Reply #27: Thanks for posting this!

[yardwork]

This speech was widely derided and mocked at the time, but read in light of our situation today, it looks highly prescient.

We have fallen into a time of "fragmentation and self-interest."

I think of Jimmy Carter as a "Sermon on the Mountain" Christian. In fact, he was also widely mocked for mentioning the idea of "lusting in his heart," which is straight from Jesus's speech. Most people don't want to hear the difficult things. They don't want to be told that obeying the Ten Commandments (more or less) is not enough - we have to try even harder than that.

In some ways, Reagan could be compared to the Devil, whispering easy lies in America's ears. "Everything's ok. You don't have to work hard. Elect me and it will be morning in America."

Faced with a choice between old grandpa and the strict Southern Baptist, people predictably chose the easy way!