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>> good morning, everyone. thank you so much for joining us today. i would like to start with a big thank you to the band for that wonderful program. [applause] i am sure that you recognized their last piece which was one of president reagan's most favorite songs. on november 4, 1981, president reagan stood alongside four other u.s. living presidents. the first time in history five presidents have ever gathered together and officially opened the ronald ragan library and museum. it is such an honor to be with

you today 30 years later to celebrate this historic. the marine corps base color guard will parade the colors. parade the colors. ♪♪ ♪♪

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[applause] >> thank you. please be seated. before we go any further, there are several special guests in our audience today that i want

to make sure that we recognize. i will begin former pete wilson and his wife gail. governor. [applause] ragan library director duke lockwood. duke. [applause] of course -- [applause] congressman and his wife heather. congressman. [applause] with their sons preston and jet. [applause] assemblywoman suzette.

[applause] from the city of simi valley recognizing mayor keith mashburn i would also like to thank the city for the honorary resolution commemorating the 30th anniversary. thank you. the city council members from the various cities in the counties of ventura. [applause] last, but not least, i would like to play a greeting from a very special person that was not able to join us. >> celebrating 30 years of the ronald reagan presidential library. since its opening, millions of visitors have learned about the life and legacy of our nation's four-year president and amy valley. to president reagan's belief in our country and his love for our country, he became an enduring symbol of our country. we are blessed to have known ronald reagan and we congratulate everyone involved with the reagan library on your

30th anniversary. god bless you all and may god continue to bless america. [applause] >> thank you, mr. president for sharing our special day with us. three years ago before this library's opening in november of 1988, president reagan spoke at the official groundbreaking. during his remarks he said, the story that will be tolled inside the walls that are yet to be built, the story not only of our presidency, but of a movement. a true movement dedicated to the greatness of america and safe in its bed lock traditions. the goodness of its people. the essential soundness of its institutions. yes, safe in our very essence as

a nation. i am proud to say that the reagan library has kept president reagan's commitment to share not only his story, but the story of america and its place in the world. the reagan library stands today as the largest and most visited of the presidential library in the united states. it has been home to several presidential primary debates. it is hosted world leaders. it features exciting world class special exhibits that complement president reagan's permanent museum. it houses and air force one. one that visitors can climb aboard. it flew president reagan and six other u.s. presidents. it served as a schoolhouse for

more than 1 million students teaching them the lesson of civility, leadership and character. it has provided tuition to hundreds upon hundreds of students who have received over $10 million in college scholarships in the name of ronald reagan. it now reaches washington, d.c. with its ragan institute. our staff there works every day to keep ronald reagan's policies alive and well and washington and the world. to complete president reagan, we have proven the endowment for over $250 million. of course, this incredible library serves as the final resting place for both president and missus reagan.

importantly, presidential library's are the repositories for the papers. records and historical materials of our nations presidents. as such, it is truly fitting to have with us today mr. david, the 10th of the united states. i might add with veterans day only a few days away, david previously served our nation's as a hospital corpsman during the vietnam war. so, david, thank you for your service to this great nation. your time in vietnam. healing the wounded. taking sure all presidents legacies including ronald reagan's are preserved and protected for the american people.

ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming mr. david. [applause] >> thank you, gentlemen. good morning. reading this from washington. i am really honored to be here to celebrate the anniversary of this wonderful library. the national archives from herbert hoover to john all j trout. -- herbert hoover to donald j trump. the million ages of materials, 640,000 museum objects and close to reaching the 1 billion mark in electronic records. that is what keeps me up at night.

[laughter] presidential libraries are not libraries in the usual sense. they are archives and museums bring together artifacts. the president, his administration and his family and presenting them in the public discussion without regard for the political considerations or affiliations. in litigating the first presidential library 1941, president franklin roosevelt captured the essence of the mission. to bring together the records of the past and to house them where they will be preserved for the use of many in the future. the nation must believe in three things. it must believe in the past, it must believe in the future, it must above all believe in the capacity of its own people so to learn from the past that they can gain and judgment and creating their own future. that text sounds exactly,

captures the mission of the national archives today. the presidential libraries are a unique american phenomenon. a partnership of the american government. working together to preserve the legacy of the president and his administration to educate, inspire and entertain. as president reagan acknowledged 30 years ago in his remarks at the dedication ceremony, most of those that enter, these doors are not academics. ordinary people of all ages, backgrounds and political persuasions eager to examine their past and explore what is not always taught in school. this institution would be a time capsule for american growth and greatness. more than the single presidency honoring more than a single president. serving many purposes. one of our most important is to

make records available so that the american people can hold government accountable and to learn from our past. on the day this library was dedicated, more than 6 million pages of documents related to the administration were released to the public. since that time they are processed and opened an additional 24 million records making them available online in the library's research group i wish to thank the members of the library and museum staff herein simi valley. for their hard work and dedication's and the president vision of the library. day and in and day out protect the records to help guide researchers and greet visitors each year. you have helped achieve president reagan's wish to become a dynamic intellectual form where scholars interpret the past and policymakers debate the future.

