And I would like, before I close, to say one word. I have read, and I have been questioned since I've been here about certain demonstrations against my coming. And I would like to say just one thing, and to those who demonstrate so. I wonder if they have ever asked themselves that if they should have the kind of government they apparently seek, no one would ever be able to do what they're doing again.

Thank you and God bless you all. (129-133)

Reagan puts on his dad face starting with sentence 129. So far, he's been pretty calm, pretty mellow, just walking us through the awesomeness of the West and conversatin' about freedom in general.

But with this sentence, we see a little change in tone. Is someone about to get grounded?

This Prez is no stranger to demonstrations and protests. He's seen a lot of it, at home and abroad, and he has a little special somethin' somethin' to say to these protestors. But in true Reagan fashion, he gives it to them eloquently:

I wonder if they have ever asked themselves that if they should have the kind of government they apparently seek, no one would ever be able to do what they're doing again. (132)

In normal-speak, that's: "You guys: the type of government you want definitely wouldn't allow you to, say, organize and protest."

He doesn't yell or tell anyone they're stupid. He just points out very simply that freedom of speech, assembly, association, and all that other good stuff typically isn't seen a lot in repressive regimes (like East Germany, cough cough).

Someone didn't do their homework before organizing the rally today. He's not mad, he's just disappointed.

But he's not so disappointed that he can't throw in one last little dig with the final sentence of his speech. Here in the United States, when a politician or other public figure finishes a speech with a thanks and a "God bless you all," we don't think anything of it. In fact, we probably don't even notice.

But throwing a "God bless" into a speech about relations with the adamantly secular Soviet Union is…well, it's a little bold. A little brazen. Not that Ronnie wasn't sincere in his well-wishes, but don't let's think it was accidental that that little "God bless" got dropped in there right at the end like that.

Did he say it to make the Soviet Union's secular teeth gnash? Did he say it as a demonstration of how the West does religious freedom? Or was it just an afterthought, just a standard ending to a passionate speech?