Authoritative

Eric Cartman thrilled South Park audiences everywhere when he donned his mirrored shades and told the world to respect his authoritah.

What he actually wanted was for people to respect his authoritarianism; he kind of got a little power-hungry there and went on a little bit of a tyrannical rampage.

Anyway, there's a difference between being an authoritarian tyrant like Officer Cartman and being authoritative. Reagan is definitely the latter in this speech. His words are sure and his conviction is complete. There's no wishy-washiness and no one listening to or reading this speech could be unclear on how Reagan feels about communism, capitalism, democracy, freedom, the Berlin Wall…or even the benefits of team sports.

We gotta hand it to Reagan and his speechwriter: this is a powerful little speech.

Like, check this out: Right from the get-go, he says:

We come to Berlin, we American Presidents, because it's our duty to speak, in this place, of freedom. (4)

You can't get much more authoritative than identifying yourself as the leader of the richest and most powerful country in the world, right? And it's his duty to come here and talk about freedom. Leaders don't shirk their duties.

They also state their convictions plainly and clearly, which Reagan does time and again.

For example, he tells us that, unequivocally, that "[e]s gibt nur ein Berlin" (12). There is only one Berlin. Just one, folks, not two like those wacky Soviets want everyone to think. One. That silly scar of a Berlin Wall can't keep Berliners from being Berliners.

Or how about when he says this:

Today I say: As long as this gate is closed, as long as this scar of a wall is permitted to stand, it is not the German question alone that remains open, but the question of freedom for all mankind. (21)

He's just putting it out there, almost like he's daring someone to disagree with him.

There are a lot of lengthy sentences in this speech, and Reagan mentions a lot of specific events, like the Olympics and the Marshall Plan. But he always comes back and ties his thoughts together with one short, sweet, universal word-bow like this one: "Freedom is the victor" (51).

This really wasn't a new thing for Reagan; he was kind of known for his one-liners, comedic and otherwise.

But whether he was cracking jokes or cracking down on communism, President Reagan always delivered those lines with confidence, assurance, and his own unique Reagan schnauze.