i am most proud of the creative approach this library has taken to address the nation's civic education crisis. conceived by the reagan library education team. this exciting program provides students with how the government works by assuming the roles of individuals dealing with the real crises of the presidency. crisis, washington cabinet and the pandemic. each of our presidential libraries provide tailored education experience exploiting technology and new and award-winning ways. i would also like to express my appreciation. i like to thank the board for their continued support of the library and museum and for the resources and expertise they bring to this public-private

partnership. the foundation of the temporary exhibits, the acquisition of the f-117, the m1 tank and the building of the peace pavilion increase the capacity for large-scale temporary exhibits by approximately 6000 square feet. they also arrange for the planting of dozens of olive trees that line presidential drive after the wildfires and a special shout out to those who do their job and protecting our buildings from encroaching wildfires. we could not do all of these wonderful things without the foundation support. as we celebrate this occasion and look forward to the next chapter in the reagan library history, applaud the efforts of all of those at the library foundation and in this community that have supported the institution over the past 30 years. thank

[applause] >> thank you so much, david. our next speaker served president reagan as a speech writer and a special assistance in the white house. in fact, he drafted president reagan's famous speech in front of the gate in berlin where he so boldly demanded mr. gorbachev tear down this wall. ladies and gentlemen, our dear friends. [applause] thank you, john. a moment ago you heard that 30 years ago there was a sitting president and former presidents here. i feel for you folks. today you are stuck with the speech writer. [laughter] i should explain that i had a

special job on the speech writing staff. draft the speech, it would go to the president he would make his final and then it would come to me. [laughter] the reagan library on the 40th anniversary, we all think that this institution is important, but why? the setting is beautiful, wonderful ways to spend this sunday as we are today. but what makes it important? consider two decades. the 1970s. soaring inflation, chronic unemployment, the watergate scandal, defeating vietnam. the erosion of the physician and the cold war as a soviets increased their new polar arsenal around the world.

rapid job creation and economic so vigorous that it would continue for a quarter of a century. it may sound strange or flat to us today. that phrase represented something real. the representation of our armed forces and the renewed willingness to stand up to the soviets. from 1979 until 1989, one decade, this country went from death humiliation to victory in the cold war with the fall of the berlin wall. in other words, we experienced a transformation so complete that it represents a turning point not only in our history, but in history of the world. who did that?

well, a lot of people contributed he had but it's impossible to tell the story that transformation without putting one man, ronald reagan. how did ronald reagan do it? the answer to that question, why , right here. in this library you will find the deliberations that in 1981 led reagan to adopt a negotiating position that would have required the soviets to dismantle every last one of nuclear missiles. finding that position exasperating. i do not even know how to present that to my soviet counterparts. well, president reagan replied, you just tell the soviets you work for one tough son of a bit. [laughter] [applause]

in 1981, that year did indeed walk away from the negotiating table. in 1987, signing the treaty. in this library, you will find meetings from president reagan. later telling me no other president would have said keep on doing what you are doing. reagan understood in order to break inflation he had to take a recession and he had the political courage to pay the price. you will find boxes filled with draft after draft of president reagan's speeches. 1982 over the objections of much of his own staff, president reagan said this to the british parliament. we are witnessing a great revolutionary crisis. the crisis is happening in the soviet union.

march 8, 1982, once again, you may notice a pattern here. i urge you to be where to label them equally at fault to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding to ignore the facts of history. june 12, 1987. yet again president reagan overruled much of his staff on the way to deliver the speech the president remarked the state department will kill me for this, but it's the right thing to do. he stood before the berlin wall and declared tear down this wall i had something to do with that speech myself and i cannot help but noting that this library contains -- no, no, no, all the

applause today for ronald reagan folks, i was just a kid speech writer. honestly. i cannot help no that it contains a memo running against the berlin wall address. you can find this, it is in there. he called the speech mediocre and a missed opportunity. after all of these years you would think that i would not be sure about that, but i am. in this library, you will find letters that explain the source of the personal strength. when you are not there the president wrote to his wife, i am no place. just lost in time and space.

