Rubio Follows in Reagan’s Footsteps
Who benefits from this decision?
The trip that former President Ronald Reagan took to Europe in June of 1987 culminated in one of the greatest speeches of the last century—but its first major moment was a visit to the Vatican.
On June 3, 1987, Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan flew to Venice, Italy. Shortly before midnight, they arrived at the Villa Condulmer, where they would stay for several days.
“Finished evening with old John Wayne movie,” Reagan wrote the next day in his diary.
The day after that, he delivered a television address broadcast in Western Europe by the U.S. Information Agency on its WORLDNET satellite television channels.
“Next week I’ll be addressing the people of West Berlin,” Reagan said. “I will stand in front of the wall that runs like an open wound through the heart of Europe, the wall that represents all that is most hostile to our democratic values of freedom and human rights. A regime that so fears its own people it must imprison them behind a wall is a regime that will always be a source of tension in Europe. It will always be at odds with free people everywhere.”
Then, on June 6, Reagan and the first lady flew to the Vatican, where the president met with St. John Paul II, the pope whose native Poland—like East Germany—was then occupied by the atheistic communist regime of the Soviet Union.
“Nancy went on a separate tour while Bishop [Dino] Monduzzi took me to the papal library where I met the Pope,” Reagan recorded in his diary. “We talked for an hour—an interesting hour. I filled him in as best I could on Nicaragua & Gen. Sec. [Mikhail] Gorbachev.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, former White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater quoted the president as saying, of his meeting with the pope, “Most of our discussions were on U.S.-Soviet relations and on General Secretary [Mikhail S.] Gorbachev.”
Reagan then returned to Venice, where he attended that year’s G7 summit along with the leaders of Canada, France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
On June 12, 1987, he flew to Germany to speak in front of the Berlin Wall.
“Then it was on to the Brandenburg gate where I addressed tens & tens of thousands of people— stretching as far as I could see,” Reagan wrote. “I got a tremendous reception—interrupted 28 times by cheers.”
In this speech, Reagan drew attention to the symbolic importance of a television tower on the other side of the wall.
“Perhaps this gets to the root of the matter, to the most fundamental distinction of all between East and West,” said Reagan. “The totalitarian world produces backwardness because it does such violence to the spirit, thwarting the human impulse to create, to enjoy, to worship.
“The totalitarian world finds even symbols of love and worship an affront. Years ago, before the East Germans began rebuilding their churches, they erected a secular structure: the television tower at Alexander Platz.
“Virtually ever since, the authorities have been working to correct what they view as the tower’s one major flaw, treating the glass sphere at the top with paints and chemicals of every kind. Yet even today when the sun strikes that sphere—that sphere that towers over all Berlin—the light makes …
Who benefits from this decision?
The trip that former President Ronald Reagan took to Europe in June of 1987 culminated in one of the greatest speeches of the last century—but its first major moment was a visit to the Vatican.
On June 3, 1987, Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan flew to Venice, Italy. Shortly before midnight, they arrived at the Villa Condulmer, where they would stay for several days.
“Finished evening with old John Wayne movie,” Reagan wrote the next day in his diary.
The day after that, he delivered a television address broadcast in Western Europe by the U.S. Information Agency on its WORLDNET satellite television channels.
“Next week I’ll be addressing the people of West Berlin,” Reagan said. “I will stand in front of the wall that runs like an open wound through the heart of Europe, the wall that represents all that is most hostile to our democratic values of freedom and human rights. A regime that so fears its own people it must imprison them behind a wall is a regime that will always be a source of tension in Europe. It will always be at odds with free people everywhere.”
Then, on June 6, Reagan and the first lady flew to the Vatican, where the president met with St. John Paul II, the pope whose native Poland—like East Germany—was then occupied by the atheistic communist regime of the Soviet Union.
“Nancy went on a separate tour while Bishop [Dino] Monduzzi took me to the papal library where I met the Pope,” Reagan recorded in his diary. “We talked for an hour—an interesting hour. I filled him in as best I could on Nicaragua & Gen. Sec. [Mikhail] Gorbachev.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, former White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater quoted the president as saying, of his meeting with the pope, “Most of our discussions were on U.S.-Soviet relations and on General Secretary [Mikhail S.] Gorbachev.”
