Ronald Reagan’s Lessons on Protecting Freedom for the Next Generation

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When we open our eyes each morning in the United States, we wake up to another day of liberty. We’re free to pray whenever and however we like. We can speak our minds freely in our conversations with the people we know and post whatever we want to on social media. If there’s a problem we want to help solve, we’re at liberty to reach out to our freely elected representatives and take up that cause with them. All day long, we can freely go where we want to, when we want to, as we enjoy this free society we live in. But this liberty that we may take for granted is actually a rare blessing in human history. True liberty – the freedom to make our own choices without fear – is something that every generation must carefully protect so it won’t slip away.

Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan often pointed out that freedom must be preserved by each generation of people in our nation. By looking at Reagan’s wisdom, our nation’s history, and God’s Word, we can discover key ways to preserve liberty for our children and grandchildren.

What Does Liberty Mean in America?

To protect liberty, we first need to understand what it actually means. In the American tradition, liberty is not the freedom to do whatever we want without rules. True liberty is the freedom to do what’s right. It means having the God-given power to live the lives we choose.

Galatians 5:13 urges us: “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” While we do have the liberty to make whatever choices we want, it’s wise to seek and follow God’s guidance for our decisions. The ways God guides us will always be loving and lead to what’s good for all concerned.

Our American founders recognized that human rights come directly from God, our Creator, rather than from other humans like kings, queens, or parliaments. The liberty we enjoy is sacred because it’s a gift from God. When we understand that God is the ultimate source of our freedom, we can realize how valuable it truly is and be inspired to help preserve it.

The Lessons of History: Freedom Is Fragile

History shows us that freedom is rare and fragile. Throughout time, most people have lived under rulers who controlled their lives, thoughts, and faith. The American experiment was a huge step forward because it placed power back into the hands of ordinary people under the rule of law.

During a speech in 1961 to a chamber of commerce, long before he became president, Reagan shared a warning about freedom that remains famous today: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” Reagan was reminding us that no country stays free by accident. If we stop teaching our children the value of liberty, or if we trade our freedom away by making choices that God wants us to avoid, our nation’s liberty can slip away in a single lifetime.

3 Key Ways to Preserve Liberty

We all have an important part to play in preserving liberty. The process of protecting the freedom we enjoy right now is something we can pay attention to day by day wherever we are – at home, at work, in church, and as we meet other people in our local communities. Reagan pointed to three key habits that every citizen can practice to preserve liberty:

Maintain a strong spiritual foundation: Reagan believed that freedom and faith go together. He pointed out that self-governing people must be moral people. When individual people govern their own actions through faith and integrity, society needs far less government control from above. In a 1983 speech, Reagan noted: “Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.” The Bible describes this truth clearly in 2 Corinthians 3:17: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” When we pray for our nation, worship together, and live out Christian virtues like honesty, generosity, and kindness, we can keep building the moral foundations that keep free societies standing. 

Practice personal responsibility: We must each accept personal responsibility for our actions in order for liberty to stay strong in our nation. When we take care of our families, help our neighbors, and support local charities, we strengthen our communities without relying on central authorities to solve every problem. Reagan reminded Americans in his first inaugural address: “Government has no power except that granted it by the people.” As Christians, God calls us to love our neighbors by serving them. The Bible points out in 1 Peter 4:10 that God has given us each gifts to use to do so: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” As much as we can, we should contribute to our nation and our world. When each of us steps up to help people as God leads us to do so, everyone’s needs can get met in the ways God intends – and in the process, we show Americans and others that a free society works best through neighborly love that people choose to give freely. 

Teach the next generation: As Reagan pointed out, freedom isn’t passed down through our bloodstream. It’s vital to focus on educating the generations who follow us about liberty. We must teach young people inspiring stories about America’s history, the sacrifices made by previous generations to preserve liberty, and the biblical principles that relate to freedom. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 mentions the importance of teaching our children: “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” We can read good books together about topics that relate to freedom, discuss current news events and how they show the importance of freedom around the dinner table, and more. Whenever God gives us opportunities to teach younger generations about why liberty matters, we should do so.

Connecting History to Today’s Conversations

In today’s world, public conversations are too often rude and divisive. We can feel discouraged when we turn on the news or scroll through social media and see or read about all the mean-spirited conversations happening right now. We need to remember that engaging in arguments won’t motivate people to listen to our point of view, and that our fellow citizens aren’t our enemies. Reagan often pointed out that Americans are united by shared hopes rather than divided by fear. He encouraged people to look beyond political labels and focus on the core principles that are important to us all – such as freedom – with a positive attitude. Reagan famously said in the last major speech of his public career: “My fellow citizens, I want you to know that I have always had the highest respect for you, for your common sense and intelligence and for your decency. I have always believed in you and in what you could accomplish for yourselves and for others. 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.”

Jesus calls us to be salt and light in our culture when he says in Matthew 5:13-16: “‘You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. ‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” We can be the salt and light that get people’s attention in today’s conversations about liberty by focusing on these timeless truths from God’s Word:

• Focus on human dignity: Every person is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and deserves respect, whether we agree with them or not. 
• Promote peace and goodwill: We can stand strong in our convictions while remaining gentle and polite in our conversations (1 Peter 3:15). 
• Seek unity where possible: Rather than letting disagreements pull us apart, we can look for common ground in issues that are important to us all, like safe communities and bright futures for our young people. 
• Stay hopeful about the future: We don’t need to let the challenges in our fallen world cause us to worry. As Christians, we can stay hopeful about the future because we know that real hope comes from Jesus, who holds all things together (Colossians 1:17) – and Jesus will help us bring hope to our world.

God has placed us in this nation for good purposes. By faithfully doing our part to preserve liberty like Reagan urged us to do, we can carry out our duties as citizens of both a free nation on earth and of heaven, where God’s freedom reigns forever.

So, let’s keep in mind these encouraging words from Galatians 6:9: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Each of us doing our part to preserve liberty in the United States will help make sure that the light of freedom continues to shine brightly for generations to come!

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This article is part of Salem Media's Foundations of Freedom series.

Photo Credit: ©GettyImages / Dirck Halstead / Contributor

Whitney Hopler helps people discover God's wonder and experience awe. She is the author of several books, including the nonfiction books Wake Up to Wonder and Wonder Through the Year: A Daily Devotional for Every Year, and the young adult novel Dream Factory. Whitney has served as an editor at leading media organizations, including Crosswalk.com, The Salvation Army USA’s national publications, and Dotdash.com (where she produced a popular channel on angels and miracles). She currently leads the communications work at George Mason University’s Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. Connect with Whitney on her website at www.whitneyhopler.com and on her Facebook author page.