courage a certain stubbornness. this library tells that story. this brings me back if i may i tried that joe could not ago on a group of stanford students. i got nothing. [laughter] from that moment i realized these kids were too young. the rising generation possesses no memory of the 40th executive whatsoever. president reagan, the cold war, all of it is vanishing from this experience. soon, only this library will

tell the story. it will remind americans of the danger that we always face. this library will forever stand as proof, proof of our capacity for overcoming their renewal for reaffirming the dignity of each life. to quote ronald reagan one last time, the idea that government is the holding the people that it has no source of power except for the sovereign people is still the newest idea in all of the history to man. thank you. [applause]

>> you can see why we invited peter to speak. [laughter] some of you may be aware that we had planned a flyover to begin the ceremony this morning. we had to cancel that. i would be remiss that we got something even better from the united states air force. former secretary of the united states. [applause] my next introduction is for a relatively new friend of the reagan library, but a good friend, nonetheless. he is a hero on the battlefield. a fighter pilot. he is also a hero to our local

community for he serves as the united states representative for the 25th congressional district. that includes the reagan library it is wonderful to have him and his family here with us today. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming congressman mike garcia. [applause] >> thank you. a tremendous honor to be here and celebrate this magnificent anniversary. i think that we need to have a motivational speech for our flyby pilots. i don't know what they were complaining about. we will get some navy guys to do it next time. [laughter] [applause] .... ....

our nations history as a photo album that we can thumb through another success of a nation on the back of morality and hard work look like and felt like. it's a vehicle to travel back in time to a period where we thrived as americans and took pride in the american spirit and took pride in american adventurism. we face challenges and challenges and overcame them with dignity and strength in doing so we evolved closer to a perfect union. as peter mentioned the world was not a calm nor predictable in the late 1970s and 1980s under ronald reagan it was quite turbulent, we had a cold war and shed american blood on our own soil abroad. the shadows of communism were long and dark we fought a cultural war then as we do today and the prospects of a world war

were real. but under president ronald reagan leadership we navigated the rough seas with courage and confidence but a sense of duty towards not only a blessed nation that the entire planet for the good of humanity for the survivability and fate of the entire globe. as we sit here today in an era of our nations history the parallels the 1970s going into the late 1980s were in the world the ussr in the soviet union we have the chinese communist regime in a world where the intercontinental ballistic missiles traveled further into past her in a world where the socialism still behave like a cancer in her blood it is in this world today that we struggle in her own current cold war. it's in this that we believe in our library believes more than it ever has in the last 30 years.

president reagan once stated we could not stop in the foothills when everest lies ahead we cannot stop at the foothills sometimes it's easy to defined in a clear line between the foothills. sometimes bordered, you actually may be out now everest and not know it, you actually may be in one of the toughest challenges of your nation's history while it's back on the foothills and not know it, this is why we must be prepared and must be vigilant. there are two giant bears named china and russia and the outside of our tent. we as a nation must behave and act like a benevolent dragon. dragon with a wide wingspan focused eyes, sharp talons in

the long flame. we need to nourish the dragon and assure the world knows our strength and resolve. you see the point of owning a dragon is ensuring you never have to use the dragon. a great nation with seasoned leaders like president reagan understand that. he called it peace through strength. it's a beacon of hope for all americans within the walls lays the recipe for continued american exceptionalism. with our exceptionalism our continued leadership of all humanity, you see in our species long journey when we were walking upright and painted caves to now and walk on other planets, no single enemy to the good of humanity than the united states of america.

in no human being has done more for our country and the planet then president ronald reagan. [applause] in this library reminds us how he did it for 30 years, we get to enjoy this beatable place, may we never forget the words of declaration of independence and the constitution and maybe never assume that the success of our countries preordained, we must be willing to work together and necessarily be willing to fight together. we must take pride in their victory and never be willing to be the victim, we must know where history but never turn our back on it. we must never forget our mission of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. god shines on all of us and favors united states of america and president ronald reagan sits next to him right now. thank you all.

>> secretary to a letter to me noting when air force one she wanted to know how it might help us. [applause] >> global warming nam. >> it's a speech at the reagan library it is a high honor. there are a select few individuals who have been invited to speak here and off times that you need two hands to count the numbers. there are a select few individuals who are held of how they can take time out of their busy lives to join us.

there are a select few individuals who are truly humbled to be in their presence. the speaker is all three, she is a professor, a diplomat, best-selling author, national security expert and only the second willing in the first african-american woman to be our nation secretary of state. she was also the first woman to be our nations national security advisor and don't forget she is a world-class pianist that is claimed since queen elizabeth sackett and performed. in the summer of 2011 she represented mrs. reagan and the reagan foundation and traveled the world over to unveil statutes of the american

dignitaries all in honor of president reagan during the centennial of his birth. in 2016 the reagan foundation bestowed upon her peace through strength award. if reagan had applied with constant purpose and strategy to strengthen your own forces, and the lives the american people, ladies and gentlemen remarkable american please join me in welcoming doctor. [applause] >> thank you. >> thank you very much.

