I meant that this speech was substantially different from all other speeches of his. There was something in how he started with the premise of freedom, and gave philosophical reasons for the premise. Granted there might be some faulty logic and other errors in the speech, but I still was impressed with its substance and style. This is similar but somehow unlike any of Bush’s other speeches. I wonder who the speechwriters were, and who put in the phrase “new order of the ages”. I wonder if Bush understands the significance of that phrase, Novus Ordo Seclorum. What do think of the last part of his inaugural address.
While the OP provided the White House version, here is the text of the speech as recorded by the New York Times (registration required).
I believe there have been several instances where the third party record turns out to be different than what the White House records. I am referring to off the cuff comments as well as prepared text. (Sorry, I have no cite(s) to back up this claim right now.)
Nice speech. When compared with the actions of his government, extremely ironic.
Rights are good. Rule of law is good. Mr President, have you heard about a place called Guanatanamo?
So when can we expect to see US put some pressure to end oppression in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan, to take a few examples not at random?
Amnesty International sums it up quite nicely: Human rights not hollow words.
Is he including Afghanistan in those tens of millions? If so, his dictionary has another defintion of “freedom” than mine.
"Freedom the American way - better than Taliban!" doesn’t work very well as an advertisement slogan. I hope your president is aiming a bit higher.
I’m not surprised that a politician’s speech contains some hypocrisy and sugarcoating of nasty bits of reality - we’ve got politicians here, too. But I am impressed that he managed to get trough all of that with a straight face.
Oops, I almost forgot. I have something positive to say too:
I liked that he included the Koran. V.g., to quote Helen Fielding.
So would Bush have intervened in Tianamen Square?
What I’m more impressed is how seriously people are taking the inaugural speech. Like if its some bona fide contract on what Bush will aim to do… Its a speech. Someone else wrote it… someone else put some nice references to make Bush more palatable.
Also there isn’t much new in it either… more than two dozen references to “Freedom” is Bushie Jr’s par for the course. Those who like Bush lap it up… those who don’t see the contradictions like Guantanamo… in the end Bush is still the same guy with the same ideas… and worse who thinks Iraq is a thing of the past (this unfortunately is made clear in the speech).
RE “novus ordo seclorum”- it IS on the Great Seal of the US, Pyramid Side- not intrinsically a code-term for an internationalist corporate-socialist tyrrany. And it originally is a reference to Virgil’s Fourth Ecoloque praising the ascent of Augustus Caesar as bringing about a new order.
I do recall (without digging it out at the moment) that in James Robison’s 1798 PROOFS OF A CONSPIRACY, one of the earliest anti-Illuminati works, use of a similar term to describe the goals of the Illuminati. I forget if this was actually a quote from Illuminati papers (remember- it was a real organization from 1776 to 1786) or Robison’s own phrase.
The reality, though, is closer to Jon Stewart’s quip: “Offer not valid in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, …”
IMHO, it would seem to be a damn good slogan if you were living in Afghanistan. Curious though, just how would you grade results if not comparing to what it was like before? If you expect immediate full spectrum change, you’re living in a fantasy world.
To repeat myself: Bush said that “tens of millions have achieved their freedom”. My point is that if he’s including Afghanistan’s population in this number, he is, to use your words, living in a fantasy world.
What would it take for me to say that a nation has achieved freedom? As a minimum, a majority of the population would have sufficient security to live their lives in peace, and there would have to be a working judicial system, so that if crimes are comitted, both the suspected criminals and the victims have a reasonable chance of a mostly fair trial. A country ruled by warlords, where laws and human rights are violated in all levels of the judicial system from the chief judge of the supreme court and downwards, is pretty far from having achieved freedom to me.
Note: I’m not saying that fixing the mess that’s Afghanistan is a US responsibility only. I think they’ve been let down shamefully by all of the international community, including my own nation.
I don’t want to hijack this thread any more than we already have, but just keep in mind your ideals for their freedom are not incorrect as a target way of life, however, I’m sure much of the population would argue that their level of freedom is much greater today than what it was. I’m not saying this is an end point, it’s very much a work in progress and continued access to quality education is a key factor in it’s success. It will take years to overcome the teachings/brainwashing of the Taliban.
Or:
**Lethal Injections Hurt Way Less Than Beheadings! we think **
Whether the people of Iraq are free or not will be determined in the next few months.
Right now, if I were an Iraqi, I’d be pissing myself in fear - fear from everything. Just sitting there knowing that they can’t possibly know what direction country will go in 10 days must suck.
And the “freedom is subjective” argument sucks. No, it isn’t good that it is “better than the Taliban”… it had better be better than the Taliban by a few fucking orders of magnitude. We’ve had 3 solid years to rebuild their country and government, and all we have to say is, “hey, it’s better than those fundamentalist authoritarian jackasses were in charge”? And what, the Iraqis have THAT to look at as the direction they’re headed in? A country ruled mostly by regional warlords with a puppet government, rampant lawlessness - but hey, women in some parts of the country can go to school now, and they’re no longer using the soccer stadium for their executions!