Evil Empire speech: Difference between revisions
Filling in 3 references using Reflinks |
|||
Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
==British House of Commons Speech== |
==British House of Commons Speech== |
||
Reagan's chief speechwriter at the time, [[Anthony R. Dolan]], reportedly coined the phrase for Reagan's use.<ref>[http://frankwarner.typepad.com/free_frank_warner/2003/12/story_of_reagan.html "The Battle of the Evil Empire," by Frank Warner, ''The Morning Call,'' Allentown, Pa., March 5, 2000.]</ref> Some sources<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1982reagan1.html ''Modern History Sourcebook'', Ronald Reagan: Evil Empire Speech, June 8, 1982.]</ref> incorrectly refer to the June 1982 speech before the British House of Commons as the "Evil Empire" speech, but while Reagan referred twice to [[totalitarianism]] in his London speech, the exact phrase "evil empire" did not appear in any speech until later in his Presidency. Rather, the phrase "[[ash heap of history]]" appeared in this speech, used by Reagan to predict what he saw as the inevitable failure and collapse of global [[communism]]. Ironically, this latter phrase was coined by [[Bolshevik]] revolutionary [[Leon Trotsky]] in November 1917, using it against his opponents (the [[Menshevik]]s) and suggesting that communism was the future; the irony may not have been lost on Reagan's speech writers.<ref>{{cite news | last = Salisbury | first = Harrison E. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = A Reagan Antecedent In Revolution | work = letter to the editor, New York Times | publisher = |
Reagan's chief speechwriter at the time, [[Anthony R. Dolan]], reportedly coined the phrase for Reagan's use.<ref>[http://frankwarner.typepad.com/free_frank_warner/2003/12/story_of_reagan.html "The Battle of the Evil Empire," by Frank Warner, ''The Morning Call,'' Allentown, Pa., March 5, 2000.]</ref> Some sources<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1982reagan1.html ''Modern History Sourcebook'', Ronald Reagan: Evil Empire Speech, June 8, 1982.]</ref> incorrectly refer to the June 1982 speech before the British House of Commons as the "Evil Empire" speech, but while Reagan referred twice to [[totalitarianism]] in his London speech, the exact phrase "evil empire" did not appear in any speech until later in his Presidency. Rather, the phrase "[[ash heap of history]]" appeared in this speech, used by Reagan to predict what he saw as the inevitable failure and collapse of global [[communism]]. Ironically, this latter phrase was coined by [[Bolshevik]] revolutionary [[Leon Trotsky]] in November 1917, using it against his opponents (the [[Menshevik]]s) and suggesting that communism was the future; the irony may not have been lost on Reagan's speech writers.<ref>{{cite news | last = Salisbury | first = Harrison E. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = A Reagan Antecedent In Revolution | work = letter to the editor, New York Times | publisher = The New York Times | date = 1985-06-30 | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E02E7D71E39F933A05755C0A963948260 | doi = | accessdate = 2007-09-19 }}</ref> |
||
==First recorded use== |
==First recorded use== |
||
Line 18: | Line 18: | ||
[[Michael Johns (executive)|Michael Johns]], writing for [[The Heritage Foundation]]'s ''[[Policy Review]]'' magazine, prominently supported Reagan's assertion. In "Seventy Years of Evil: Soviet Crimes from [[Lenin]] to Gorbachev," Johns cited 208 acts by the Soviet Union that, he argued, demonstrated the Soviet leadership's evil inclinations.<ref>[http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1987-11-17/news/0160160268_1_soviet-union-soviet-tanks-evil-empire "Cite Soviets' Dark Side While Holding U.S. to High Standards," by Howard Means, ''The Orlando Sentinel'', November 17, 1987.]</ref> |
[[Michael Johns (executive)|Michael Johns]], writing for [[The Heritage Foundation]]'s ''[[Policy Review]]'' magazine, prominently supported Reagan's assertion. In "Seventy Years of Evil: Soviet Crimes from [[Lenin]] to Gorbachev," Johns cited 208 acts by the Soviet Union that, he argued, demonstrated the Soviet leadership's evil inclinations.<ref>[http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1987-11-17/news/0160160268_1_soviet-union-soviet-tanks-evil-empire "Cite Soviets' Dark Side While Holding U.S. to High Standards," by Howard Means, ''The Orlando Sentinel'', November 17, 1987.]</ref> |
||