>> i don't think president reagan was going to let us get out of here without sunshine. his beautiful california came through for us. my how time flies. 30 years. i just want to start by congratulating everybody who has made this possible. people like john and duke and on the foundation side fred ryan, thank you for what our nation does to preserve our presidential heritage, i want to think this wonderful community that has embraced and welcomed this library. barbara, hello, it is so great to see you i love the air force myself. a great governor of california following in the footsteps of the great governor ronald reagan. yes it's been 30 years and today is a chance to remember this

great president. but also alongside him the visions in the stewardship's and the love of his soulmate, his life mate, nancy reagan. and of course all of the supporters and the board members and everyone who has made this day possible. this 30 year celebration is for all of us. as we reflect time the 30 years in the success of the endeavor i wanted take a moment to think again about the purposes of this library. i want to suggest three among others. first the importance of remembering. remembering ronald reagan in his historic presidency. when he was an elected politician and pundit and ordinary citizens, talked about america's decline, talked about

america's malaise, talked about how our best days were behind us. does that sound familiar today? ronald reagan just said no. our best days are ahead of us because we are america and we are americans. in that belief and strength he was an antidote to those days when america was feeling that perhaps it's days were behind he would put us up on a different road and oh how we soared. ronald reagan was an antidote because of his unfailing confidence in america. his unfailing belief in our values. his plan of action, his amazing ability to communicate a vision and his unforgettable sense of humor.

, ronald reagan lifted america in those days. that is what we remember in the documents, and the way that this museum reflects back that moment when you can stand in the oval office and think about what it must've been like to walk into the day after the inauguration and say to yourself i have to lift america up and he did. remembering is one of the important reasons for a celebration today. the memories for a celebration today is the teaching and informing that this library does. when your university professor, you are forever aware of the passage of time in the passage of generations, that is essentially true when your students are walking up to you and saying my mother's an

advisor. to be true it is startling at first, after a while you come to accept it back that generation after generation and perhaps it doesn't force your sense of responsibility to make sure that they know, i was in class a few years ago and the young woman was giving a report on the soviet union and she said -- i said why is she mispronouncing his name. but it occurred to me she probably never heard it and she was on board when the cold war ended. these young women did not explain the world in which europe and the continent were divided by a wall. in the president stood up and

said tear down that wall. i was secretary of state i knew what happened to the walls of foggy bottom that day. how could he have said such an undiplomatic thing they would've said. but he said it and perhaps klobuchar heard it but more importantly the people of east germany kept it behind the wall their freedom when they could not speak for themselves in the white house in the united states of america. the mass forces across the gap america's military strength to the nato was conferred on all who sat in the shadow of joseph

stalin after world war ii. they would not remember that the mass forces represented a real threat, not just to the physical security of europe but to the values that were emerging on the right side of history divide. they would not remember then that it was the president ronald reagan that said those military forces had to be rebuilt because they were not just america's, they were the forces of the free world, the shield of freedom. they would not remember the look of danger at the time. they would not remember that we had tried to control nuclear arsenals through arms-control treaty, they accepted as fact.

the soviet and american forces would be somehow equal. they would build, we would build, they would build and we would build and we would find strategic stability and the idea no ronald reagan said this time there will be a class of nuclear weapons eliminated. i will not eliminate mine unless you eliminate yours and in 1987 that would do precisely that and i remember peter that people who were a part of the negotiations said to the great paul mitchell that ronald reagan said tell russians what do they not understand about 0. those young people would not remember that there was a time when the soviet union was

destroyed not just europe but pushing power into afghanistan pushing its power into latin america pushing his power into africa through scores of proxy forces from places like cuba and angola. they would not remember that ronald reagan said not in my hemisphere. and he would arm indeed in support does indeed who throughout the world were willing and ready to stand up to the soviet unions into almost any continent the world. they would not remember that ronald reagan understood essentially that the soviet union was dangerous because of its weakness not because of its strength. he would stand there and say it was a sad experiment practiced on a helpless population that would one day end up in history.

it turns out, i tell you even as a young soviet specialist in those days i thought how undiplomatic, ronald reagan was not testing himself about how diplomatic he could be. he was testing himself by telling the truth about the great struggle between communism and capitalism between the dark forces of oppression in the light of freedom. these young people do also not remember 9/11, the fear that day, the sense of peril, the shock that there was somehow an enemy within you had attacked our country causing the worst attack on our territory since the war of 1812.

