"And whatever else history
may say about me when I'm gone,
I hope it will record that I appealed
to your best hopes,
not your worst fears,
to your confidence rather than your doubts.
My dream is that you will travel
the road ahead
with liberty's lamp guiding your steps
and opportunity's arm steadying your way.
My fondest hope for each one of you
-- and especially for young people --
is that you will love your country,
not for her power or wealth,
but for her selflessness and her idealism.
May each of you have the heart to conceive,
the understanding to direct,
and the hand to execute
works that will make the world a little better
for your having been here.
May all of you as Americans
never forget your heroic origins,
never fail to seek divine guidance,
and never lose your natural, God-given optimism.
And finally, my fellow Americans,
may every dawn
be a great new beginning for America
and every evening
bring us closer to that shining city upon a hill."
--RONALD REAGAN 1992 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION (August 17, 1992)
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