[[Yuri Maltsev]], a high-ranking economist in the Soviet Union under [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] during the 1980s, believed that Reagan was definitely right. He labeled the USSR an "evil empire" in the introduction to the book ''Requiem for Marx,'' published in 1993, and in an essay he wrote for the [[Ludwig von Mises Institute]]. In his essay, he labeled the Soviet Union an "evil empire," using those exact words.<ref> |
[[Yuri Maltsev]], a high-ranking economist in the Soviet Union under [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] during the 1980s, believed that Reagan was definitely right. He labeled the USSR an "evil empire" in the introduction to the book ''Requiem for Marx,'' published in 1993, and in an essay he wrote for the [[Ludwig von Mises Institute]]. In his essay, he labeled the Soviet Union an "evil empire," using those exact words.<ref>{{cite web|author=Yuri N. Maltsev |url=http://mises.org/daily/3105 |title=The Decline and Fall of Gorbachev and the Soviet State - Yuri N. Maltsev - Mises Daily |publisher=Mises.org |date= |accessdate=2012-02-28}}</ref> Maltsev had first hand knowledge of the inner workings of the Soviet Union, and concurred with Reagan. |
||
The Soviet Union, for its part, alleged that the United States was an [[imperialism|imperialist]] superpower seeking to dominate the entire world, and that the Soviet Union was fighting against it in the name of humanity. In [[Moscow]], the Soviet press agency [[Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union|TASS]] said the "evil empire" words demonstrated that the Reagan administration "can think only in terms of confrontation and bellicose, lunatic [[anti-communism]].<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/presidents/article-214232 President Ronald Reagan at Britannica.com.]</ref>" |
The Soviet Union, for its part, alleged that the United States was an [[imperialism|imperialist]] superpower seeking to dominate the entire world, and that the Soviet Union was fighting against it in the name of humanity. In [[Moscow]], the Soviet press agency [[Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union|TASS]] said the "evil empire" words demonstrated that the Reagan administration "can think only in terms of confrontation and bellicose, lunatic [[anti-communism]].<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/presidents/article-214232 President Ronald Reagan at Britannica.com.]</ref> " |
||
During his second term in office, in May–June 1988, more than five years after using the term "evil empire," Reagan visited the new reformist [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|General Secretary]] of the Soviet Union, [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] in Moscow. When asked by a reporter whether he still thought the Soviet Union was an "evil empire," Reagan responded that he no longer did, and that when he used the term it was a "different era"; that is, the period before Gorbachev's [[perestroika]] and [[glasnost]] reforms. Still, Reagan remained a critic of the Soviet regime for its absence of [[democracy|democratic]] institutions. |
During his second term in office, in May–June 1988, more than five years after using the term "evil empire," Reagan visited the new reformist [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|General Secretary]] of the Soviet Union, [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] in Moscow. When asked by a reporter whether he still thought the Soviet Union was an "evil empire," Reagan responded that he no longer did, and that when he used the term it was a "different era"; that is, the period before Gorbachev's [[perestroika]] and [[glasnost]] reforms. Still, Reagan remained a critic of the Soviet regime for its absence of [[democracy|democratic]] institutions. |
||
Line 33: | Line 33: | ||
*The band [[Rage Against the Machine]] released a 1996 album titled ''[[Evil Empire (album)|Evil Empire]]'', which featured songs generally critical of the United States government, including "[[People of the Sun]]" and "[[Bulls on Parade]]". |
*The band [[Rage Against the Machine]] released a 1996 album titled ''[[Evil Empire (album)|Evil Empire]]'', which featured songs generally critical of the United States government, including "[[People of the Sun]]" and "[[Bulls on Parade]]". |
||
*In recent years, the American professional [[baseball]] team the [[New York Yankees]] has been nicknamed the "evil empire" because of their huge team salaries and success in seemingly obtaining any player of their choice with lucrative contracts. The first usage of this term relating to the Yankees was from [[Boston Red Sox]] President and CEO [[Larry Lucchino]], after the Red Sox lost out to the Yankees in a bidding war for Cuban pitcher [[José Contreras]]. After initially not commenting on the signing, a frustrated Lucchino told the ''[[New York Times]]'' "No, I'll make a comment. The evil empire extends its tentacles even into Latin America."<ref>[http://static.espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/1226/1482493.html ESPN.com: MLB - Red Sox: Contreras made deal with the 'evil empire'<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The nickname, though derogatory towards the team, has since been embraced by Yankee fans. |
