The Emotional Day When Reagan Delivered His Normandy Speech

When I see any modern politician speak, I pine for the days when men like Reagan knew how to address a crowd. The Pointe du Hoc speech ranks right up there with his Brandenburger Tor speech, IMO.

I heard a lot of people (in my friend group), complain that Biden should not have brought up the Ukraine war in his D-Day commemoration speech. That it politicized the remembrance, was not classy, and/or denigrated the memories of the soldiers there by taking the focus off of what they sacrificed.

How short the memories are.

I agree, Regan's speech will go down as the best. And yes, he drew the same inferences of the Soviet Union at the doors of Europe, just as Biden.

"For sheer oratorical elegence", historian Douglas Brinkley wrote, it would become, "one of the most inspirational presidential speeches ever delivered."

One historian saidd that it was the greatest speech to any D-Day soldier since Eisenhower's rousing speech to the troops just before the landing, "You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade...The eyes of the world are upon you..."

I stood at Pointe du Hoc a few years ago and read this speech by Reagan while standing there. I agree, I miss the days of the republican party under Reagan. Reagan must be turning in his grave to see the shambles of the party today.

It’s not just the Republican party that has changed. It’s hard to have the collegiality that existed in Reagan’s time when the opposite party now calls the Republicans “nazis” or “autocratic,” and thinks that anyone who doesn’t see things the “Democrat way” is a threat to “democracy” as they see it.

It’s easy to say that Republicans should not have stooped to similar tactics, but trying to do things the old way and attempting to find ways to cooperate now means always giving in and/or getting run over, and that’s not the way to stand up for what is good and right.

Of course I’d rather have a David than a Trump (although David had big flaws too, some as large or the same as Trump’s), but whoever the best person would be would still have to be willing to stand up and fight the Philistines, not make nice with them.

and thinks that anyone who doesn’t see things the “Democrat way” is a threat to “democracy” as they see it.

I don't see them as thinking just any non-Democrat is a threat to democracy. I see them as thinking that people who are willing to see the Capitol stormed when the election doesn't go their way are a threat to democracy, as well as people who insist the election was stolen in spite of there being no proof that the election was stolen.

Most people have forgotten what happened in Madison, WI in the aftermath of the Republicans passing Act 10. Democrat activists stormed the Capitol and occupied it for weeks. Pardon me if I find the complaints about Jan 6 to be a little hypocritical and self-serving.

Locally, the Democrat Party calls concerns about books with extremely graphic content in middle school libraries a threat to democracy. There is no reasonable middle ground with such people.

Most people have forgotten what happened in Madison, WI in the aftermath of the Republicans passing Act 10. Democrat activists stormed the Capitol and occupied it for weeks. Pardon me if I find the complaints about Jan 6 to be a little hypocritical and self-serving.

Locally, the Democrat Party calls concerns about books with extremely graphic content in middle school libraries a threat to democracy. There is no reasonable middle ground with such people.