A Time For Choosing By Ronald Reagan

452 Words1 Page

In the speech “A Time for Choosing” given by Ronald Reagan on 27 October 1964, Reagan makes the argument that Americans will have the choice to vote in the upcoming Presidential Election of 1964 and provides them with reasons to put their vote, with him, towards Barry Goldwater. The reason for the speech was to make Goldwater prevalent in the hearts and minds of the American voters. Reagan did this by highlighting the differences between his stance on popular issues and the stance of his opponent Lyndon B. Johnson. With these differences well known to the American people, the hope was that Lyndon B. Johnson would be the next President of the United States.
When Barry Goldwater chose to run for president America was in a state of economic turmoil …show more content…

He unified people in many ways including the use of “we” and “us” in contrast to “I” and “me.” One of the most quoted lines from this speech “Another articulate spokesman defines liberalism as ‘meeting the material needs of the masses through the full power of centralized government.’ Well, I, for one, resent it when a representative of the people refers to you and me, the free men and women of this country, as ‘the masses.” ties together this sense of unity with his limited-government views. It is ironic that he conveyed this message of individuality to a broad spectrum of people, inviting them to be individual together. However, it still added to his effort to create a sense of unity because he touched on an emotion that everyone feels. This allowed him to present his views as a mere citizen, rather than a politician or actor, effectively inhibiting the desire of the audience to detect bias. Statements throughout the speech such as “You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down” followed by an explanation of his proposed solution to a given problem made his views seem “simple-citizen” because they created a sense of

Open Document