How we cite our quotes: (Sentence)
Quote #1
We come to Berlin, we American presidents, because it's out duty to speak, in this place, of freedom. But I must confess, we're drawn here by other things as well: by the feeling of history in this city, more than 500 years older than out own nation; by the beauty of the Grunewald and the Tiergarten; most of all, by your courage and determination. (4-5)
Even Berlin's inanimate objects persevere. There are things in this city that were here before the U.S. was even a twinkle in Britain's eye, and even with all the war and whatnot that's gone on lately, Berlin's landmarks and monuments still stand. That's perseverance.
Quote #2
From devastation, from utter ruin, you Berliners have, in freedom, rebuilt a city that once again ranks among the greatest on Earth. The Soviets may have had other plans. But, my friends, there were a few things the Soviets didn't count on: Berliner herz, Berliner humor, ja, und Berliner schnauze. (42-44)
Those wacky Soviets didn't get what we get about you, Berlin: you persevere. Your heart, your sense of humor, your Berlin attitude—they've all helped you stay strong, and the Soviets didn't see that coming. But we in the West did, because we get you, Berlin. We get you.
Quote #3
After these four decades, then, there stands before the entire world one great and inescapable conclusion: Freedom leads to prosperity. Freedom replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and peace. Freedom is the victor. (49-51)
Four decades? Now that's perseverance.
Quote #4
Because we remained strong, the Soviets came back to the table. And because we remained strong, today we have within reach the possibility, not merely of limiting the growth of arms, but eliminating, for the first time, an entire class of nuclear weapons from the face of the Earth. (73-74)
We stuck to our convictions. We persevered, even when it was hard, because we knew that we were doing the right thing, and that we were doing a good thing for the rest of the world.
Quote #5
In Europe, only one nation and those it controls refuse to join the community of freedom. Yet in this age of redoubled economic growth, of information and innovation, the Soviet Union faces a choice: it must make fundamental changes, or it will become obsolete. (89-90)
Now here's a fun twist on the perseverance theme: Reagan says that the U.S.S.R. needs to quit persevering, because they're persevering about the wrong stuff. In fact, their confused perseverance is actually going to cause them to become obsolete. So the lesson here is that it only pays to persevere when you're persevering for the right reasons. And the U.S.S.R.'s reasons are all wrong.