Writing wartime political speeches is a delicate business. Speechwriters are like bomb techs, combining and splicing words like so many wires: which words (wires) will get the point across without causing anything to explode?

During the Cold War, what with all of the weapons-building and spy planes and general mistrust of anything the other side said or did, these wordy wires were especially important.

So how does a person make like John Mayer and say what he needs to say without (a) backing down from his position or (b) starting a nuclear war? Well, in this instance, Reagan and his speech team use what we call the ping-pong approach: say something positive and inspiring, then bag on the enemy. Then say some other positive and inspiring stuff, and then bag on the enemy a little more.

Ever been in a situation where your parents just keep droning on and on about cleaning your room, doing your homework, or finishing your chores…and eventually you just stop listening? If Reagan's entire speech had consisted of nothing but Soviet-bashing, his audience might have done just that.

Similarly, if he'd spent 133 sentences talking about how incredibly super-sweet it is to be a Westerner, his speech might have been dismissed as nothing but capitalist propaganda.

But with the ping-pong approach, we get a little from column A and a little from column B. And it worked—no one got nuked, and no one was confused about where the United States stood on issues of capitalism, freedom, West Germany, or the Berlin Wall.

How it Breaks Down

Section 1: Setting the Scene

Sentences 1-12

Political speeches, especially those made in foreign lands to a potentially partially hostile audience, typically begin with feel-good, we're-all-friends-here, let's-hold-hands-and-knit-booties-together stuff, and this speech is no different.

The purpose: create an "us." In this case, the "us" is the West, and Reagan wastes no time aligning West Germany with the U.S. and the rest of the Western world.

Section 2: Scars, Gashes, and Brutal Divisions

Sentences 13-23

Now that we have an "us," Reagan uses the next ten sentences to talk about what "they" (the Soviets) did to the beautiful, historic city of Berlin…and it was all bad.

Section 3: Props for Berlin

Sentences 24-44

Back on the positive, inspiring side of the table, the next twenty sentences credit West Berliners (and their Western BFFs, of course) with rebuilding the city and helping restore it to its former glory, minus the Nazis and Hitler and all that other nasty business.

Section 4: The West Side is the Best Side

Sentences 45-71

And while we're patting West Berlin on the back, Reagan takes the opportunity to bash communism a little bit more. He also issues a challenge to Gorbachev: if you're serious about being one of the cool kids, brotato chip, you need to tear down this ridiculous wall.

Section 5: Weapons and Global Transformation

Sentences 65-90

Talking about weapons in the middle of a nuclear arms race is a risky endeavor, but in this section, Reagan pings and pongs like a pro. He paints the West as the picture of disarmament cooperation while the Soviets are depicted as irresponsible and irrational. (Neither of those statements are completely true or untrue, BTW. So maybe he's painting his picture in the Impressionist style: some of the deets are left out, but the overall effect is appealing and we'd totally hang it on our wall at home.)

Section 6: We Can All Just Get Along

Sentences 91-128

Reagan uses this section to play couples counselor: even though the communist East is totally messed up, we're still willing to hang out and do stuff together. Reagan lays out specific ideas, all while throwing words like "love" and "freedom" in there all over the place.

Section 7: And in Closing…

Sentences 129-33

With ping-pong, as with other competitive activities, the trick is to finish strong. Reagan finishes his speech with an awesome volley, reminding protestors that their precious East wouldn't let them protest so freely, and then he caps it all off with a little "God bless you all."

Game, set, match.