continue to spend lavishly on woke initiatives while their city burns.
After being elected president, Reagan inherited an even worse situation from the previous administration – double-digit inflation, double-digit interest rates, ever-increasing taxes and a bloated bureaucracy. As president, he never veered from the philosophy he espoused as governor – smaller government, fewer regulations, lower taxes and economic freedom. It became known as the Reagan Revolution. A fervent anticommunist, he issued this challenge to the Soviet head of state in a speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, on June 12, 1987. “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
It is an unfortunate fact of human nature that prosperity breeds complacency. Complacency is the enemy of freedom.
On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, and the Soviet Union soon collapsed. The pictures we saw of jubilant people dismantling the wall are of people experiencing freedom for the first time in their lives.
When Ronald Reagan was governor, California prospered. When he was president, our nation prospered. Prosperity is a byproduct of freedom. Freedom is independence, the thing we want most when we start life’s journey and the thing we cling to most as we near its end. The opposite of independence is dependence. Whenever politicians promise to take care of us it’s the equivalent of taking away our car keys. We don’t get to drive anymore. They’ll take us where they want us to go, to do what they want us to do, to live how they want us to live and take our money to pay for it.
What has happened to California in the years since Reagan served as governor is exactly what has happened to our nation in the years since he served as president. It is an unfortunate fact of human nature that prosperity breeds complacency. Complacency is the enemy of freedom. In the words of G. Michael Hopf, “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And weak men create hard times.”
We failed to heed Reagan’s words from 1967. We thought freedom was ours by inheritance. We forgot that it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation. Consequently, we find ourselves once again in hard times. Our saving grace may be that we just re-elected a president who is not a politician but someone who has a deep-seated belief that much of what troubles us has been brought about by politicians.