*In recent years, the American professional [[baseball]] team the [[New York Yankees]] has been nicknamed the "evil empire" because of their huge team salaries and success in seemingly obtaining any player of their choice with lucrative contracts. The first usage of this term relating to the Yankees was from [[Boston Red Sox]] President and CEO [[Larry Lucchino]], after the Red Sox lost out to the Yankees in a bidding war for Cuban pitcher [[José Contreras]]. After initially not commenting on the signing, a frustrated Lucchino told the ''[[New York Times]]'' "No, I'll make a comment. The evil empire extends its tentacles even into Latin America."<ref>[http://static.espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/1226/1482493.html ESPN.com: MLB - Red Sox: Contreras made deal with the 'evil empire'<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The nickname, though derogatory towards the team, has since been embraced by Yankee fans. |
||
*In the 2000s, the American football team the [[New England Patriots]] is nicknamed the "evil empire" after their success in winning [[Super Bowl |
*In the 2000s, the American football team the [[New England Patriots]] is nicknamed the "evil empire" after their success in winning [[Super Bowl]]s, as well as the [[Spygate]] scandal being another factor. Patriots coach [[Bill Belichick]] frequently wears a hood, giving him a loose resemblance of [[Emperor Palpatine]]-even though most sources say Belichick resembles [[Darth Vader]], as the "apprentice" of Patriots owner [[Robert Kraft]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csnne.com/blog/patriots-talk/post/Pace-Patriots-are-the-Evil-Empire?blockID=592416 |title=Pace: Patriots are 'the Evil Empire' |publisher=Csnne.com |date=2011-11-11 |accessdate=2012-02-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nesn.com/2011/01/bill-belichick-depicted-as-darth-vader-patriots-the-evil-empire-in-new-york-post.html |title=Bill Belichick Depicted as Darth Vader, Patriots the Evil Empire in New York Post - Daily Blend |publisher=NESN.com |date=2011-01-14 |accessdate=2012-02-28}}</ref> |
||
*During the 1980s, the [[Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball]] team, coached by [[Billy Tubbs]], was known to fans of other [[Big Eight Conference|Big Eight]] schools, particularly [[Kansas Jayhawks|Kansas]] and [[Kansas State Wildcats|Kansas State]] as "The Evil Empire", due to Tubbs' Sooners' tendency to run up the score on its opponents. |
*During the 1980s, the [[Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball]] team, coached by [[Billy Tubbs]], was known to fans of other [[Big Eight Conference|Big Eight]] schools, particularly [[Kansas Jayhawks|Kansas]] and [[Kansas State Wildcats|Kansas State]] as "The Evil Empire", due to Tubbs' Sooners' tendency to run up the score on its opponents. |
||
*Retail giant [[Walmart]] is sometimes referred to as the "evil empire" by consumer advocacy groups due to its [[Criticism of Walmart|controversial labor tactics]].<ref>[http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=5983 Ethicalcorp.com]</ref><ref>[http://www.tothecenter.com/news.php?readmore=3706 Tothecenter.com]</ref><ref>[http://blondesense.blogspot.com/2004/11/evil-empire-wal-mart.html Blogspot.com]</ref> |
*Retail giant [[Walmart]] is sometimes referred to as the "evil empire" by consumer advocacy groups due to its [[Criticism of Walmart|controversial labor tactics]].<ref>[http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=5983 Ethicalcorp.com]</ref><ref>[http://www.tothecenter.com/news.php?readmore=3706 Tothecenter.com]</ref><ref>[http://blondesense.blogspot.com/2004/11/evil-empire-wal-mart.html Blogspot.com]</ref> |
Revision as of 00:22, 28 February 2012
The phrase evil empire was applied to the Soviet Union especially by U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who took an aggressive, hard-line stance that favored matching and exceeding the Soviet Union's strategic and global military capabilities, in calling for a rollback strategy that would, in his words, write the final pages of the history of the Soviet Union. The characterization demeaned the Soviet Union and angered Soviet leaders; it represented the rhetorical side of the escalation of the Cold War.
