|
01/27/2005
Bush's Inaugural Address
No doubt, President George W. Bush’s Inaugural Address was
both historic and controversial. Yale University historian John
Lewis Gaddis predicted the address would echo for years. “It’s
very much in the tradition of great speeches of the past. This is
where we want to be some distance from now. We understand
we can’t get there tomorrow. But it’s important to have that
destination described.” Conservative William Kristol added
“The real world is the real world, and inevitably there will be a
thousand compromises. Bush knows what he’s doing, and the
directness of these words give them real punch.” [Source: John
F. Harris / Washington Post]
Following is the address I omitted two paragraphs pertaining
more to domestic policy.
---
On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we
celebrate the durable wisdom of our Constitution, and recall the
deep commitments that unite our country. I am grateful for the
honor of this hour, mindful of the consequential times in which
we live, and determined to fulfill the oath that I have sworn and
you have witnessed.
At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words
I use, but by the history we have seen together. For a half
century, America defended our own freedom by standing watch
on distant borders. After the shipwreck of communism came
years of relative quiet, years of repose, years of sabbatical – and
then there came a day of fire.
We have seen our vulnerability – and we have seen its deepest
source. For as long as whole regions of the world simmer in
resentment and tyranny – prone to ideologies that feed hatred and
excuse murder – violence will gather, and multiply in destructive
power, and cross the most defended borders, and raise a mortal
threat. There is only one force of history that can break the reign
of hatred and resentment, and expose the pretensions of tyrants,
and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant, and that is the
force of human freedom.
We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The
survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the
success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our
world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.
America’s vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one.
From the day of our founding, we have proclaimed that every
man and woman on this earth has rights, and dignity, and
matchless value, because they bear the image of the maker of
heaven and earth. Across the generations we have proclaimed
the imperative of self-government, because no one is fit to be a
master, and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these
ideals is the mission that created our Nation. It is the honorable
achievement of our fathers. Now it is the urgent requirement of
our nation’s security, and the calling of our time.
So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the
growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation
and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our
world.
This is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend
ourselves and our friends by force of arms when necessary.
Freedom, by its nature, must be chosen, and defended by
citizens, and sustained by the rule of law and the protection of
minorities. And when the soul of a nation finally speaks, the
institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very
different from our own. America will not impose our own style
of government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help
others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make
their own way.
The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of
generations. The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding
it. America’s influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the
oppressed, America’s influence is considerable, and we will use
it confidently in freedom’s cause.
My most solemn duty is to protect this nation and its people
against further attacks and emerging threats. Some have
unwisely chosen to test America’s resolve, and have found it
firm.
We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and
every nation. The moral choice between oppression, which is
always wrong, and freedom, which is eternally right. America
will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that
women welcome humiliation and servitude, or that any human
being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies.
We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear
that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of
their own people. America’s belief in human dignity will guide
our policies, yet rights must be more than the grudging
concessions of dictators; they are secured by free dissent and the
participation of the governed. In the long run, there is no justice
without freedom, and there can be no human rights without
liberty.
Some, I know, have questioned the global appeal of liberty –
though this time in history, four decades defined by the swiftest
advance of freedom ever seen, is an odd time for doubt.
Americans, of all people, should never be surprised by the power
of our ideals. Eventually, the call of freedom comes to every
mind and every soul. We do not accept the existence of
permanent tyranny because we do not accept the possibility of
permanent slavery. Liberty will come to those who love it.
Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world:
All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United
States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your
oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with
you.
Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can
Know; America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of
your free country.
The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as
Abraham Lincoln did: “Those who deny freedom to others
deserve it not for themselves; and, under the rule of a just God,
cannot long retain it.”
The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to
know: To serve your people you must learn to trust them. Start
on this journey of progress and justice, and America will walk at
your side.
And all the allies of the United States can know: we honor your
friendship, we rely on your counsel, and we depend on your help.
Division among free nations is a primary goal of freedom’s
enemies. The concerted effort of free nations to promote
democracy is a prelude to our enemies’ defeat.
Today, I also speak anew to my fellow citizens:
From all of you, I have asked patience in the hard task of
securing America, which you have granted in good measure.
Our country has accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfill,
and would be dishonorable to abandon. Yet because we have
acted in the great liberating tradition of this nation, tens of
millions have achieved their freedom. And as hope kindles hope,
millions more will find it. By our efforts, we have lit a fire as
well – a fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its
power, it burns those who fight its progress, and one day this
untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our
world.
A few Americans have accepted the hardest duties in this cause –
in the quiet work of intelligence and diplomacy the idealistic
work of helping raise up free governments the dangerous and
necessary work of fighting our enemies. Some have shown their
devotion to our country in deaths that honored their whole lives –
and we will always honor their names and their sacrifice.
All Americans have witnessed this idealism, and some for the
first time. I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of
your eyes. You have seen duty and allegiance in the determined
faces of our soldiers. You have seen that life is fragile, and evil
is real, and courage triumphs. Make the choice to serve in a
cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself – and in your
days you will add not just to the wealth of our country, but to its
character ..
From the perspective of a single day, including this day of
dedication, the issues and questions before our country are many.
From the viewpoint of centuries, the questions that come to us
are narrowed and few. Did our generation advance the cause of
freedom? And did our character bring credit to that cause?
These questions that judge us also unite us, because Americans
of every party and background, Americans by choice and by
birth, are bound to one another in the cause of freedom. We have
known divisions, which must be healed to move forward in great
purpose – and I will strive in good faith to heal them. Yet those
divisions do not define America. We felt the unity and
fellowship of our nation when freedom came under attack, and
our response came like a single hand over a single heart. And we
can feel that same unity and pride whenever America acts for
good, and the victims of disaster are given hope, and the unjust
encounter justice, and the captives are set free.
We go forward with complete confidence in the eventual triumph
of freedom. Not because history runs on the wheels of
inevitability; it is human choices that move events. Not because
we consider ourselves a chosen nation; God moves and chooses
as he wills. We have confidence because freedom is the
permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in dark places, the
longing of the soul. When our founders declared a new order of
the ages; when soldiers died in wave upon wave for a union
based on liberty; when citizens marched in peaceful outrage
under the banner “Freedom Now” – they were acting on an
ancient hope that is meant to be fulfilled. History has an ebb and
flow of justice, but history also has a visible direction, set by
liberty and the author of liberty.
When the Declaration of Independence was first read in public
and the Liberty Bell was sounded in celebration, a witness said,
“It rang as if it meant something.” In our time it means
something still. America, in this young century, proclaims
liberty throughout all the world, and to all the inhabitants thereof.
Renewed in our strength – tested, but not weary – we are ready
for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom.
---
Hott Spotts will return February 4.
Brian Trumbore
|