Reagan then returned to Venice, where he attended that year’s G7 summit along with the leaders of Canada, France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
On June 12, 1987, he flew to Germany to speak in front of the Berlin Wall.
“Then it was on to the Brandenburg gate where I addressed tens & tens of thousands of people— stretching as far as I could see,” Reagan wrote. “I got a tremendous reception—interrupted 28 times by cheers.”
In this speech, Reagan drew attention to the symbolic importance of a television tower on the other side of the wall.
“Perhaps this gets to the root of the matter, to the most fundamental distinction of all between East and West,” said Reagan. “The totalitarian world produces backwardness because it does such violence to the spirit, thwarting the human impulse to create, to enjoy, to worship.
“The totalitarian world finds even symbols of love and worship an affront. Years ago, before the East Germans began rebuilding their churches, they erected a secular structure: the television tower at Alexander Platz.
“Virtually ever since, the authorities have been working to correct what they view as the tower’s one major flaw, treating the glass sphere at the top with paints and chemicals of every kind. Yet even today when the sun strikes that sphere—that sphere that towers over all Berlin—the light makes …
Rubio Follows in Reagan’s Footsteps
Who benefits from this decision?
The trip that former President Ronald Reagan took to Europe in June of 1987 culminated in one of the greatest speeches of the last century—but its first major moment was a visit to the Vatican.
On June 3, 1987, Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan flew to Venice, Italy. Shortly before midnight, they arrived at the Villa Condulmer, where they would stay for several days.
“Finished evening with old John Wayne movie,” Reagan wrote the next day in his diary.
The day after that, he delivered a television address broadcast in Western Europe by the U.S. Information Agency on its WORLDNET satellite television channels.
“Next week I’ll be addressing the people of West Berlin,” Reagan said. “I will stand in front of the wall that runs like an open wound through the heart of Europe, the wall that represents all that is most hostile to our democratic values of freedom and human rights. A regime that so fears its own people it must imprison them behind a wall is a regime that will always be a source of tension in Europe. It will always be at odds with free people everywhere.”
Then, on June 6, Reagan and the first lady flew to the Vatican, where the president met with St. John Paul II, the pope whose native Poland—like East Germany—was then occupied by the atheistic communist regime of the Soviet Union.
“Nancy went on a separate tour while Bishop [Dino] Monduzzi took me to the papal library where I met the Pope,” Reagan recorded in his diary. “We talked for an hour—an interesting hour. I filled him in as best I could on Nicaragua & Gen. Sec. [Mikhail] Gorbachev.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, former White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater quoted the president as saying, of his meeting with the pope, “Most of our discussions were on U.S.-Soviet relations and on General Secretary [Mikhail S.] Gorbachev.”
Reagan then returned to Venice, where he attended that year’s G7 summit along with the leaders of Canada, France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
On June 12, 1987, he flew to Germany to speak in front of the Berlin Wall.
“Then it was on to the Brandenburg gate where I addressed tens & tens of thousands of people— stretching as far as I could see,” Reagan wrote. “I got a tremendous reception—interrupted 28 times by cheers.”
In this speech, Reagan drew attention to the symbolic importance of a television tower on the other side of the wall.
“Perhaps this gets to the root of the matter, to the most fundamental distinction of all between East and West,” said Reagan. “The totalitarian world produces backwardness because it does such violence to the spirit, thwarting the human impulse to create, to enjoy, to worship.
“The totalitarian world finds even symbols of love and worship an affront. Years ago, before the East Germans began rebuilding their churches, they erected a secular structure: the television tower at Alexander Platz.
“Virtually ever since, the authorities have been working to correct what they view as the tower’s one major flaw, treating the glass sphere at the top with paints and chemicals of every kind. Yet even today when the sun strikes that sphere—that sphere that towers over all Berlin—the light makes …
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