I recently viewed Ronald Reagan’s inaugural address from 1981.  You can find it on C-SPAN (and a lot of other sites, most likely).

The themes he talked about in the address could easily have been given this past Tuesday…fighting terrorism, dealing with economic crisis, and personal responsibility.  Sound familiar?  Maybe the Messiah Obama should have taken his cue from his Veep and lifted a few paragraphs.

Seriuosly, though, my favorite part of Reagan’s address came near the end.  He told the story of a fallen WWII soldier named Martin Treptow.  After Treptow died, his diary was found in his pocket.  Written on the fly leaf was his personal pledge – one which each of us should try to live up to.  I post it here as read by Reagan:

“America must win this war.  Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure.  I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone.”

Not long, but so profound.  Substitute the word “crisis” for the word “war” in the first sentence and this could be a conservative call to arms in our coming conflicts with President Obama as he tries to take us down the path to socialism.  Each of us must work, save, sacrifice, endure, and fight for what is right.  Note that Treptow emphasized fighting cheerfully.  We should avoid shrill tones, but fight we must.  Make no mistake – the whole struggle does depend on each of us, both when we act alone and when we act in concert with each other.

Once again, the Great Communicator’s words prove timely and timeless.  We could do worse than focusing on his messages of hope and renewal as we try to revitalize the conservative movement.