A Shining City upon a Hill

I've walked through the streets of Reagan's city and it is a beautiful, clean and inspiring place. The innate goodness of the residents has eliminated all crime and the children playing can be heard in the parks which adds a youthful feel to the place.

The architecture is timeless. At one time its residents preferred early American but that phase passed and now it's a collection of the best from all over the world. Unemployment is down to zero percent and their productivity is off the chart.

The city stands as a testament to the will of the American ideal and spirit and it views all the world below it. I have a home in this city and am a citizen of it. I have dedicated my life to seeing that the values it holds, and the freedom and love that exists therein, is shared with all mankind so that they, too, will one day be able to walk the streets, hear the children and watch the gorgeous sunrise every morning on purple mountains and golden grain and the magenta sunsets on white tipped breakers gently caressing the sand.

Reagan in his farewell address described it well and I shall leave you with his words:

"And that's about all I have to say tonight, except for one thing. The past few days when I've been at that window upstairs, I've thought a bit of the `shining city upon a hill.' The phrase comes from John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined. What he imagined was important because he was an early Pilgrim, an early freedom man. He journeyed here on what today we'd call a little wooden boat; and like the other Pilgrims, he was looking for a home that would be free. I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it, and see it still.

And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was 8 years ago. But more than that: After 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.

We've done our part. And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan revolution, the men and women across America who for 8 years did the work that brought America back. My friends: We did it. We weren't just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger, we made the city freer, and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all.

And so, goodbye, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America."