I am certain that the people who heard this speech back when it was delivered did not appreciate it as much as we who can look back on it and see the prescient nature of it today. Indeed, I believe he was painted as scaremongering at that time by those on the left, and yet how accurate he was and in ways most then could never even have imagined.

On its face it is a speech for the candidacy of Barry Goldwater in 1964. But in truth, it is a speech against the evils of progressivism, otherwise known by its real name, socialism.

Socialism isn’t just about expropriating private property, Reagan says. What does it mean if the government holds the power of life or death over your business, Reagan asks? Could he see into the future and see Operation Chokepoint, the DOJ efort to shut off legal businesses it doesn’t like, such as gun dealers? Could he see the Vice Chair of the DNC extolling the ways of Communism, as Donna Brazile just did this evening?

I’m sure that you have heard parts of this speech or sayings based on it. Many have no doubt heard the speech before. But for those who have not, it is so worth listening to all the way through, and applying to events happening today.