British House of Commons Speech
Reagan's chief speechwriter at the time, Anthony R. Dolan, reportedly coined the phrase for Reagan's use.[1] Some sources[2] incorrectly refer to the June 1982 speech before the British House of Commons as the "Evil Empire" speech, but while Reagan referred twice to totalitarianism in his London speech, the exact phrase "evil empire" did not appear in any speech until later in his Presidency. Rather, the phrase "ash heap of history" appeared in this speech, used by Reagan to predict what he saw as the inevitable failure and collapse of global communism. Ironically, this latter phrase was coined by Bolshevik revolutionary Leon Trotsky in November 1917, using it against his opponents (the Mensheviks) and suggesting that communism was the future; the irony may not have been lost on Reagan's speech writers.[3]
First recorded use
Reagan's March 8, 1983 speech to the National Association of Evangelicals in Orlando, Florida is his first recorded use of the phrase "evil empire." Reagan said:
So, in your discussions of the nuclear freeze proposals, I urge you to beware the temptation of pride, the temptation of blithely declaring yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire, to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the struggle between right and wrong and good and evil. ...
They preach the supremacy of the state, declare its omnipotence over individual man and predict its eventual domination of all peoples on the Earth. They are the focus of evil in the modern world.
In the "evil empire" speech, which also dealt with domestic issues, Reagan made the case for deploying NATO nuclear armed missiles in Western Europe as a response to the Soviets installing new nuclear armed missiles in Eastern Europe. Eventually, the NATO missiles were set up and used as bargaining chips in arms talks with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who took office in 1985. In 1987, Reagan and Gorbachev agreed to go farther than a nuclear freeze. In an atomic age first, they agreed to reduce nuclear arsenals. Intermediate- and shorter-range nuclear missiles were eliminated.
Global reaction
Michael Johns, writing for The Heritage Foundation's Policy Review magazine, prominently supported Reagan's assertion. In "Seventy Years of Evil: Soviet Crimes from Lenin to Gorbachev," Johns cited 208 acts by the Soviet Union that, he argued, demonstrated the Soviet leadership's evil inclinations.[5]
Yuri Maltsev, a high-ranking economist in the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev during the 1980s, believed that Reagan was definitely right. He labeled the USSR an "evil empire" in the introduction to the book Requiem for Marx, published in 1993, and in an essay he wrote for the Ludwig von Mises Institute. In his essay, he labeled the Soviet Union an "evil empire," using those exact words.[6] Maltsev had first hand knowledge of the inner workings of the Soviet Union, and concurred with Reagan.
The Soviet Union, for its part, alleged that the United States was an imperialist superpower seeking to dominate the entire world, and that the Soviet Union was fighting against it in the name of humanity. In Moscow, the Soviet press agency TASS said the "evil empire" words demonstrated that the Reagan administration "can think only in terms of confrontation and bellicose, lunatic anti-communism.[7] "
During his second term in office, in May–June 1988, more than five years after using the term "evil empire," Reagan visited the new reformist General Secretary of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow. When asked by a reporter whether he still thought the Soviet Union was an "evil empire," Reagan responded that he no longer did, and that when he used the term it was a "different era"; that is, the period before Gorbachev's perestroika and glasnost reforms. Still, Reagan remained a critic of the Soviet regime for its absence of democratic institutions.
Recent historians, such as Yale University's John Lewis Gaddis, have grown more favorable towards the use and influence of the phrase "evil empire" in describing the Soviet Union. In his book The Cold War Gaddis argues that, in their use of the phrase "evil empire," Reagan and his anti-Communist political allies were effective in breaking the détente tradition, thus laying the ground for the ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union.
In popular culture
Following Reagan's use of the phrase, the phrase "evil empire" took on a nearly iconic status in popular culture and was used in numerous other contexts:
- Meant for the Galactic Empire in Star Wars.
- The band Rage Against the Machine released a 1996 album titled Evil Empire, which featured songs generally critical of the United States government, including "People of the Sun" and "Bulls on Parade".
