Full text of (President!) Bush's inaugural address

The White House, via grandforks.com ^ | 1/20/05 | A great American

[sionnsar]

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.

[ShowMeMom]

The speech was breathtaking.

Pity there are those who are too "smart" to get it.

[sionnsar]

implying once more that islam is just another religion of normal human beings.

I Was a Daughter of Islam; What I discovered when I lifted the veil on my world:

4 Ways to Reach Out to Muslims

There are more than 1 billion Muslims in the world, and more than 5 million in the U.S., making Islam one of the fastest-growing religions in America—quickly emerging as the second-largest religion behind Christianity. Here's what you can do to make an impact.

1. Pray for them. The only way a Muslim will ever come to Christ is if the Holy Spirit works in her heart to draw her to the truth. Pray specifically that: Muslims would be open to reading the Bible and would believe the Bible is the preserved, authentic Word of God; they'll believe Jesus was crucified for their sins and resurrected from the dead; God will remove any misconceptions they have about Christianity; God will give them courage to surrender to Christ.
   
   
2. Know your faith. It isn't as important to a Muslim what you know about Islam as it is important for you to know about your own faith. Steep yourself in God's Word so you can address any questions a Muslim may have about what the Bible and Christianity teach.
   
   
3. Remove any misconceptions about Muslims. Not all Muslims are extremists, such as the Taliban. Not all of them hate Americans or Jews. Basically, they want the same good things from life we want. Many Christians assume all Muslims know Islam and the Qur'an very well. The fact is, however, most Muslims are Muslim in name only; they know little of their faith.
   
   

4. Befriend them. The best way to reach out to a Muslim is to show her Christ's love. Sharing the gospel isn't enough to reach a Muslim. She has on spiritual blinders (2 Corinthians 4:4) that require time, prayer, and the outpouring of Christ's love working through you. But the results of your persistence will be worth it (Galatians 6:9).

[Yardstick]

How do you proclaim that America is a force for freeing dissidents, when the government now has unprecedented powers to detain anyone suspected of terror across the globe and subject them to coercive interrogation techniques that the government will not disclose?

Does Sullivan really think that the people being detained are suspected "dissidents"?

The liberals' inability to make obvious moral distinctions, like between a suspected terrorist and a dissident, leads them to make some awfully silly arguments. America has a policy of sending suspected terrorists to Gitmo, not dissidents.

[gridlock]

I'll stand by "putz".

[RinaseaofDs]

I respect why you take that view of the speech, but for my money, I think this was historic, and not unremarkable.

"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. "

This is no less than a new doctrine. It transcends ideology completely. Islam is a scourge the world seems to face every 700 years or so (710, 1450, 2002). When Islam retreats, some other country or philosophy will fill the void that takes the on the dogma that for the good of all they should be masters, while all others be slaves.

We will look back on this speech, and upon W in the same way we are beginning to with Reagan. As the years pass, Reagan's greatness increases; his legacy looms larger as we move away from him.

Future leaders in other countries will look upon this speech the same way we look today at the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln freed the slaves here in the US. Bush has freed them around the world.

This also fits perfectly with his doctrine, "You can only be for us, or against us."

[Mudboy Slim]

I thought it was an excellent speech, and laid down an impressive agenda...MUD

[1LongTimeLurker]

The liberals' inability to make obvious moral distinctions, like between a suspected terrorist and a dissident, leads them to make some awfully silly arguments. America has a policy of sending suspected terrorists to Gitmo, not dissidents.

I've heard Sullivan called a lot of things, but this is the first time I've ever heard anyone call him "liberal"

[Yardstick]

Well, it's certainly an argument a liberal would make.

[Finny]

Quiet, diplomatic silence, is an eloquent alternative ... Gratuitous kowtowing to primitive savages (as a group, not as individuals) is a poor choice.

Omission by silence in this case would not have been diplomatic. It would have been rightly construed as a slur on one of the world's largest religions. Gratuitous kowtowing has its uses and can be effective for difusing conflict and giving the opposition no foundation for complaint.

If, as I think, Islam ("Submission") makes slaves of people, Dubya is being infinitely more eloquently diplomatic in focusing on the principles of freedom vs. slavery, and refraining from insulting -- by omission or otherwise -- the formal religion of millions of people. It appears to me that he is taking a different path to accomplishing the same thing you would rather he did by belittling Islam. Instead, he challenges ANY creed that condones slavery, oppression, and control ("Submission"), but not by name and not in a way that offends anyone's religious sensibilities -- political ones, perhaps, such as yours -- but not religious.

He plays chess, not checkers.

[Publius6961]

I can't disagree with anything you've said.
I stated as much in my initial response at the beginning of the unexpected attention my mild criticism had.

[Calvin Locke]

...and implying once more that islam is just another religion of normal human beings.

I turned off the radio when he did that. Islam is incompatible with our Declaration of Independence AND The Constitution.

Islam is incompatible with life.

Let'em undergo a reformation, then maybe they can apply to join the human race again.

[goldstategop]

The DU Dummies dread his mention of God Talk, his belief in American greatness and in his desire to spread freedom around the world. How dare he!

[Democracy In Iraq]

There are men who believe that democracy, as a form of Government and a frame of life, is limited or measured by a kind of mystical and artificial fate that, for some unexplained reason, tyranny and slavery have become the surging wave of the future--and that freedom is an ebbing tide. But we Americans know that this is not true.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt (D), inaugural address, 1941


Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

- John F. Kennedy (D), inaugural address, 1961


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.

- George W. Bush, (R), inaugural address, 2005


...good news for liberal Democrats: the spirits of FDR and JFK live on in George W. Bush. On this 1st day of his 2nd term, you may now give the President your full support and devotion.

[Publius6961]

Aren't differences of opinion wonderful?
As I said in an earlier post, "I know and love history, and it shall be remain the proper arbiter."

We appear to be fundamentally in full agreement. That works for me.

[Finny]

The following is "mild criticism"?

Monumentally unremarkable speech made more forgettable by his need to continue the fiction, and implying once more that islam is just another religion of normal human beings...

[Finny]

Works for me, too. Cheers!

[Publius6961]

The following is "mild criticism"?

The short answer is "yes".