they do not remember that they will not remember a world in which division was not the norm and somehow we can't talk to each other if we disagree, we just yell at each other or we texter between but talking to those who don't agree, they would not know about this library but ronald reagan understood what james mattis it took power as well and bravery and honor to reach across the aisle and work with those who were your adversaries politically but not your enemy. because they too were americans in the stories of ronald reagan

the two irishmen doing their thing long after washington had closed down, though stories would not be known to those young people without this library. this is the place to remind ourselves how we overcame peril and division in ronald reagan's unique contribution to doing so. peace through strength, limited government and personal responsibility, confidence in who we are and our values. the third great purpose to remember to teach and inform. but the third great purpose to inspire and reimagine. because ultimately this presidential library is not about the past. it's how to mobilize the great virtues and support of an even great future.

to take both lessons of reagan's presidency and to apply them to a current circumstances and beyond, peace through strength, i remind people all the time when ronald reagan said peace he did not mean the absence of war, he meant a world in which freedom and liberty were safe and if that took the mobilization of the american military to make sure that those who threatened us didn't even think about it, he was prepared to do that. so peace through strength not the absence of war but the affirmation and values of free people is something we will desperately need today. as we face not arise in china, arisen china. i china unlike the soviet union

which was a military giant but a technological and ecological midget. this china is a technological military and economic giant. peace through strength is not going to mean the absence of war it is going to mean the defense of our values, the defense of liberty in standing up for those who cannot speak for themselves as ronald reagan did standing up for the people of hong kong and uighurs and others who served under oppression. [applause] >> ronald reagan also embraced and taught us the lessons and the importance of limited government and personal responsibility. to give the people from whom to determine their own fate and their futures not just because government is sometimes less

competent even though sometimes it is but because it can squeeze out initiatives and responsibility. america's founders government and everything else to the states, not quite, they reserved everything else to the states and to the people so they expected more of us than they expected of our government. they understood there was a special demand for citizens to take care citizens. they understood what they would discover in 1835 when he came to see what these americans all about. he said they somehow organize themselves in the voluntary associations just to do good. today we did not know them as rotary clubs. the american red cross and boys and girls club sent both places

were americans take responsibility for one another. >> ronald reagan understood as my good friend the late george schultz always said democracy is not always a spectator sport. we honor what ronald reagan the president did today but we also should honor what ronald reagan the citizen did. because he reminded us that it wasn't just washington, it wasn't just the states, it was us, we had special responsibilities towards one another, he lived that way and he expected us to follow. he inspired us as americans to love our country and to love each other. and then there's what he taught us about america's role in the

world yes to always based on your enemies but to do it from confidence, leading in being the shining city on the hill, the images that he painted of who we are and what we could be spoke to a certain reality, is spoke to a certain confidence because reagan understood that the world without america is certainly less safe, less prosperous and less free world. i did go on that trip to eastern europe in 2011 to london in the czech republic and hungary, first to acknowledge in london this great american and his great partner margaret thatcher. it was a special moment to see the statue go into the place where from now on british and

american and others who travel there can see what reagan meant to the special relationship. but all the best was yet to come when they went to eastern europe because there those very people that he had spoken for when he said mr. global truck toward on the wall, came out to tell him thank you mr. president. now we are free. what a legacy. in places where my to see. what am i to see of a man who is not a dreamer ronald reagan was not a dreamer, he saw the world as it was, but he also believed in shaping the world to be the world as it should be. that is the real purpose of this place. to draw on the spirit of ronald

reagan into reimagine america and the world as it should be. we stand here 30 years later to acknowledge the timelessness of ronald reagan and his legacy, even though time has passed leadership and vision and character are timeless. 30 years later they are essential for democracy and its health as they ever were. as you drive down the wonderful lane the president of the united states tried to remember the each of them in their own way tried to carry forward the legacy of the founders, this could be a place in which an experiment of the 18th century that self-government could actually work, the government could be for the people by the

people, they tried to protect those values and those beliefs and then come here. and remember the degree to which ronald reagan believed it, lived it and gave to us all a charge to do the same. thank you. [applause] >> at incredible honor, thank you, doctor rice. we started today's program hearing one of president reagan's favorite songs and were going to include today's event i enjoying another america the beautiful. before we send you off to enjoy

the rest of your sunday afternoon and we leave you with these words of ronald reagan. may every day be a new beginning and every john closer to the shining city upon a hill. thank you, god bless you and god bless america. ♪ ♪ ♪

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lle obama break out of the presidential center in chicago.