The Heritage Foundation believes, along with the British historian Paul Johnson, that words are "the essential units on which a civilization rests."  Like the former Czech president and playwright Vaclav Havel, Heritage has faith in "the power of words to change history."

Over the past quarter of a century, Heritage has provided a public forum for the most influential conservatives in America and abroad.  When a president, a Nobel Laureate, or a political leader wanted to talk about what most concerned him, they came to Heritage - from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush, from Russell Kirk to F. A. Hayek, from Newt Gingrich to Jeane Kirkpatrick.

It is difficult to suggest an issue that a Heritage lecturer has not addressed and very often with immediate impact.  They include health care, welfare reform, homeland security, entitlements, terrorism, the Middle East, immigration, and the future of freedom in America and the world.  It is America's destiny, remarked former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, to advance the reign of freedom and free enterprise throughout the world.  "'Let us strive on,'" she said, quoting Abraham Lincoln, "'to finish the work we are in.'"