- In recent years, the American professional baseball team the New York Yankees has been nicknamed the "evil empire" because of their huge team salaries and success in seemingly obtaining any player of their choice with lucrative contracts. The first usage of this term relating to the Yankees was from Boston Red Sox President and CEO Larry Lucchino, after the Red Sox lost out to the Yankees in a bidding war for Cuban pitcher José Contreras. After initially not commenting on the signing, a frustrated Lucchino told the New York Times "No, I'll make a comment. The evil empire extends its tentacles even into Latin America."[8] The nickname, though derogatory towards the team, has since been embraced by Yankee fans.
- In the 2000s, the American football team the New England Patriots is nicknamed the "evil empire" after their success in winning Super Bowls, as well as the Spygate scandal being another factor. Patriots coach Bill Belichick frequently wears a hood, giving him a loose resemblance of Emperor Palpatine-even though most sources say Belichick resembles Darth Vader, as the "apprentice" of Patriots owner Robert Kraft.[9][10]
- During the 1980s, the Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team, coached by Billy Tubbs, was known to fans of other Big Eight schools, particularly Kansas and Kansas State as "The Evil Empire", due to Tubbs' Sooners' tendency to run up the score on its opponents.
- Retail giant Walmart is sometimes referred to as the "evil empire" by consumer advocacy groups due to its controversial labor tactics.[11][12][13]
- The American band Of Montreal references America as "The Evil Empire" in the song "Du Og Meg" from their album Icons, Abstract Thee, released in 2007.
- In a 2007 book, The Evil Empire: 101 Ways That England Ruined the World, author Steven A. Grasse lists many alleged crimes committed by the British Empire and editorially makes the claim that the British acted in an evil fashion, particularly during their global colonial reign, but also afterwards, blaming the British solely for World War I, World War II and the Great Depression.[14] The book was ridiculed by critics in the Daily Mail.[15] Grasse also states that the British are all homosexual,[16] and that Britain ruined the world by knighting Elton John.[16] In 2008, Grasse blamed Great Britain solely for the 2008 credit crisis.[17]
- Microsoft has long held the reputation as the "evil empire" amongst advocates of free software.[18][19]
- The Canadian football team the Edmonton Eskimos are often referred to by their rivals as the "Evil Empire" due to their success in the last 50 years.
- Critics' comments referring to big government and/or Big Business.
See also
References
- ^ "The Battle of the Evil Empire," by Frank Warner, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa., March 5, 2000.
- ^ Modern History Sourcebook, Ronald Reagan: Evil Empire Speech, June 8, 1982.
- ^ Salisbury, Harrison E. (1985-06-30). "A Reagan Antecedent In Revolution". letter to the editor, New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
{{cite news}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=
(help) - ^ "President Reagan's Speech Before the National Association of Evangelicals," The Reagan Information Page, March 8, 1983.
- ^ "Cite Soviets' Dark Side While Holding U.S. to High Standards," by Howard Means, The Orlando Sentinel, November 17, 1987.
- ^ Yuri N. Maltsev. "The Decline and Fall of Gorbachev and the Soviet State - Yuri N. Maltsev - Mises Daily". Mises.org. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
- ^ President Ronald Reagan at Britannica.com.
- ^ ESPN.com: MLB - Red Sox: Contreras made deal with the 'evil empire'
- ^ "Pace: Patriots are 'the Evil Empire'". Csnne.com. 2011-11-11. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
- ^ "Bill Belichick Depicted as Darth Vader, Patriots the Evil Empire in New York Post - Daily Blend". NESN.com. 2011-01-14. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
- ^ Ethicalcorp.com
- ^ Tothecenter.com
- ^ Blogspot.com
- ^ The Evil Empire - 101 Ways that England Ruined the World
- ^ Hastings, Max (2007-03-02). "The Empire Strikes Back". Daily Mail. London.
- ^ a b The Evil Empire: 101 Ways That England Ruined the World - S. Grasse, Quirk Books, 2007. ISBN 1594741735
- ^
"Credit crisis diary: There'll be a writ in the post any day now". The Independent. London: independent.co.uk. 2008-11-23. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
{{cite news}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=
(help) - ^ Bishop, Todd. (2005-08-15). "Software Notebook: 'Evil Empire' Microsoft warms to open source". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
- ^ Rivlin, Gary. (2005-08-25). "Usurping Microsoft, Google becomes new 'evil empire'", New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-29.