Inauguration

I was doing the dishes at the time, not paying particular attention, and this was the speech that I heard:

"From the sniper turrets atop the White House, let freedom ring! From the mouths of underground missile silos, let freedom ring! From the grinding steel treads of bulldozers in the occupied territories, let freedom ring! Let it ring from the secret corridors of the advancing police state! Let it ring from the black hole of Gitmo Bay! Let it ring from the wreckage of Fallujah and Baghdad, from every uranium-tipped bullet to rain down on the fertile crescent! Let it ring, ring, ring in your ears every time a marketplace or hospital is bombed from a plane flying too high to see! Let it ring like the talking points of an army of guest political analysts! Yes, let freedom ring so loudly that it drowns out the First Amendment! Let it ring your bell, baby, with the butt end of a rifle or the push of a button."

Upon reading the speech later, it had a slightly different tone. The Inaugural was epic, poetic, and certainly a turning point in this administration's rhetoric. No longer is the emphasis on fear, remembrance, and protection, but rather the crusade of "freedom" on a global scale. Now the War on Terror's first priority is breaking the yoke of oppression, and our own safety will be the by-product. Alright. I've heard this one before somewhere ... Oh, yes. It was emanating from the throngs of pepper-sprayed protesters at the castle gates, "No Justice! No Peace!" The speech was a masterpiece of progressive posturing. Let's see if we can take Bush's speech point-for-point. I agree with much of it.

"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."

It's true. Iraq had no particular ties to Al-Qaeda's loose network. Now, because of this corporate war, the country has become a hotbed of resentment and a well-spring of future retaliation. Take it from the Pentagon itself.

"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."

Yes, indeed. I think the world has done a pretty good job of it. See the 14 million who took to the streets on February 15, 2003, the largest day of worldwide protest in human history.

"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."

Agreed. Thank goodness for the Internet and the liberties of foreign news. To quote David Cross, the comedian: "Things are messed up when you have to look to the foreign press to find out what's going on inside your own country."

"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."

Well said. Now where's the part about bringing the troops home? Oh, they're staying to make sure this whole "self-governance" thing go to Halliburton's, Bechtel's, and the Carlisle Group's plans.

"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."

Good...er...right in step with Article 51 of the UN Charter and international law designed to thwart the pre-emptive invasion and overthrow of a sovereign nation. Why would we attempt to impose anything on anyone? Let the voice of the people be heard! Now what's all this I hear about bombing Al Jazeera?

"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."

Right on. I suppose this sentiment would apply first and foremost to the country with the most guns.

"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 human liberty."

I don't know about you, but I believe this is the first time I've heard our president utter the words, "human rights." But, hey, who's not for human rights? Well, apparently those who would ally with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and, until 1990, even during its worst atrocities, Iraq. And those who regard the Bill of Rights as a speed bump on the way to power.

"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."

Indeed. Probably why half the population in the U.S. is vehemently opposed to any further hastening of the apocalypse. Join with me now as we channel the spirit of Thomas Jefferson. Or, in the words of Steve Earle from "Christmastime in Washington:" Come back Woody Guthrie/ Rise up old Joe Hill/ The barricades are going up/ But they cannot break our will// Come back to us Malcolm X and Martin Luther King/ They're marching into Selma as the bells of freedom ring.

"Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know: America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country."

God bless it, my favorite line in the entire speech. If I may quote Abraham Lincoln, "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it." Whoops. Bush beat me to the Lincoln line.

"In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of economic independence, instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence. This is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act, the Social Security Act, and the G.I. Bill of Rights. And now we will extend this vision by reforming great institutions to serve the needs of our time."

If Social Security is so great, why does it need reform...er...abolishing? This seems to be the weakest part of the speech. It seems to lack coherence - or maybe a better word is "resolve."

"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."

Let it ring.

"May God bless you, and may He watch over the United States of America."

I prefer Dickens myself, "God Bless us, everyone."