Vernon Ehlers: “for many years I have heard comments about the power of ideas. I learned as a youngster that the pen is mightier than…”

“for many years I have heard comments about the power of ideas. I learned as a youngster that the pen is mightier than the sword and that there is nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come. President Ronald Reagan demonstrated that these and similar statements, are true. He was living proof that ideas win battles. He was not regarded as an intellectual, but yet he understood the importance of the basic, simple ideas that this country is founded upon, the ideas of peace and freedom, freedom to worship, freedom to speak, freedom of the press, but he also went beyond that. He recognized that these are not ends in themselves, but these are means to an end, and freedom to worship is meaningless unless you use it to worship. Freedom of the press is meaningless unless you use it to print ideas that are for the betterment of the Nation. Simple ideas, valiantly fought for. With grace, charm and a twinkle in his eye, he succeeded where others had failed. He inspired a troubled Nation. He brought us together. He conquered the symbolic Iron Curtain and brought it down, along with the very real Berlin Wall. He led to nuclear disarmament, the greatest threat to humanity during his tenure. I rise today to thank President Reagan for what he did for this country, for the ideas he fought for and the transformation he made in the culture and the attitudes of this Nation.”